Switching to partial reef, instead of fowlr

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kpatrick

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Dec 8, 2002
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I have a 125g Fowlr and I am wanting to start adding some corals and polyps. My system consist of (2) Emperor 400's (just for circulation, and a protein skimmer. I was thinking about adding a powerhead just to get more water movement. I have the normal 50/50 lighting plus powercompacts for lighting.
I added a polyp, toad stool, and a piece of soft coral to the tank about 1 month ago and they seem to be doing well. the polyp is growing like crazy. I check the KH, calcium, & salinity. the KH always seems high (12 to 14) but the calcium is always good. I have done water changes but no luck getting the KH down. What else should I be checking as far as water goes?? Iodine?? magnesium?? or should i just be adding a certain product every so often to keep everything in check?? all info is appreciated because I want to do this the right way. thanks!
 
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VoodooChild

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Dec 17, 2001
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With as little corals as you have (I didn't mean that as an insult), they won't be taking too much from that much water. What comes in your salt mix should replace anything that needs replacing. They're softies, so there isn't the calcium need that you would normally find in hard corals. Just keeping checking nitrates really, and do the others only occasionally. And despite what aquarium folk tell, there isn't any proof that Iodine does much for anything, at least in dosing concentrations. Thank Mogurnda for that one. Even in Borneman's book, which you should buy, he talks about how he's kept Xenia for years without ever dosing for Iodine. And Xenia is supposed to be iodine dependent. This was a bit of a sprawler, but best of luck.
 
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mogurnda

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Apr 29, 2003
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With regular water changes, Mg should take care if itself. If it gets depleted, it can be a problem, but it's not usually consumed in large quantities. If you find yourself adding a ton of Ca, but it won't go up, then worry that your Mg is out of whack. Otherwise, relax and keep an eye on the Ca, alkalinity and NO3.

Your alkalinity is a bit high, but not unhealthy. How hard is your water supply? Also, what exactly is your Ca right now? The biggest problem with high alkalinity is that it can make it hard to keep Ca above 400.
 
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kpatrick

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The calcium is around 400-420, usually stays in the range. I only add R.O. water to the tank. One thing i did think about is that I am using 2 Emperor 400s in the tank mainly as water circulation but I do have the filters in them, I guess the best thing to do is remove the filters but would that help lower the kh?
 
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