FOWLR to Reef tank conversion

cav414

cav414

Member
Hello everyone,

Since the loss of Gomer (my niger trigger) I have officially began converting my FOWLR to a reef tank. I have made friends with the owner of my lfs and he is helping me. I gave him my Blue damsel, and Chocolate chip sea star for store credit. I also bought a Sally lightfoot crab, and a Flame scallop. I got them to test my Yellow tail damsel and valentine saddle puffer on how they would react to new tank mates to see if i could keep them. I also chose the Flame scallop because in doing my research I found out they are some what difficult to keep and I wanted to test myself. So far I'm doing well she actually looks better now than when I brought her home, and my other fish although curious when I put them in, have done very well with their new tank mates. So with that little update, I would like advice on the corals, and fish I have picked out for my little slice of reef. Keep in mind I am no where near done with research and will not actually start buying corals until I am sure I can raise them well.

Okay for starters my lighting, I have a SolarmaxHE double T5 G14 42w total output, and an aqua UV light 15w. I have been researching lights for reef tanks and mine seems close to what I have seen but, I would like y'alls advice on lighting. Is what I have okay? or should I wait untill I buy something else?

Now the big list,
FISH
2 Ocellaris clownfish
1 Scooter blenny
2 Banghai cardinal
1 Mandarin goby
1 Fire fish goby
1 McCoskeri fairy wrasse

INVERTS
1 Coral banded shrimp
1 Cleaner shrimp
1 Sexy shrimp
1 Purple Lobster
2 Coco worms

CORAL
Australian lord acan
Purple acropora
Green melon mushroom
Orange crush mushroom
Blue mushroom
Yellow face zoanthids
Red head kid zoanthids
Green jade torch coral

Okay thats it for now I know I probably will not be able to get everything on this list but again I'm no where near done with my research. I just figured I would share my list with you guys in case y'all see something wrong right off the bat. Also as y'all can probably tell I'm wanting a lot of different colors, so if anyone has any suggestions for fish or coral please do share.

Thank y'all for your time
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Hey cav, glad to see you're making the transition. I think you'll enjoy a reef tank more than a fish-only tank. First things first... scooter blennies are not blennies, but are actually dragonets just as mandarins are dragonets . Unless they are tank bred (expensive) or at least tank-raised and eating frozen/processed food, they can be difficult to raise without a live food supply. This requires a large tank with LOTS of live rock and/or a refugium for pods to breed. Also, make sure the lobster is reef safe, or it may eat your soft corals.
 
cav414

cav414

Member
Thanks for the info pegasus, I haven't done research on the fish yet. I was hoping to get a few corals established first so I have been researching them. Wouldn't you know I already have questions lol. I've been researching torch corals and it seems they grow a lot, so I'm guessing my 55gal would be to small correct? And the same for the acropora, with this one could I just keep it trimmed?
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Nothing wrong with asking questions!

I seeded my tank and refugium with 5000+ amphipods and copepods for three months before purchasing my mandarin dragonet. I've added a couple thousand more since then. In the course of a year, my fish have pretty much wiped my tank clean of amphipods, and my refugium is getting low. All my fish eat amphipods, my mandarin and a lot of corals eat copepods, so it's time to buy some more. Just waiting for the 1/2 price sale...

Torch corals will grow, but not at a super-fast rate like, say, xenia or anthelia. Soft corals are easy to propagate (cut and start new frags), so those can be used your lfs for store credits or sold to individuals. Acropora is an SPS, so the growth rate will be much slower than most soft corals, and will require good water parameters, adequate calcium and other elements... but yes, it can be propagated to keep growth in check as well.

As for the lighting, if you are planning on keeping corals, you will probably want to upgrade to at least a T5 HO four lamp fixture. Most soft corals can do "okay" with medium lighting, but LPS and SPS corals will require stronger lighting. 3-5 Watts per gallon is recommended.
 
cav414

cav414

Member
Hey y'all,
If anyone knows any thing about flame scallops, I'm pretty sure mine is doing good. I just wanted another set of eyes to be sure.
 
cav414

cav414

Member
Well she was one of my OHG that's cool buys lol. My research came after I got her and your right they are hard to keep. I almost took her back but I figured hey I gotta buckle down and get good at this one day
 
cav414

cav414

Member
Thanks for the article also I'm want to makes sure I do everything right. I've read a lot about them and its good to read more.
 
cav414

cav414

Member
Another question I'm thinking of going with the 165w led full spectrum led aquarium grow light. Is this a good reef light? And would two be enough for my 55g?
 
cav414

cav414

Member
Got my new lights today.:)


They are ever grow full spectrum led dimmable with 165 wat output a piece, I couldn't find a par rating but I did research and if I read correct par ratings are based on nanamuels and these lights put out between 450nm to 800nm a piece I believe is what they said. I paid $200 for both. So do you guys think I made a good buy?
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Not sure what these lights will do for a reef tank, as 800nm isn't typically listed in reef light specs. 450nm is going to give a royal blue color, but from what I've been able to find out about 800nm, it appears to be in the ultraviolet range. I think you bought a pair of greenhouse grow lamps, which is great if you're growing marijuana in your basement, but I don't think it's going to give the color spectrum you need for a reef tank. Typical reef-ready LED's will offer a combination of 420nm-450nm blue and 10000K which when blended gives light somewhere in the 15000K range. Of course there a lots of high-end LED's that also include other different colored LED's so people can customize the look of their tanks. I'm afraid that you'll only have the option of blue, violet, or something in between. Please let me know if I'm wrong...
 
cav414

cav414

Member
To be honest I don't know if your right or wrong. There isn't a whole lot of info on led lights that I could find. I'll see if I can pull up the specs as I could have been wrong on my info.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Okay, I'm officially brain-dead. I just did a search for Evergrow LED lamps and found some lights for reef tanks. I was concerned when you wrote 450nm-800nm as that is a very small range. I see these also have LED's in the 3.5K, 6.5K, and 12K ranges. This is where your white light(s) come from. You'll have to let us know how they work out for you.
 
cav414

cav414

Member
LED Layout:
Dimmer One(28 LEDs): Warm White(3500-4500K), Neutral White(6500-7500K), Cool White(10000-14000K),
Green 520nm, Deep Red 660nm, UV (400-420nm):
Dimmer Two(27 LEDs): Blue 460nm, Royal Blue 450nm.
Key Features:
● Specialized for SPS/LPS Coral Reef and Freshwater/Saltwater Aquarium
● Fully Manual Dimmable, Light Intensity Adjustable from 0% to 100%
● Active Cooling with Quasi-Mute Fans, Cool and Quieter
● High Power Efficiency 3Watt Single Chip BridgeLux LEDs, Low Energy Consumption
● 2pcs Separate Dimmers for Controlling 2 Separate series circuit
● All LEDs with a Zener to ensure One LED Goes Out the Rest Continue to Operate
● Lamp beads arranged wider, can cover larger area
I had the nanamules wrong, sorry. Here are the exact specs.
 
cav414

cav414

Member
Okay, I'm officially brain-dead. I just did a search for Evergrow LED lamps and found some lights for reef tanks. I was concerned when you wrote 450nm-800nm as that is a very small range. I see these also have LED's in the 3.5K, 6.5K, and 12K ranges. This is where your white light(s) come from. You'll have to let us know how they work out for you.
I will definitely share how they work out. I think my first coral is going to be the green jade torch coral. Hopefully all will go well. So far the fire scallop and sally light foot is doing great so I don't think I will have to worry about the puffer and yellow tail. However this will be my first attempt at a coral so I'm kinda nervous lol.
 
cav414

cav414

Member
Yep that's it the d120 I had to look it up to get the exact model eBay can be very vague some times.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
No need to be nervous. Just keep an eye on your water parameters, slowly adjust the corals to the light, and you should be fine. I want to get a green torch coral for my tank too, as I think they're better looking than the others. Just have to make sure to keep your Calcium level up since it has a calcareous skeleton. I've been testing my hand with a green wall hammer, and it's been doing great for a few months, so I feel comfortable adding some more LPS corals. My water's a little "dirty" for SPS corals, but my softies like it, so I'm probably not going to change. I did score a great deal on a mint pavona frag, which I believe is an SPS, and it's doing good so far. I may even try an acro or monti in the future, but I'm in the process of setting up my 40B tank. I bought it just for my flasher wrasse, and I got him a roommate already... a flame angel. They get along great in the 10 gallon holding tank. Once they move into their new home, I'll have to start decorating. I'll frag some of my xenia, anthelia, mushrooms, gsp, ricordeas, etc., so that'll save me some expense on the décor.
 
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