fake corals etc. question

[loopy]

I saw a site claiming to have fake corals, soft and hard, and all kinds of other stuff they claim can 'fool even the finest of reef keepers'. I highly doubt this, but really my question is, does anyone have any of these type of things...even the soft corals/fake? And do they actually resemble the real thing, unlike the walmart crap?
I want to start some reef stuff by I don't want to get rid of or move my puffer just now as the moving/not moving thing is still going on, so I don't want to put up a new tank to then have to move 2 large tanks and more fish.
thanks.

 

[lefty]

My biology teacher has a fake coral of sorts that I thought was real until I found it tipped on its side one day. The bottom had some sort of marking on it so you could tell it wasn't real. They do make fake corals and such that can look pretty realistic, but I doubt they could fool everyone.
-lefty

 

[skrimpz]

I have seen some really nice fakes beofre and im sure after theyve been in ur tank of r a little while and have gotten some growth on them they look pretty real. I have this white ornament in my tank not quite sure whatit is suppose to be just though it looked cool

 

[loopy]

thanks lefty and shrimpz, I will wait until that catolog comes and see what I think. Really want the real stuff, but really don't want to get rid of the puffer and just can't set up the new tank yet until we decide on what to do with our house. I really don't worry about 'fooling' anyone, as I rarely have company...and I don't care what they think anyway!!!! (They probably would be fooled...lol....they know nothing about salt water, heck they'd probabl think the real stuff was fake!!! Thanks guys!!!
I did post on the reef section to see if anyone could/would sell me a small peice of soft coral so I could see how the puffer would react......and thursday I go to another city where there is a lfs that has corals, so may pick one up....hubby's having surgery on his eyes so it will depend on how he feels. We shall see ha? Too bad I can't find some kind of material to make my own...I am an artist and really feel it would be easy, just don't have a clue as to what would be safe to use. Rambling here, gotta go to work, thanks again guys!!!!!!!!!!!:yes:

 

[ophiura]

I don't think there are many that will fool people who actually know corals. But there are some very good designs that will fool the rest. These are the sort of things that are used at public aquariums.
Be forwarned, however, that they tend to get very unnatural looking algae growth. In most cases, certainly those tanks cared for by professional tank cleaners, they are systematically removed, bleached, and replaced with fresh one's. So there may be some effort there.

 

[pohtr]

Loopy,
Since you are an artist, why not try clay? I'm thinking of doing that myself. I'm not sure if glazes would need extra testing since foodsafe might not mean tank safe, but the fired clay itself shouldn't be a problem( if it didn't have iron, colorants, or something else unsafe added to it). I'm sure your clay supplier would have the ingredients list.

 

[loopy]

I don't think there is a glaze that is safe enough, that's easy to get your hands on, that stuff is mostly for industrial use and hard to come by. Good idea though, if you find some, let me know!!! There is clay that is safe however. Will have to check into this more.