$500 for a frag? Well, today there are a number of frags out there fetching this price but years ago this sort of price point was not as common. An exception was the $500 Efflo.
According to reeffarmers, the original owner of this Acropora efflorescens did not want to part with the coral since it had turned a beautiful purple color under his care. Everything has a price and ultimately it was put up for sale at $500 and purchased in 2004 by Steve Weast, a master reef tank aquarist in Portland, Oregon.
The colony didn’t make it but frags cut before Steve had it survived and over the years this much sought after piece found it\’s way into the reef keeping community via online retailers and hobbyists. The name stuck but fortunately for budget conscious reefers the price did drop.
Unique Pattern
This old school coral grows out into a flat plate and has a distinct growth pattern, with little nodules or tips coming out of the plate. The nodules are purple and they sport light green polyps, presenting a nice contrast in color.
As for lighting, this coral seems to color up more under strong lighting so the more PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) it gets the better. However, you do have to be careful when placing this coral since it can easily shade out corals underneath it due to its horizontal growth pattern.
Regarding circulation, strong flow is also an important ingredient for success, a common need for many SPS. In a nutshell, the $500 Efflo is a beautiful and unique coral that is much more affordable today then its name suggests. It is one of my favs so give it a try the next you are looking to add a new frag.
Additional Resources
If you would like some help with a new tank build, including help designing a custom aquarium, or help re-configuring your current setup then you can visit this page for more information. And if you are looking to add some equipment, I do sell GHL, Pax Bellum, Reef Octopus Calcium and Kalk Reactors and Royal Exclusiv products, including Dreamboxes, which is the equipment I use and recommend. I also sell Reef Brite metal halide and LED fixtures as well as Maxspect & IceCap Gyres.
As for additional insights and information, please explore my many other reef tank and SPS related articles as well as my YouTube channel. For an even deeper dive into reef tank care you can check out my Reef Keeping Master Class. This online course is an immersive and one of a kind educational tool designed to help reef aquarium hobbyists build and maintain a beautiful SPS reef tank. The course is a series of video presentations with some supplemental video from my YouTube channel. There are also quizzes to help students retain and understand the information presented in the course.
Need some frags…..I can help with that as well 🙂 Please visit my SPS Frag store to see what is available.