I did a complete numb nut newb thing and bought corals. I don't know what they are.

[Readywriter]

Lot of overzealous reactions in this thread. This whole "you gotta do reefing the way I like to do it" mindset is straight up poison. Makes me want to put fake plants in mine. OP, your lfs is a bunch of filthy liars, most lfs's are. They either have no idea what they are talking about (lying out of ignorance) or are lying just to make a sale. Ive seen people on here splitting hairs about this but a lie is a lie whether or not the person realizes that they arent telling the truth.

But, your tank set up could absolutely work. You are going to run into a period where the tank is super ugly, no way around it. The best approach is to wait it out and let it go away on its own. Theres bottled crap that can help but theres a chance they wind up causing more problems and not fixing the issue. Id encourage you to do a little research on lights, you might find that yours are a little lacking for corals. If you decide to replace them look at t5 bulbs, cheaper than leds, and then youd be able to post threads about your plastic plants and how much better t5's are than leds and really troll these guys.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

I am grateful that you folks were able to ID my coral though this thread got turned into something different very quickly. in the last six weeks since I've been started reefing I usually find 1000 different answers to one question so opinions on having too many fish just not accepted. I have four small fish how in anyway could that be too large for a 41 tank? excuse me guys for wanting a little bit more than bare rock so I put some decor in my tank. Oh my God reef sacrilege. The reef gods are going to strike me down.

Most of your bashing about the fake plants lies in the fact that they will put shade on the coral. The coral can die in the shade of these plants. Also when algae gets in your tank, the plants will be plenty covered in it and quite ugly. A saltwater reef tank is a slice of the ocean, When I first seen the picture I thought you added the coral to a freshwater tank. kick all the plant bashing aside, What type of lighting do you have. Has the PAR been measured ? in order for the corals to survive you need at least 60 PAR on the bottom of the tank, and 60 is minimum.

 

[NanoNana]

What lights do you have, what are your water parameters? Do you have test kits for calcium, mag and phosphorus.

Regarding your LFS, you should shop around for a new one. If I’m reading your initial post correctly, your lfs set your tank up with a reef mat on a brand new tank, and you were getting error results. They mixed your saltwater but didn’t sell you a refractometer to check salinity so you were uncertain if your ATO had diluted your saltwater too much, and determined that it was salty by tasting it.
You said they set your tank up with live rock but then told you to use bacteria to cycle (which you did) and sold you an ammonia removal agent as a coral dip and some other things that I may be forgetting. As nice as they may be, the advice you’ve been given is not setting you up for success. Even if you have them doing your monthly maintenance, you have to be able to test your parameters in the event of an emergency and very few questions can be answered by forum members without knowing your water parameters.

Keep your fake plants if you want them but researching inhabitants like fish and corals before you buy them is highly recommended.

 

[Kathy Floyd]

This whole "you gotta do reefing the way I like to do it" mindset

Who ever said this?! People were just advising why they are bad. The OP needs to do a lot of research on his own and he said he is going to do just that. He asked, it was answered.

 

[Ballyhoo]

Like life in general, there are two ways to approach reef keeping. You can adhere to advice of tried and true methods or forge your own path. Guess which one is easier?

I think you’re ok on your fish stocking levels. The fake plants are a matter of personal taste but honestly, not something I would put in a reef. Residual chemicals and light shading are a concern. Light shading can even be a problem with macro algae. Keep in mind that even if light appears to be hitting a coral doesn’t mean its getting sufficient light.

Regarding your LFS, there is a credibility issue. The Ammo lock will do absolutely nothing for hitchhikers. They make products you dip corals in specifically for this purpose.

Its your money and your tank OP so you do you. However, keep in mind that some of us on here have succeeded and failed over the years. Listening to advice, might actually save you some valuable time and money.

but if that were true about Alock doing nothing for hitchhikers, why does it (bottle) have instructions about dipping your new species in the solution?, I already tossed like most of the decor. I just left the red one for the clowns. The are already a little displaced, but they'll get reacclimated. As far as lighting, I'm thankful that the red sea has specific programs that can be used so I don't even have to think I just choose Program. The only choice I had was 15 or 20 K with the blue' and white light. honestly did decrease a little bit intensity over the course of the day so I think around 2 PM. It starts to taper off. I don't have a full blast all day. I hope that's not a problem. The iPhone makes it look bluer than it is because both of the blue and white light are I think at 15 K right now.

 

[Devisissy]

AH HA! California. OK so LFS owner for sure drives either a Tesla or BMW on lease that spends more time in the shop than on the road and the loaner is a 5 series because his or her 3 series is always in the shop for it's brakes that lock up on the 101 when trying to merge.

Added bonus OP's car! That mustang was/is a great car, almost didn't recognize it not wrapped around a tree or pole. **Seriously though be safe.

 

[Ballyhoo]

AH HA! California. OK so LFS owner for sure drives either a Tesla or BMW on lease that spends more time in the shop than on the road and the loaner is a 5 series because his or her 3 series is always in the shop for it's brakes that lock up on the 101 when trying to merge.

Added bonus OP's car! That mustang was/is a great car, almost didn't recognize it not wrapped around a tree or pole. **Seriously though be safe.

I can guarantee you the owner has plenty of swagger. And I'm not gonna tell you the name of the shop, but it is the biggest one in the county of San Diego.

 

[FernFish]

I can guarantee you the owner has plenty of swagger. And I'm not gonna tell you the name of the shop, but it is the biggest one in the county of San Diego.

Probably aquatic warehouse

 

[Ballyhoo]

Probably aquatic warehouse

My lips are sealed. but Pat, the owner of that place is a great guy. I'm not saying I got any of my stuff there.

 

[Devisissy]

I can guarantee you the owner has plenty of swagger. And I'm not gonna tell you the name of the shop, but it is the biggest one in the county of San Diego.

Fish depot of course. Yeah Tesla for sure.

 

[FernFish]

Fish depot of course. Yeah Tesla for sure.

Yeah, probably they changed the owners recently

 

[FernFish]

My lips are sealed. but Pat, the owner of that place is a great guy. I'm not saying I got any of my stuff there.

I would Personally just go to aquatic warehouse or kung fu corals, also sometimes the sales at aqua SD are Good

 

[SpyC]

. Are you sure you guys are just not against the concept of a natural reef tank and all that it means, with fake plants in it? I mean, I can understand in the world of reef tanks It's a natural environment

Natural aesthetic with fake plants...that is a bit of an oxymoron. if you want plants, get macro algaes.

I did not see where you stated what youre lighting is. only that you have a bunch of LEDs. What is the lighting fixture you are using?

 

[Readywriter]

Who ever said this?! People were just advising why they are bad. The OP needs to do a lot of research on his own and he said he is going to do just that. He asked, it was answered.

Presenting opinions as fact and absolutely seething when someone does things a different way is a pretty common theme here.

 

[SpyC]

like I said, I'm gonna call first thing tomorrow morning and find out what these decor are made of. not going to ignore potentially vital advise, but I'm gonna get to the bottom of it.

Unless the lfs produces the fake plants in house they won't know what they are made out of.

 

[Ballyhoo]

my toadstool if that's the right name for this one is doing so much better this morning. She's certainly plooming her wings. All the little green polyps have sprouted out. Maybe they were just in retreat from the transit and water change. might be hard to see with the LED lights.
I added to this the picture from I think the toadstool from last night. Completely different now. honestly last night I was wondering what the heck I bought.

May I understand this positive overnight blooming as having acceptable aquatic, and LED conditions?

 

[Ballyhoo]

the led blue really swamps an iphone

 

[I never finish anythi]

yes well the clowns live in them. What can I say. Decor will harm coral? I would've thought my LFS would've told me that when they sold it to me.

Most lfs will just yell you what you want to hear to make a sale .

 

[Doctorgori]

I’ve seen reef tanks with sunken skulls and pirate ships, not my thing but to each his own….LFS are a business, lies sell almost as well as fake or bad news

 

[I never finish anythi]

I have an abundance of LED light available. I don't think the

well, if we're talking about the people at the LFSof that's what you meant I doubt they make much more than a minimum wage

Exactly why they don't give a ......