What's the average percent of tank space that corals should take up in a reef tank? What is yours?

[editour2]

I started with 3 separate islands in my 6 ft 215 gal tank but over time the tank slowly filled with more rock so I could fit more coral. Then the coral grew ....I try trimming to keep colonies from getting too big. I need a bigger tank.....lol!!! All kidding aside I think if I were to start from scratch I would want more space and less crowding. I'm a fan of both coral AND fish.

 

[fish farmer]

Corals cover about 60 percent of my usable rockwork. Actual tank volume might be 15 to 20 percent of living tissue with skeleton.

 

[ReefChasers]

Maybe less than 10%. Tiny little frags in a 150gallon display look SUPER tiny and sad. They grow SOOOO slow.

While it's definitely true that some corals grow pretty slowly, the reality is that systems enter into 'growth modes' and, once achieved/maintained you would be surprised how fast they can grow.

It can be difficult to get your system into this growth mode, especially when demand for calcium and alkalinity are low, but if you balance your nutrients (elevated, stable, but reasonable), achieve average pH of 8+ as steadily as possible (preferably 8.2sh), and maintain a 'slightly elevated' level of Alkalinity/Calcium you will be well on your way once the system is stable for a few months. Oh and turning the temp up to around 82sh (grow much faster than at 78) and give them a nice photoperiod of around 10 hours with maybe a 1 hour ramp up and down (helps the pH too). It's all easier said than done though, of course!

Keep in mind that increasing photo period and increasing temperature can also cause undesirables to grow faster so it's important not to tweak these until your system is lookin' cute feelin' cuter, which if you stabilize the nutrients and treat/remove the undesirables is only a matter of time.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I choose 10-25%. New upgraded tank. Have some palys covering 2 rocks and a huge rock with gsp covering it. Otherwise, it's small frags of corals across the rocks, except for a huge plate coral.. But hard to gage on a 79" tank. Looking at my pics, maybe there is more percent than I figured lol's. The frags on sand bottom right-last pic are for trading and the birds nest in 1st pic

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[Nano sapiens]

'Filling up' is virtually assured if things go well for a couple of years and you have a LFS nearby

With that in mind, over the last 14 years I've managed to keep coral coverage (in relation to the available rock work that is in the light) at around 85 - 90%:

Coral in relation to water volume is only around 20 - 25% due to the somewhat open nature of the aquascape.

 

[Ardeus]

I don't have any LFS near and the nearest reef tank is also 90 minutes away, so things keep growing into each other.

 

[Reef and Dive]

25-50 to me because personally I think it is more visually pleasing to also work with shadows and empty spaces.

 

[Mark Novack]

I don't know how to judge what % they take. But yeah, I like as many as I have room to install. I just glued in the last acropora frags, or so I thought. As soon as I was finished and sat back to look at things I realized I can probably fit 40 to 50 more.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

I have no more space. I haven’t bought any coral in a year. I like the look. Plus my thought is if I’m going to throw in so much light energy into the tank I wouldn’t want to waste any!

 

[WallyB]

Please resist the urge to make a "100%" joke!

Some people really like a reef tank to be full to the brim with coral while others would rather focus on a few select pieces and grow them out. I personally don't think that any of these ways are wrong and really it's just a matter of taste. But what if there was a rule of thumb for how many corals one should house in their aquarium? Maybe you think there is! Maybe a percentage rule like live rock used to have? Let's talk about it!

What's the average percent of tank space that corals should take up in a reef tank?

How much percent of space do you think your corals take up in your aquarium?

image via @hart24601

Is this a percentage of Aqauarium Volume(space) question?

I say less than 10%....even in a rock filled coral packed tank.

It's like a tree...Looks big, but mostly air...Unless you are golfing

Even if your tank is packed wall to wall with corals, most of aquarium is water.

 

[Lasse]

Is this a percentage of Aqauarium Volume(space) question?

I say less than 10%....even in a rock filled coral packed tank.

It's like a tree...Looks big, but mostly air...Unless you are golfing

Even if your tank is packed wall to wall with corals, most of aquarium is water.

If you look how much area they cover - when you can get a rather high coverage - but as you highlight - are we talking about volume your right. I estimate my coverage to between 10 - 24 % in volume - but in this case I have included all the limestone created by my corals but that today not are living but a part of my tank.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[firechild]

How much percent of space do you think your corals take up in your aquarium?

I'll preface by saying this sentence makes me cringe.

I'm not sure I understand the question in context of the possible answers. Are we talking water volume? Available rock/substrate surface? Some other measure? I don't think the 2 highest options are possible based on any reasonable measure. I said less than 10% but my tanks are fairly young but I'm just taking a stab in the dark as to what I'm answering.

 

[bxclent]

I have a 20 gallon that's absolutely packed with corals! I need to frag some of the euphyllia now to make more room.

Consider yourself very lucky and share the wealth with respectful others.

 

[jp_75]

what would you say this is? i think it’s about 10%? cant wait to see everything grown in!

Nice scoly garden!
How long you have had them? How often do you feed?

 

[shakacuz]

Nice scoly garden!
How long you have had them? How often do you feed?

have had them for a few months. got the majority at RAPNY(NJ). i actually don't target feed them (or any of the corals). i broadcast feed and let my CUC get the rest.

 

[jp_75]

I hear they lime very low light.