55g anemone tank, your guidance pls...

[Newreeflady]

I am just starting my first marine setup, a 55g tank which I would like to have anemones in. I am not planning on any for the first year or until I feel experienced enough, and I do not want to buy any wild, only captive bred:) I have ordered a 400w e-ballast and 20000k radium bulb for lighting. This ballast is supposed to run cooler than some others and I have ordered a fan for the canopy as well (I also need to modify the canopy before setting this up). I am planning on a deep sand bed using argonite and will also have live rock, though not sure how much?? I am currently planning on ordering a hang on AquaC Remora Pro for skimming as I am not planning on a sump.

Okay, I would like some guidance here as to what I can do to make this environment optimal for anemones. Also, what fish can be kept with anemones other than clowns, if any? I have read that coral/anemone tanks are not optimal, correct? I would like your advice and references for a good all around anemone book that includeds accurate info on species, environment, care, feeding, etc. Also, what tempurature do most like? And, what will do best in the lighting I have ordered? This is a 55g, 4 ft long x 12" deep by 18" high.

Anyone live in South Florida??

thanks,
Angela.

[jbf16falcon]

I started out with “Anemone Fishes and their Host Sea Anemones� by Daphne G. Fautin and Gerald R. Allen. Not the in depth book to answer all your questions but it was my starting point. Others probably have good suggestions for a good book.

A good link that has some information is:
http://www.biodiversity.uno.edu/ebooks/intro.html

I only have E. quads, BTA’s

1. You seem to have a good idea of the lighting requirements. VHO’s or MH’s it’s a matter of preference. Just make sure it’s plenty of watts per gallon. Don’t skimp on the lighting. I run VHO’s personally 3 Ice Cap 660’s that run 6 – 50/50’s , 2 – Aquatic Suns, 2 – actinic 03’s. MH’s are also a great way to go. You can open a can of worms on the pro’s and con’s etc. but all in all both are fine.
2. Skimming- I skim heavy myself. I feed my colonies of anemones heavy especially before a mass split and I want to get the waste out of the water column as soon as possible and keep water conditions as pristine as possible.
3. Live Rock – I believe Live Rock is an essential filter element of a closed system and a stabilizing force. IMO the smaller the system the greater the stablizing factor LR has on the system. Besides BTA’s need lots of cracks and crevices to put their little feet in and draw up under.
4. With a little planning one can have a nice balance of anemones and corals in their tank and I wouldn’t be without either. My BTA’s don’t move around that much. In fact most don’t move at all. When they split mine just move over a few inches and colonize an area. As my colonies grow I divert their direction by moving a rock or other item in their way. Sometimes it involves moving a coral. But like I said they split and usually just move over just a bit. Others have different results so I can only relay my experiences here. There is no reason to give up on having both coexist with planning.
5. Water movement is an essential element for BTA’s in my opinion. Although I say some colonies tend to move to my tanks calm areas. Those areas still have good water movement. I turn over between 1300 and 1400 gallons of water an hour in the tank. You don’t have to blow them off the rocks with a jet of water and remember unlike most corals they will pick up and move if they don’t like where you put them. That said if you give them proper conditions the wandering won’t be much of a problem.
6. Temperature- My tank varies in temperature during different seasons. From 79 degrees F. to highs at times of 85 degrees F. . My average is 81 to 82. They seem to do fine anywhere in that range.
7. SG – Mine is 1.025 to 1.026
8. I feed a varied menu of items to my BTA’s. Silver Sides, pieces of shrimp and other fish, and MYSIS shrimp soaked in Selcon heavy when I’m getting ready to cause a mass split.

With all that said there will be a hundred other ways to do all the above but I’m just passing on what has worked for me. If you decide to add BTA’s to your tank and have any specific questions about BTA’s I’ll give you my take on the subject. I’m rather long winded so watch out :-). My only other advise on Bubble tips is if you want a hearty one I would suggest you get a captive raised one opposed to a wild caught one. IMO they do better.

If you would like pictures of my colonies of BTA’s I’d be happy to e-mail them to you. They may not be the best pictures but will give you an idea of what colonies of them look like in a tank.
Best of luck.

[Newreeflady]

ooo, pictures would be grand... do e-mail me

theonlyonenottaken@hotmail.com

How do I cover the powerheads properly and what should my overall turnover rate be with a 55g tank?

I would like to get a book that I will still be reading in 15 years, lol!! That is just my way I guess, I love a good reference guide with good pictures, that is what i'm looking for:)

Yeah, i've been talking on another forum about lighting for reef/anemones, I came here because not many people there keep anemones and I would like to get input also from those who are successfully keeping them so that I may become a success, too:) The lighting will be MH 400w e-ballast by blueline, I will run a 20000k radium on it.

I am planning on a remora pro because they are supposed to be the *best* as far as hang on skimmers go and I want the *best*:)

How much live rock would you say I need, fiji?

I would love to have both corals and anemones, I wonder where I should begin as far as when I first set up my tank?? Do you think a long-nosed butterfly would be appropriate in this tank??

I'm glad to know that the temp can be so high, I was a tad worried about the rise in temp from the MH so it is nice to know that it will probably be fine, I am putting a fan on it, though:)

I've read that about the sg.

I buy mysis for my FW fish, i'm not worried about food, there is a good store near me.. Thanks for the info on what they eat.

I like BTAs, I also saw some type of anemone that was orange with plant looking tentacles kinda reminded me of an octopus, sorry, i'll look it up later and get back to ya:)

Angela.


:p