Where to source non-colorful corals

[Michael Hughes]

A bit of an odd question. I'm planning out the 125 we're putting in the living room, and I'm having trouble finding coral suppliers that have a decent selection of corals in neutral colors. A lot of the good ones have great selections of vibrant, beautiful corals in saturated colors, but very little in the way of less colorful frags (understandably so - I'm sure the vibrant colors sell better).

Reefing aethetics are very individualized, and though the style seems popular, I'm just not the kind of person who wants a tank that looks like a bunch of different highlighters thrown in a blue box.

Instead, I'm looking to build an aesthetic based on interesting coral shapes and growth patterns, but not bright colors. In fact, I'm looking for vendors selling corals in neutral shades (browns, tans, etc.) for a few different reasons.

First and foremost, I want this tank to look more like an actual reef, not an aquascape. Second, this will help make the carefully selected one to three corals with more color to really stand out. Third - and this is a big bonus - I want the fish to really stand out in this tank.

Does anyone have any recommendations on coral vendors for what might generally be considered, bland/cheap/uninteresting/non-designer colors?

Since I'll be running this at full spectrum/10,000k for a natural white light aesthetic, I really appreciate the photos on Tidal Gardens for showing each coral under these lights instead of only blues. Any other vendors you recommend that do this?

Beyond vendors, I'd love to hear/see your recommendations for corals you have with "boring" colors but interesting textures or growth patterns.

 

[zheka757]

Alot of those fancy high end name coral will look plain under 10k lights.
Who you want to ask is old time reefers that run or use to run MH lights.
I also run MH lights, but im kind of new to them. And still discovering what corals look good under them. Here is a picture of of my tank with MH 20k radium bulbs and bunch of blue LED strips, not exactly what you looking for

 

[Michael Hughes]

Alot of those fancy high end name coral will look plain under 10k lights.

Right... but I'd hate to pay extra for a fluorescent effect that I'm not really going for, you know?

 

[Michael Hughes]

Alot of those fancy high end name coral will look plain under 10k lights.
Who you want to ask is old time reefers that run or use to run MH lights.
I also run MH lights, but im kind of new to them. And still discovering what corals look good under them. Here is a picture of of my tank with MH 20k radium bulbs and bunch of blue LED strips, not exactly what you looking for

That makes sense. You've got a great variety of growth patterns distributed there, and a nice density without feeling too crowded. I especially like that taller "mountain" in the back left.

Love the copperband by the way!

 

[twentyleagues]

Are we talking hard corals or soft? Lots of plain looking leathers and other soft corals to be had.

 

[Michael Hughes]

Are we talking hard corals or soft? Lots of plain looking leathers and other soft corals to be had.

Mostly hard corals, other than some occasional zoas, parazoanthids, and maybe Ricordea florida.

The goal is to have one or two pink Pocillopora damicornis as sort of the eye catchers when it comes to color, but have most of the rest of the corals be fairly neutral. It's probably going to be even harder as I get closer to adding corals, but I'll do my best to show extreme restraint in color choices, and really focus on the textures and growth forms.

 

[rayadog]

I hope you can find some duller montis, poccis, and fimbriaphyllia; I don’t think it should be too hard. I feel like I’d be throwing somebody under the bus if I said their corals looked brown lol. I’ll just say maybe look for the cheap wild caught corals.. in the auction market… always advertising auctions and discounts and new listings and crappy dim pictures lol. I have a couple dull hammers that I thought were a product of my system since I started with them but no. Duncans are a pretty dull coral too. Sorry if I’m not using flattering words. I appreciate your natural appreciation. Species tanks might be the easiest way to more naturally represent some reefs. Good luck!

 

[JonoH]

Look at some wild colonies if your able to source them.
They are affordable and generally more muted in colour (we are spoilt for choice on them here in AUS).

 

[Idoc]

I think the online sales places use camera tricks to make their coral look more vibrant than what it is in real life. Sourcing from a LFS will give you a better chance of seeing what a coral will actually look like in person. There are many out there that have some mild coloration to them. I like different colors, but the "toxic" fluorescent look isn't for me either.

 

[Zeeth]

Check out ORA, a lot of their corals are more old-school and less vibrant. Stuber Staghorn would be a good one to get, as an example.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Let us know what you came up with! This is an interesting request!

 

[exnisstech]

Most of the photos on vendor sites are not realistic and are digitally manipulated. Even my most colorful acros are pretty drab and mostly brown when not under blue led lighting.

 

[rayadog]

Check out ORA, a lot of their corals are more old-school and less vibrant. Stuber Staghorn would be a good one to get, as an example.

Good suggestion

 

[penfold2]

Check out ORA, a lot of their corals are more old-school and less vibrant. Stuber Staghorn would be a good one to get, as an example.

And despite its drab coloration in comparison to today's corals, the Stuber is interesting because it may be the oldest Acro lineage in captivity, having been around for over 40 years.

https://reefbuilders.com/2011/01/05...graph-documents-25-years-stony-coral-reefing/

 

[LiverockRocks Verified Sponsor]

Some common non-endangered Florida corals legally harvested on licensed live rock farms like TBS.
TBS 5lbs Nano Premium - UPS

 

[Michael Hughes]

And despite its drab coloration in comparison to today's corals, the Stuber is interesting because it may be the oldest Acro lineage in captivity, having been around for over 40 years.

https://reefbuilders.com/2011/01/05...graph-documents-25-years-stony-coral-reefing/

What a great history! Great looking coral as well.

Thanks for the suggestion, Teeth, and I appreciate the article, Penfold!

 

[Michael Hughes]

Some common non-endangered Florida corals legally harvested on licensed live rock farms like TBS.
TBS 5lbs Nano Premium - UPS

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. These are exactly what I'm looking for in terms of color and texture.

You're already on my timeline for this coming spring.

 

[Michael Hughes]

Some other corals that look like a great fit so far:

• Coppertone hammer
• Fiji yellow porites (yellow new growth, brown polyps and older growth)
• Monti cap (I may get away with orange)
• Chalices (some look fairly bland at 10k)

Keep the suggestions coming!

 

[Zeeth]

You're really going to love the TBS rock. It's got all sorts of stuff on it that make it look like rock you'd see scuba diving like tunicates, feather-worms, bivalves, etc.

 

[glmory]

Am I right that it is almost impossible to get Florida hard corals legally harvested on live rock? I don't see a WYSIWYG so you would pretty much have to order a bunch and hope for the best.

I don't imagine it could legally be resold either so all around tricky to keep.