Where to source non-colorful corals

[madlos123]

Currently running 2 250 Watts Metal Halide 10,000 k

I got most of my corals from local people and local frag swap
If they are rare or unique i got them from ORA and Uniquecorals back then such as the yellow porites and pocillopora grandis

Yellow Porites is one of my favorite.
Mint Pavona is nice different texture.
Milka stylo is a nice purple.
I originally had Oregon Tort but Stn on me so in the future. At least the Hawkins Echinata survived for the blue colors.
Orange setosa is a nice orange color
I have the green tip pink Birdsnest for the pink
My fox flame acropora is orange with peach tips brown under 10k
pocillopora grandis is a nice yellow green too
Garf bonsai looks fine with nice purple under 10k
Purple valida looks nice magenta
My gold torch is always brown under 10k

But yeah its a pain to find corals that shines under 10k since most of everyone is under heavy blue spectrum.
Its definitely a lot of trial and error. I had more other acropora but removed them since they just have similar colors, some they stn on me since its a big change from LED to MH.
My next project will be getting nice colorful reef safe fish, i feel like thats where 10k shines

 

[Michael Hughes]

Think twice about pocillopora , you start off with one they once it starts to grow you will have them all over the tank

I've read this is much more prevalent with green Pocillopora damicornis than pink. Definitely something the be on the lookout for.

Are you wanting something like this

Not really. I like the whiter spectrum, but I'm looking to do more LPS/SPS and very few softies.

 

[Michael Hughes]

I got some of these guys. From tennis ball to basketball size

Very nice! These a great fit color wise. Do you mind me asking where you got them?

I always have a colony of Pavona-potatoe chip coral.
The structure of them when they get big is a favorite of mine.
Mines getting there, lol.

Stags are another option. This is a purple
/blueone in my old 120.

Love the branching pattern of stags, I'm sure I could find some in the right colors at some point.

I've got orange Pavona on my list due to the great range of structures they can produce.

Great suggestions!

 

[Michael Hughes]

I got some of these guys. From tennis ball to basketball size

Very nice! These a great fit color wise. Do you mind me asking where you got them?

I always have a colony of Pavona-potatoe chip coral.
The structure of them when they get big is a favorite of mine.
Mines getting there, lol.

Stags are another option. This is a purple
/blueone in my old 120.

Love the branching pattern of stags, I'm sure I could find some in the right colors at some point.

I've got orange Pavona on my list due to the great range of structures they can produce.

Great suggestions!

 

[Michael Hughes]

But yeah its a pain to find corals that shines under 10k since most of everyone is under heavy blue spectrum.

This is a beautiful tank! Much closer to the aesthetic I'm planning for.

My next project will be getting nice colorful reef safe fish, i feel like thats where 10k shines

I agree! For the 125 this is my planned stocking:
2 ocellaris clowns
Sailfin blenny
Red firefish
2 engineer gobies
Copperband butterfly
Melanurus wrasse (?)
Royal gramma
Tomini tang
8-12 Zoramia leptacantha
6 lyretail anthias
Diamondtail flasher wrasse
Longnose or falco hawkfish

Possibly later additions if the system can handle it would be a Biota multibar angel and/or a male bluethroat trigger.

In your tank a shoal of lyretail anthias with a larger shoal of Zoramia would look awesome!

 

[X-37B]

Currently running 2 250 Watts Metal Halide 10,000 k

I got most of my corals from local people and local frag swap
If they are rare or unique i got them from ORA and Uniquecorals back then such as the yellow porites and pocillopora grandis

Yellow Porites is one of my favorite.
Mint Pavona is nice different texture.
Milka stylo is a nice purple.
I originally had Oregon Tort but Stn on me so in the future. At least the Hawkins Echinata survived for the blue colors.
Orange setosa is a nice orange color
I have the green tip pink Birdsnest for the pink
My fox flame acropora is orange with peach tips brown under 10k
pocillopora grandis is a nice yellow green too
Garf bonsai looks fine with nice purple under 10k
Purple valida looks nice magenta
My gold torch is always brown under 10k

But yeah its a pain to find corals that shines under 10k since most of everyone is under heavy blue spectrum.
Its definitely a lot of trial and error. I had more other acropora but removed them since they just have similar colors, some they stn on me since its a big change from LED to MH.
My next project will be getting nice colorful reef safe fish, i feel like thats where 10k shines

Awesome system!
On my new system I will be running 400 watt mogal MH.
I have 10K, 14k, & 20k bulbs.

Have you considered 14k bulbs.
They give a nice white look with nice colors.
Something to consider as I like a whiter looking system than most run even with leds.
Old 120 running 14K

 

[X-37B]

Some fish under 14K

 

[Michael Hughes]

I've got the DT set up now, and planning to add corals to the frag tank soon. Here's the aquascape this thread was intended for (some without lights on, but shows the overall layout):

Second light will be added soon. I also haven't yet bought the Nicrew controller so this is just one of the stock settings.

Here is a cloaer perspective on the right side to show the depth of the scape.

And here's one at night showing an optional silhouette effect from the lighting. (Yes, I know I need to trim the inside of the stand to prevent light bleed.)

Hopefully this gives some better context for this thread. My planned structural/architectural anchors are Heliopora, monti cap (hoping to find a tan one), bird's nest (thinking ponape), Pavona maldivensis, and a pink Pocillopora damicornis. I plan to eventually add stuber stag and similar sticks, as well as a single Tropicana anacropora. Will also include a frogspawn in the lower left third and a yellow Turbanaria on the right side. Looking to include organ pipe coral for some movement as well.

Planned fillers around these structural pieces include yellow Porites, Leptoseris, Cyphastrea (golden eye), zoas, and Parazoanthus.

 

[Michael Hughes]

Just wanted to update this thread with some of the frags I've gotten over the last few months. It has certainly been hard to stick to the more "naturally" colored (i.e. non-neon) corals. But very happy with these so far!

Amber sea fan, hammers, butterscotch Cyphastrea, and pink Pocillopora in the back.

Oculina robusta

Orange pavona

Digitata

Sun eater zoas

Yellow scroll coral

 

[mcarroll]

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.

Look for non-green-flourescent leather corals. Lots of good browns, yellows and tans.