Changing FOWLR to REEF

saltyfishy

saltyfishy

Member
I Have had a well established 55gal. FOWLR tank for a year now YES!! I made it a year. (And every thing has been awsome with all the help you guys have given me.) Anyways Im going to make it a reef tank And I have a few questions.
1.Critical things to test for in a reef tank
2.should I keep the temp the same as my FOWLR? (78)
3.Is 2 x 250 MH with 14K bulbs good for most coral? Or some?
4.A good test kit to invest in.
 
T

tizzo

Guest
The lights you mentioned are awesome. Temp stability is crucial. 78 to 84 whatever you choose just make sure it's stable.
You wanna test for, other than trates and ammonia and stuff, calcium, and alkalinity. If your calcium is low, you wanna check magnesium.
Good test kits are Salifert's.
Start with an easier coral and if it does OK then get harder ones over time.
Just FYI though, I like to dip every new coral in an iodine solution (for me it's Kent's tech-D) and then in a flatworm dip. Salifert's flatworm exit is good.
Those are precautions to take to avoid getting flatworms in your tank and also to kill any unwanted bacteria the corals way be carrying.
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
tizzo is da bomb... lol
Yes, those lights will be perfect for almost all corals you want. You can get anemones, clams, and mostly every other coral out there (except for low-lighting stuff like gorgonias, sponges, tube anemones, etc.)
Salifert test kits are by far the best, and most accurate. Also, if you've been using a hydrometer, you should switch to a refractometer to be more accurate.
As tizzo menioned, any temp between 78 and 84 is good, as long as it's stable.
 
saltyfishy

saltyfishy

Member
I have been using the Rea Sea kit (Don't Laugh) But is been working well for the fowlr and Im going to invest in salifert kits. I have one more thing about the lights which K amount do you think is better? I dont want it 2 blue but I want to see nice coral colors. My last questions are what are good starter corals? Should I start will some small frags? I had one more but I forgot while I was typing. LOL
Thanks
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Well, if it's any consolation, I have 10K 250 halides and when I change my bulbs I am going to try 13 or 14 K. The 10K is pure white. The corals all grow very fast, but now I do not need them to grow fast, I want brighter colors, so the preference is really up to you. Maybe go with 10k"s for the first year and when you hafta replace, go with a higher K.
And no no...JD DA BOMB!
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
ok, ok, let's settle this once and for all... we're all da bomb, baby!!!
As for the bulbs, the lower the K, the more toward the yellow side of the spectrum it is, and the higher the K, the more toward the blue side it is. So, 6,500K is yellow, 10,000K is pure white, and 20,000K is really blue. If you want it to be not-so blue, i'd go with 12,000k or 14,000k. That'll give a little color, but won't make your whole tank look really blue.
I know the different colors make stuff grow faster, but i'm not sure about all that... I think that it's corals grow faster with 10,000k, and coraline grows faster on the blue end.... i'm probably wrong, though, so don't quote me on that...
 
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