55 Gallon fowlr intending to transition to reef

[Retail_Therapy]

I'm pretty new to the hobby, I was given a tank by a customer who said it was too much hassle, and having a friend who has kept freshwater tanks for some years I was excited to give it a go.

All is well with the tank and inhabitants are happy, but I do plan to make the transition into a full reef tank and as such I had a few questions. Obviously this information is already floating around out there and I've come across quite a bit already, but it's always nice to hear first hand experiences with things like this.

My water is very stable and I have a very peaceful tank. I'm curious of what little things might I be keeping an eye on or looking for if I intend to make this transition in the near(ish) future?

For quick reference:


S.G. 1.024
pH 8.1
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate <10
Calcium 450-500 (fluctuates most likely due to my on/off usage of PurpleUp)
Alkalinity 13
Phosphate 0

Lighting is weakish with just over 1000 lumens @ 30 watts
Filtration is a Marineland C-220 canister filter

Livestock includes:
1 Yellow tang
1 Spotted Mandarin
2 Benggai Cardinals
2 Ocelaris clowns
1 Blue/Green reed chromis
1 Huge blue legged hermit crab
A dozen or more small blue legged hermit crabs
6 Turbo Snails
A dozen or more Nassarus (sp?) snails


I test water every single Sunday (I'm in the water business so I don't mind) and keep detailed logs of readings and my dosing schedule. I'm doing 10% water changes on Sundays as well and maintaining these readings. I also plan to incorporate a sump/refugium when I make the switch to a full reef tank.

With this information in mind, is there something I should start doing now if only to get in the habit?

I really like the looks of the corals that cover the substrate, of course anemones and zoas are gorgeous. This are undoubtedly what interests me the most.

[Sk8r]

You're about ready, except we don't know your mg. Drop the purple-up. It's going to make problems, I suspect. Just keep your mg up and your purple stuff will be superfluous. Look at my sig line, imitate those parameters, and try a small hardy zoa. If your water resembles mine and the light is good for zoas, it will open up pretty fast. I'd dodge anemones entirely until you're a couple of years into reef building. They can go cranky, move about and sting everything, then die in a powerhead, creating a toxic soup. Just zoas and a search for the right 'spot' that makes them happy. This will define your best light areas. Once you find that spot, use Reef Putty to stick them down so they don't wobble.

[Retail_Therapy]

I've tried to sue API's liquid pH+ but it just flat out doesn't work. It looks like my best solution to stabilizing pH is to use Marine Buffer, would you agree?

I'll be picking up a magnesium test today. And you sold me on holding off on anemones. Thanks for your input!

[thegrun]

Do not worry about your pH, alkalinity is what you want to maintain. I suspect the reason your alkalinity is so high is that you have been dosing to maintain pH which is rasing the alkalinity level. As long as your pH stays above 7.8 you are fine, but you would be better off letting the alkalinity drop back below 10 dKh. For a reef tank you want to focus on keeping your nitrates and phosphates low to prevent algae growth, but maintain stable levels of calcium (420-450ppm), alkalinity (8.3-9.3) and magnesium (1300-1350).