anemones and which one to get

B

BADBOYGATOR

New member
i have 2 tamato clowns and no anemones does it mater which one i get ?

and what kind of lighting do i need to keep them alive ?

right now im running a set of 36" floresant whites 4 bulbs in all this is on a 180gal tank
 
BADBOYGATOR...what are you doing? Please do not even consider an anemone until you have more experience under your belt and your tank is stable and mature. After 1 week a new tank is most likely NOT completely cycled. The clownfish in your tank now may be in in for an uphill battle. You should not have added them this soon in the first place.

Anemones can technically live forever in the wild and deaths in the home aquarium are usually attributable to either a lack of adequate husbandry or predation. If you are going to get an anemone in the future or if you want to "practice" keeping one please try to purchase one that is aquacultured, such as the BTA, and not an anemone caught from the wild.

Get all the test kits for keeping corals (Calcium, Magnesium and alkalinity) in addition to the test kits for nitrates, nitrites, pH, and ammonia. Also buy a refractometer or hydrometer and keep the specific gravity and temp stable.

Depending on the depth of your tank the lighting you have may not be enough even for certain soft corals.

There are alternative hosts for clowns. They do not need anemones. If you rush into buying things this early on you may end up not only with a lot of preventable animal deaths...but a hole in your pocket book, with nothing to show of it in your tank, as well.
 
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well then ill wait for awhile and start with the lighting how much lighting should i have for my tank? some one once told me like 1 watt per gal? is that right ?and what else can you suggest for the newbie on the block?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8347735#post8347735 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BADBOYGATOR
well then ill wait for awhile and start with the lighting how much lighting should i have for my tank? some one once told me like 1 watt per gal? is that right ?and what else can you suggest for the newbie on the block?
Click to expand...

I am sorry but you have been POORLY misled. I don't even know where to begin.


Alright...you have a 180 gallon tank and two tomato clownfish with a tank that is BRAND new. I can't give detailed answers and advice until you answer these qustions.

1. How many lbs of liverock do you have?
2. Do you have livesand?
3. What are your tank dimensions?
4. What type of filtration are you using?
5. Do you have a protein skimmer?
6. How much flow do you have in your tank?


If you are interested in keeping anemones, wait for a year because clownanemones (anemones that host clowns and vice versa) require well established tanks with strong lighting, good water flow and tank stabability. Its good that you have a 180 gallon tank because your tank will provide more stability.

About the lighting though. For your best results, go with either MH or T5s. Depending on your demensions, I would get MH and have T5s as a supplementary. ***Only get the T5s with individual reflectors because those that don't have them do not nearly put out as much light than with those that have them.
 
1. How many lbs of liverock do you have? 55lbs right now will be adding atleast another 50 or so.

2. Do you have livesand? no i did not start with live sand i have fine white sand in the tank 2-4 deep depends on the spot in the tank.

3. What are your tank dimensions?24x24x72

4. What type of filtration are you using? wet/dry

5. Do you have a protein skimmer? not at this point planing on getting one at the start of the new year along with a bigger wet/dry

6. How much flow do you have in your tank?im useing a little giant pump withc pushes 1325 GPH witch are feeding the tank with 3 return lines one on each end and one in the middle. alnog with 2 power heads pushing water ove my live rock
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8347735#post8347735 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BADBOYGATOR
well then ill wait for awhile and start with the lighting...
Click to expand...

Good lighting with questionable water parameters will still lead to animal death. As tempting as it is to buy animals for your tank I would learn to keep your water chemistry stable first and then concentrate on keeping corals.
 
By the way a fuge with a skimmer is probably better for a reef aquarium than a wet dry filter. I believe wet/drys are typically used for FOWLR systems.

If you do not have a good filtration system and do not keep up with water changes to keep the "bad stuff" down and the "good stuff" up many of the critters you add to your tank may end up going kaput...fast.

Using the "watts per gallon" rule is not always reliable. Go by depth. PCs do not penetrate as deep as MHs and the depth penetration capability of MH lamps is roughly proportional to lamp/bulb wattage.
 
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yes go with a refugium and a skimmer and you will likely want a phos reactor with rowaphos or a equvilant media.

ro/di water will help a bit to depending if you have "dirty" tap water.

2x250 or 400w MHs would be your best bet

and look into tunze or modified maxijet pumps.

do lots of research of the anemones natural environment, their natural diet and range. then look for successful tank setups for the species you want to keep and read about them and ask questions about them.
 
Babygator I agree with 55semireef. Those sites he posted are really helpfull. You need to let your tank age and mature. And more lighting may also be more benificial if you are doing a reef.
 
get a good book Anthony Calfo has a couple good ones and/or
Eric Borneman, r/c vendors or amazon.com.... the $30investment will reward you many times over. If you want corals/anemone's you will find that you don't need a bigger wet/dry filter, you should ditch it altogether. Your sand is fine, i would add more till its about 5-6 inches deep, in the long run this sand and the live rock will be you "filter". Anemone's require lots of lighting and a mature (at least one year) tank, along with very stable water parameters, not to say that its impossible, but try some easy corals first ( mushrooms, kenya tree, etc). I would try to find a local club or at least buddy up with someone in your area with some experience, especially about equipment selection, stocking suggestions, etc. Lots of times the experienced reefkeepers have old equipment collecting dust and are willign to sell it to a newbie for reasonable $ to get you started in the right direction.
 
Clown fish are easy to keep but anemones are not. You don't nee to have anemone for clown fish to do well in captivity. I would advice against it for now, umtil you have more experience.
Very clean water and bright ight is need for anemone to do well. Some anmeones are dificult to keep while others are near imposible.
Keep you fish, try some solf corals. Once you have more experiences, you then can try your hand at anemones.
 
i have beenlooking for a new filter system and this is all can find that is big enough for my 180 gal tank ..is this what you had in mind ?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8347561#post8347561 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SuperNerd
BADBOYGATOR...what are you doing? Please do not even consider an anemone until you have more experience under your belt and your tank is stable and mature. After 1 week a new tank is most likely NOT completely cycled. The clownfish in your tank now may be in in for an uphill battle. You should not have added them this soon in the first place.

Anemones can technically live forever in the wild and deaths in the home aquarium are usually attributable to either a lack of adequate husbandry or predation. If you are going to get an anemone in the future or if you want to "practice" keeping one please try to purchase one that is aquacultured, such as the BTA, and not an anemone caught from the wild.
Click to expand...

Even better, get an Atlantic Condy.
They are a LOT cheaper (maybe $10) and they are not as "endangered" as Pacific anem's. Easier to keep as well.
 
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