FAQs - Most Colorful Artificial Corals for Living Fish Aquariums

Instant Reef artificial coral reef aquarium decors are hand-made artwork by experienced artists; they are one of the finest, most realistic looking artificial corals, fake corals on the market for the coolest, most beautiful and colorful living aquariums.

All artificial coral reef aquarium decors are replicas of live corals collected worldwide, which look very realistic, and the colors even appear nicer and brighter.

Base artificial live rock is designed to have many caves and hideouts. Rough surfaces are good for beneficial bacteria to grow on, providing important biological filtration for aquarium fish.

Instant Reef aquarium decoration uses only the best quality material to manufacture the finest artificial coral reefs. We stand 100% behind our products.

Since we are the actual manufacturer, we are able to provide the most competitive prices. Instant reef guarantees unbeatable prices, reliable quality, fast delivery, and customer satisfaction.

 

The colors are mixed into the resin material, so technically the colors of the corals will not fade. (Watch Video #4: Color-Fading Resistant Artificial Corals)

There is also a layer of painted color giving artificial corals a brand new look, overtime it is normal that this layer of paint may appear a little lighter, actually giving it more of a natural realistic look and feel. In rare cases sun light, saltwater corrosion, algae covering, fish picking or other factors, may cause the colors to appear this way and is not considered a quality problem.

Instant Reef uses the most advanced anti color-fading technology, making sure colors of our artificial corals are long lasting.

 

Instant Reef artificial coral inserts are made of only high quality resin, we do not use any cheap plastic or rubber parts like some of the other brands.

Instant Reef does not release toxins into the water or change water chemistry. Instant Reef Artificial Corals have been proven to be safe to even the most delicate saltwater fish, marine fish and freshwater fish and invertebrates.

 

Brown algae / Diatom is a very common “new tank symptom” that bothers a lot of hobbyists, no matter if you chose to have live rock or artificial coral reef aquarium decorations. Be patient, brown algae will disappear eventually. Here are some tips to make brown algae go away quicker. There is no need to brush off brown algae.

Large and frequent water change can remove large amounts of nutrition and dissolved fish waste to slow down growth of brown algae / diatom. With time, brown algae will die off leaving Instant Reef Aquarium Decor looking clean again. Also, keeping a nutrition poor environment is beneficial for aquarium fish.

Marine snails can clean artificial coral reefs very well, as marine snails crawl, fake corals are cleaned. Keeping marine snails at a rate of one snail per 5 to 10 gallons of water is enough. Astrea Snails, Margarita Snails are good marine fish aquarium candidates. (Watch Video #5: Labor-Free Algae Cleaning)

Generally, artificial coral reef aquarium decorations do not need to be manually cleaned. If you feel you have to clean Instant Reef, only use water and a soft brush to clean.

 

Everybody knows that live rock need to be cured. Artificial coral reefs do not have living organism on them, they are more like dry base rock. The purposes of curing are: First, removing dust, debris or packing material. Second, making sure colors last longer. IMPORTANT: Rinse artificial coral reef aquarium decor thoroughly before installing.

For best results, it is recommended to cure Instant Reef Fake Coral before installing it in your Aquarium. To cure, soak Instant Reef in freshwater for 2 hours, then soak in saltwater for 1 hour.

 

Instant Reef is for both Saltwater Fish and Freshwater Living Fish Aquariums.

 

Yes. Live rock can be placed behind artificial coral reefs, or in sump / refugium for biological filtration purpose. Traditional fish-only tanks fill up with live rock at a rate of 1-1.5 pounds of live rock every gallon of water, not only bare rock looks less of color, but also live rock costs a fortune. Instant Reef also provides artificial live rock.

Live corals or anemones can also be kept giving some movements. Actually Instant Reef has some flexible artificial corals that may wave in water current.

 

Instant Reef is in the United States of America, we are very experienced shipping products to worldwide. International orders may need special handling, packing, customs duty and broker fee, please contact us for customized quotes.

Generally, due to shipping cost, it is more cost effective buying bulk. If you are interested in becoming an international distributor of Instant Reef Aquarium Decors, please contact us.

 

No. Custom-Made artificial coral reefs are not available at this time.

 

Dealership can be granted to aquarium related businesses only, for example: pet shops, aquarium leasing companies, aquarium maintenance service companies, aquarium contractors or aquarium manufacturers. Please fax or email your company registration and federal tax id to receive distributor price. Restrictions may apply.

 

It is very easy to fix a broken fake coral branch. Use aquarium silicon to glue. Aquarium silicon can purchased at any pet shop.

 

No. you do not need special reef aquarium equipment for artificial corals.

Pump / Powerhead / Wave Maker: Water current does not have to be as strong as in a reef tank. In a fish-only with artificial corals tank, a pump that circular water approx. 6-8 times is good enough for artificial coral reef tank.

 

Aquarium Lighting system: Artificial corals do not require INTENSE reef aquarium lighting that normally only metal halide lights can provide. T5 Fluorescent lights at 2w-5w every gallon of water is effective.

 

Protein Skimmer: very important equipment for marine fish aquariums, the bigger the better. Normally if a protein skimmer is rated for 100 gallon fish-only tank, it can only handle a 60 gallon soft coral aquarium, or 45 gallon hard coral tank.

 

Filter, Sump, Refugium: Filter has many different types, sponge filter, internal filter, canister filter, fluidized filter, under-gravel filter, wet / dry filter and more. Depending on the fish load you have, choose a filter that can handle all the waste. Many reef tanks use only live rock for biological filtration. Artificial coral reef aquarium decors also have rough surface for beneficial bacteria to grow on.

 

Calcium reactor: Not required for artificial corals. Recommended for reef tank.

 

UV Sterilizer: Recommended for both reef aquarium and artificial coral reef tank. Good for algae and disease control.

 

RO/DI (Reverse Osmosis) water: Not required for artificial coral reef aquariums. Recommended for live coral reef tank.

 

Water supplements: Not required for artificial coral reef aquariums. Recommended for live coral reef tank.

 

Heater / Chiller: Generally fish-only tank is not as sensitive as reef tank.

 

Reef-ready aquarium: Reef ready aquarium has built-in overflow. It is not required for artificial coral reef aquarium.

 

Ozonizer: Optional.