Can I add both corals and plants in a reef tank?

[nikospsa]

Hello everyone,
I am a new reef tank owner. My tank is 400 liters and I am about to start adding corals.
I was wondering if there are any plants that can coexist with the corals.
Thank you in advance.

 

[Peace River]

#WelcometoR2R!!! Check out this build thread for a macroalgae tank:

Build Thread - Tigahboy's Macroalgae Tank(s)

This is a love story. About a [tigah]boy who fell in love with macroalgae... So I became totally enamored with macroalgae when I added them to a couple of my prior reef tanks (you can find them here in this thread), and I've always been drawn to the freshwater planted tank/scape aesthetic, so...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Azedenkae]

Hello everyone,
I am a new reef tank owner. My tank is 400 liters and I am about to start adding corals.
I was wondering if there are any plants that can coexist with the corals.
Thank you in advance.

Hi there. Welcome.

So there are not many true plants you would find in saltwater aquariums. Mangrove trees, maybe.

What you may be looking for are macroalgae, which are kinda like plants, but are not. But kinda.

Yeah check out the thread posted by @Peace River to see a great example of what macroalgae can look like in an aquarium.

 

[PatW]

It sort of depends on one’s definition of “plants”. If you are referring to multicellular vascular plants, the only ones that I know of found in marine environment are mangroves and they are only rooted in shallow water. The foliage is above the water line.

There are a number of different macro algae that are marine. They do not have much presence in reef aquariums as ornamentals.

 

[Greybeard]

The only true flowering plant capable of life fully submerged in a marine environment is seagrass. Mangroves can live with their roots submerged, but most of the plant has to be above normal water level.

Types of macro algae are vast and varied. Back when I was keeping seahorses, I had nice growing macro algae of many types. Red gracilaria or ogo, various types of caulerpa (careful with this one!), shaving brush... A very pleasing 'planted' marine tank can be accomplished, with a bit of effort.