Anemone lighting question

[saltwaterjames]

I have two GBTA and a pink tip LTA in a 29 gal. With 1x250 watt MH 20,000 k and 2x65 watt PC 10,000 k. My question guys and galls is:
Is this enough lighting for them?

None of them are doin very well. The GBTAs were at one time one specimen. But it spill 2 weeks after I got it. PLease don't say. "Oh don't worry they always shrivle up after they split." Because after over six months THEY SHOULD BE BACK TO NORMAL! Yeah everyone that works at the LFS is incompetent. No offence to any owners that read this.

 

[garygb]

In a 29 gallon tank, I would say you might have plenty of light. I suspect something besides your lighting to be an issue. What are your water parameters, what type of protein skimmer are you using, and what other inhabitants do you have in your tank? Pics can sometimes be helpful too.

 

[saltwaterjames]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13628271#post13628271 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by garygb
In a 29 gallon tank, I would say you might have plenty of light. I suspect something besides your lighting to be an issue. What are your water parameters, what type of protein skimmer are you using, and what other inhabitants do you have in your tank? Pics can sometimes be helpful too.

Thanks for the answer Gary. Well I am using The Red Sea Berlin Venturi Skimmer. Its an older one. But it seems to pull out, what I would consider to be, a good amount of gunk weekly maybe a half a gallon every two weeks. I'm at school right now so I can't guess on my params, so I will post them for you later tonight. I have a mixture of monti caps- orange and purple. A dying pink birds nest he's 95% gone. Blue/purpleCrocea clam and quite a few zoos that. 1 perc 1 clarki 1 copperband 1 tang 1 scooterblenny 20+ snails 15+ hermit crabs. RO/DI H2O is all I use. I'll post more later. With pics.

 

[saltwaterjames]

Ok my params are:
trites-0.2
trates-10-15
amonia-0.0
alk-7?
Ca-420
Mg- ?
SG- 1.025

 

[saltwaterjames]

Oh yeah pH- 8.1-8.2 my test kit is horrible so I just ordered a new one. I also just did a 5gal water change yesterday. I should also say that I have a ten gal sump/refuge attached with 15-20 bioballs and a football sized clump of Chaetomorpha Algae with a 75 watt grow lamp running continuiously. I have an auto top off system that goes through about 5 gallons a week. I dose Ca Complete and Reef Biulder, both are powder form, every other week in this top-off H2O. I do feed a cm sized cube of mysis shrimp or brine or krill twice a day morning and night. So what do you think I'm doing wrong and what should I fix? Thanks for the help.

 

[phender]

With all that light, what is your water temperature? I have found that BTAs have a difficult time when the temp gets up to 82 degrees or above.

 

[saltwaterjames]

During the day the most I have ever seen it was 81.2 at night it may drop to 79.5 but very rare have I seen it less or more than that. I have two thermostats in the tank 1 in the sump the other in the tank. The sump always runs about 0.5 degrees high. But if I had to guess I would say it normally stays at about 80.

 

[garygb]

Your water parameters are pretty good. With the chaeto, I am assuming you are trying to get the nitrates down. If your test kit is accurate, that level of nitrates might not be your problem either. Ideally you would want your ph to be a little higher, especially when the lights are on, but 8.1 isn't too bad. Do you know what the phosphates are? Again, the chaeto should help bring that down assuming it's growing fast (is it?). I can't speak to your dosing, as I do regular (every week or other week) 15-20 water changes. I would say, don't add anything into the water that you're not testing for. If I were you, I would start a 15-20% water change schedule weekly, using RO/DI water, and a reliable salt such as ReefCrystals.

 

[saltwaterjames]

Thanks Gary,
How much and how often do you feed them. I've been feeding mine 1/2 a silverside/week. Also I have noticed that they tend to spilt out the silverside about an hour or two after they eat it. I am going to start doing weekly water changes it has usually been about every two or three weeks in the past. Thanks for the advice.

 

[garygb]

I feed mine about 3 times per week. The fact that they are "spitting out" the silversides suggests something might be wrong with the water, or could their be "chemical warfare" going on? Do you use activated carbon?

 

[saltwaterjames]

I do use carbon. I change out a cup full every 2 weeks.

 

[garygb]

That sounds like a good schedule for changing your carbon. Hopefully the regular water changes will get things to normal.