Why do you choose to do planted over marine?

[valice]

Malawis are cichlids found in the great lakes of Africa, where the water conditions are hard and alkalic, unlike the South American cichlid like apistogrammas, which lives soft and acidic water conditions...

Justikanz meant that they could in different colours... Got blue, got yellow and got orange... Not some technicolour coat freak... So if you mix different coloured fishes in the tank, you have a colourful tank... Understand?

Common african cichlids are cheaper than apistogrammas...

[Justikanz]

Jacqueltc, you want to buy a tribe?

Seriously, some people commented that a Lake Malawi (or Rift lake) cichlid setup would rival a marine tank for colours and activity. And all you need are rocks and some lake salt. You can find some pictures here (http://www.aquahobby.com/e_gallery.php)

[benny]

I don't quite like the salt build up that commonly associated with Marine setups. Things also rust easier and there is always a kind of sticky feel to it.

On the subject of Malawi set up being as colorful, I do agree to a certain degree. The color of the fishes and the use of rocks can certainly fool the casual audience. But a good marine setup is certain to be a lot more colorful than the best Malawi setup.

Lastly, a marine tank can never be as beautiful as the real thing. For planted, very often, the planted layout can be as beautiful as, if not more beautiful than the real thing.

Cheers,

[richt]

Plantbrains: Love those Macros, excellent! I find it hard to get much more than common macros like C. prolifera in the UK. I've got a few interesting ones that came in on LR, but that is it.

Benny: I don't see there being much difference in aquascaping with plants or corals/ macro algae. If we use Takashi Amano's "natural" style the same rules apply, it is just that IMO marine aquascaping is about 20 years behind planted aquascaping. We just need a marine Amano!

At the end of the day, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

[hii]

i choose planted because it is easier than marine, cost less and it grow faster than coral.

My 2 cents knowledge, coral take a long time to grow and the speed is slower few thousand time than those collector everyday went to sea and collect and distroy them within few hours....sorry not to offend marine hobbist but i just stated my feelings only.