Anemone Question

[mteem]

I was looking to buy an anemone for my 90 gallon tank. I was hoping to get some ideas as to which type to buy. For lighting I have a Currents Nova Extreme Pro (54 watt x 6 T5) fixture, gives me a total 324 watts for 3.6 watts/gal. 30 gallon sump and seperate refugium, UV, and a wavemaker. Do I have enough lighting or do I need to replace the both of the ballasts with an IceCap Ballast and the replace the bulbs with ULV T5 V-HO bulbs to get a total 510 watts for 5.6 watts/gal.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Don't worry about watts per gallon -- there are too many variables to make it worth while.

Does that fixture have individual reflectors? What bulbs are you running?

Do you have a sandbed? (( better yet, are you looking for a sand dwelling anemone, or a rock dwelling one? ))

What else do you have in that tank -- both coral and fish wise.

What are your parameters? (( with numbers ))

How much flow do you have?

 

[mteem]

Water chem is great. pH 8.1, salinity 1.025, ammonium 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates <.5, Phosphates 0. The fixture has a single reflector but it bent so that each bulb is covered as if each bulb has its own reflector. I have about a 2.5 in sand bed. Return flow is about 500 gph, have four Maxi-jet 1200's on a wavemaker.
Right now I only have three fish two occs clowns and a royal gramma. About 5 turbo snail, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 scarlet hermit, 2 sand sifting starfish, 1 serpant star, some blue legged hermits.
I have about 25 different mushrooms, and 1 large frilly mushroom. Some white button polyps, about 30 brown zoas, green star polyps, and 2 small frags of either chili or colt coral.
Now everything is from my 32 gallon that I transfered over to the 90 gallon about a month and half ago. I know that I need to wait a little longer before I buy an anemone. I just know that I want something that my clowns might host in.

 

[mteem]

Forgot about the bulbs in the fixture they are the factory bulbs that came with the fixture.

 

[mteem]

Does anybody have any suggestions as to which anemone to pick? If my clowns host in it cool if not that's cool to. I just have never had one before and I'm trying to find out what would be a good species to start with. So I just need some help being pointed in the right direction. I know a lot of time that LFS will sell you the most expensive species just to make an sale and not what is right for you or your tank.

 

[Nakzter]

I just got a greet BTA with red tips and looks awesome. Best bang for your buck imo. I have read that BTA's are one of the better anemone for a beginner and more likely for your clown to host. After that all you need to do is buy a pack of frozen scallops for food. I feed mine a really small piece around 2-3x a week.

:reading:

 

[ocellaris123]

If it is your first species I would go with E. quadricolor, or the bubble tipped anemone. Make sure your powerheads have some sort of mesh/foam over the intakes as they are prone to wondering into them. Bubble anemones are pretty hardy, and I have yet to have one die on me, even while learning. Your water sounds pretty good, but what is your alkalinity reading? Also when picking out your anemone make sure that the anemone is colored (bubble anemones come in greens, browns, reds, and oranges) and has a tightly closed mouth. Avoid any anemone which is stark white which you see all to often in LFS tanks. These anemones are bleached and unhealthy and require extra attention to bring back to health. Also make sure to feed your anemone once a week with finely shredded meaty items (krill, mysis, squid, etc.).

 

[mteem]

The last time I tested is was around 12, but to be honest that was before I did my last water change (which was done on Wednesday). Thank you everybody for your suggestions.

 

[Nakzter]

When your in a market for an anemone make sure the specimen you are looking at is securely attached itself to a rock. Buy the rock if you have to or make sure the guy who is going to grab the anemone knows whats he's doing. good luck!

 

[NoBigDeal]

You could go with a few different choices but given your experience with anemones I would start off with a healthy BTA. BTA's don't like a lot of direct flow so placement is important. Don't forget to cover up your powerhead intakes!