charzar-g

Hey, I'm sorry if i posted this in the wrong place. But what makes a plastic plant look realistic? I'm actually writing this for my SALTwater tank - otherwise i'd be getting real plants like my other tank.

I posted in the freshwater forum because i guessed most of you are in this section!

So what makes a fake plant look realistic?
Do i go for silk or plastic?
would silk frey?
Where do i get them from? (For any UK members out there - because ones at the LFS seem to all be bright purple plastic things what look awful!)

Shawnie

hi charzar-g..
ive moved your post as id hate for you to get the wrong info for a salty setup..yes we have more FW members, but we have some great salty members too..just not as many...i dont want a member giving advice and have it mess up the salty tank thinking its freshwater....good luck!

Shadowbeam

I found that my silk plants look the most natural but can stain and get damaged easier (maybe this is just the brand i got?) But i do have some large plastic plants that look pretty good too, all green ones. Once they are in the aquarium with some water movement they look much better than in the packet!
I don't know if this is different for saltwater or not mind you.

charzar-g

Oh sorry about that shawnie, I just assumed that because freshwaters use more plastic plants I would get more results.

Shadowbeam, when you say stain do you mean the plants stain the water? Or the water stains the plant? I'm not quite sure.
And i do have a filter that blasts the water across the tank, which is why i originally thought of it. I'm not sure where i saw this info (apart from you of course) but someone said that having the plants moving looks a lot more realistic than stationary ones

Shadowbeam

Ah sorry, I wasn't very clear there lol. I meant the water can stain the plants
When the plants move they deffo look alot more natural and real imo, and Some can look really nice too!

charzar-g

Cool!
Did you get yours online or just in a LFS?

Shadowbeam

I got mine from my LFS But ive seen the same online too

locoyo386

why don't you do macro algea?

iloveengl

If you're going to use them in a tank with salt water, always check that plants are safe for saltwater. Some are only freshwater safe and will deteriorate or leach metals into the water if not marked saltwater safe.

I prefer fake plants. No work, I can move them around whenever I want, I can take them out and add different types whenever I feel like redecorating, etc.

The only live plants I keep are marimo balls in my brackish tank.

charzar-g

oh i didn't know that, i thought if it was safe for freshwater it was safe for salties!
I guess you learn something new every day, thanks!

kloseo

there are also artificial coral you can get on line from dr fosters and smith, they look pretty good and less work than real coral

charzar-g

yes, i've seen those before, but i'm from the UK and we don't have dr fosters and smith over here.
But i have seen some good ones at the LFS i thought looked nice. I'll see how it all goes