Fowler to reef

[Chiefmaster30]

Is there anything in particular I need to do to get my tank from fowler to reef? Right now we have about 7 fish in a 60 gallon. I put in a mini frag and a small star polyp about 2 weeks ago but neither have opened up yet. Is there something I should or need to do to get these to open?

 

[xaxiu]

What is your salinity, nitrate.....parameters

 

[sawdonkey]

I went FOWLR to reef a few years ago. My first issue was that my nitrates were >100. Blood red test results. What's your water quality looking like? In general, you'll need to keep better water and more powerful lighting.

 

[BluewaterLa]

Is there anything in particular I need to do to get my tank from fowler to reef? Right now we have about 7 fish in a 60 gallon. I put in a mini frag and a small star polyp about 2 weeks ago but neither have opened up yet. Is there something I should or need to do to get these to open?

Full line of test kits and good tank husbandry.
Ammonia, nitrate, phosphate
Magnesium, calcium and alkalinity are the six important to have on hand.
Post back with what these values are as well as temperature and salinity level.

It isn't hard since you should have a stable beneficial bacteria colony and even better if your tank has been set up and stable for a year or more.

 

[Chiefmaster30]

Amonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 40ppm
Salinity 1.025
I don't have a test for the others. Guess it's time for another test kit! Any suggestions on what else I need since I already have an api saltwater test kit. Is there a test kit with tests for phosphates, magnesium, calcium, etc. or all those separate?

 

[BluewaterLa]

Those nitrates I would suggest getting down to 5-10 ppm.
There aren't any test kits that I know of that offer the full line of what is needed.
I would suggest Red Sea pro test kits, I find them user friendly and easy to read color wise.
Soft coral aren't too sensitive to low calcium levels but all coral are sensitive to lower levels of alkalinity below 7 dkh.
Corals need alkalinity and calcium for survival.

Oh and light as well make sure you are using adequate lights designed for reef tanks and not just fish tank lights.