Anemone/Clownfish Tank Questions

[Reefer525XL]

Hello everyone… I have a few questions and I think this would be the best forum to ask them.


I currently have a 300g (96"x30"x25") display tank with a 120g sump (its only holding 80 gallons). I would like to turn this tank into a anemone/clownfish tank. Lots of green & red bubble tips with at least 30 clowns. One of the reasons why I want to do this is because I have been trying to keep SPS for a while now and they seem to do great for a few months and then they start to go downhill. I have already lost thousands of dollars on SPS and Im tired of it. I run a calcium reactor, t5's, regal 300 skimmer, got plenty of flow but for some reason SPS and I don't mix well :sad2:

I have kept bubble tip anemones in the past with great success which is one of the reason why Im considering converting this tank as my last attempt to stay in the hobby. Before I get the ball rolling on this I do have a few questions I would like to get answered.

1. Do anemone's require extremely stable parameters (cal, alk, mag) like SPS do? or would biweekly/monthly water changes would be sufficient? In others words, I would like to not have to run a calcium reactor if not necessary.

2. I would also like to stop having to replace bulbs yearly so switching to LED would be great. Would this fixture be sufficient for anemones? --> http://www.oceanrevivellc.com/goods.php?id=19

3. How many clowns would I be able to keep in this tank? I was thinking 30??? I would be getting them all from the same batch to lower the risk of aggression down the road. There was a person here on RC who had a tank with 27 clowns in a 220 if remember correctly. Not sure if he still has the tank but I don't see why I wouldn't be able to keep 30.

Thats it for now, if I think lol. Thank you all for your help.

 

[TrevorHenry]

From what I know stable parameters would be wonderful for anemones, as for dosing they aren't stonys so I don't see why calcium would be a problem, matters if you're gonna have other coral in there at the same time. I'm a newbie so I don't have much to offer but that's my opinion for that. As for 30 clowns in a 300g, I'm sure you could fit more. If I recall BRS had 20+ in a 70 or something along those lines. Just be prepared to take a few out like the runts of the liter.

 

[ThRoewer]

1. Anemones are actually pretty hardy once they got stabilized. Of course "stable" water parameters help. Anemones don't really have as much need for Ca and Mg as stony corals but they may need some for their electrolyte balance. I would say if you get coralline to grow stable in your tank anemones will do fine. I would also keep nitrates and phosphates from getting out of control. Though a low nutrient system would likely require you to feed the anemones regularly.

2. I don't know those lights but have so far good success with Kessil LEDs

3. In general just one pair! Though depending on the shape and decoration of a tank that size two pairs may work as long as you can confine each pair to one end of the tank. Best would be to have two different species that don't have the same natural hosts. You would of course also need two different anemone species.
Keeping 30 of the same hatch may work for a while, maybe even for years, but not forever. Sooner or later two of them will become the dominant pair and a hacking order will develop.