How much artificial coral is used in display tanks in large, public aquariums?

Question

How much artificial coral is used in display tanks in large, public aquariums?

Answer 1

Typically the coral is a part of the ecosystem and was chosen specifically for that purpose. I cannot speak for every aquarium, but I know a guy that owns a local aquatic critters store, and when I was getting my tank quoted up, he was telling me about the importance of the coral as part of the ecosystem. For example, certain grasses help oxygenate the water. He even showed me a filterless and pumpless system that was a tank FULL of sea grasses and coral. Each individual piece in that example was selected based on it's properties to fullfill a certain role. Aquariums are a sealed system, so coral needs to be carefully considered. I'm sure if a pretty piece and an ugly piece have similar properties, however, that the more attractive piece would make it into the aquarium, though.