BTA requirements

[Flightpipe]

My friend is going to be getting a GBTA I have one in my tank with T5 lights but i do not know if his tank will support one.

He has a 8 month old tank 75 gal all params or ok and he has a four foot coral life light power compact 265w of lights.

The lights is what i am worry about with him can anyone tell me if that wattage will be ok for a GBTA. What would be the min. for a nem?

 

[SWaquariast]

3-4watts per gallon is what a BTA should have.

 

[Flightpipe]

well then its 3.5 so I guess its ok i thought PC was a lower quality light.

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

pc lights will do just fine unless the tank is a tall tank. I keep my purple lta under pc lights and it does very well with just those lights. Its in a shallow tank so that is probably why my anemone is happy with pc. A lot of people say btas don't need very strong lights if its a healthy anemone. Now, if its lost all its color it will need strong lights to recover all its zooxanthellae.

 

[garygb]

I agree that pc is fine. You just want to change out the bulbs with pc's by 8 months or so.

 

[Flightpipe]

is a LTA more likely to stay put than a BTA my bta has let go 3 times and gotten chewed up twice could i just trade him out for a LTA and be ok I have t5's and i was gonna warn my friend about then being prone to letting go. is a LTA more difficult to keep wattage ect. or is it about the same?

 

[garygb]

T-5's are fine with either BTA or LTA. Once a BTA finds the right spot, they never move. If you can find a rock that has a cave so the BTA's body makes a "J" shape, that seems to make them happiest. Also, they like moderate water flow, preferably random rather than laminar.

 

[Flightpipe]

That is exactly what i have for him and he its driving me nuts my water is perfect and lights are fine but he keeps letting go he has gotten sucked up 3 times and split onece (2 times bad one time no damage i got to him fast) would i have better luck with a LTA (less likely to move?)

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

My purple lta has moved once but it was still attached to the bottom of the tank. So it moved with its foot still in the sand. After that move its been happy next to the rocks. It only did that after I upgraded my pc lights from 65w to 85w.

 

[Flightpipe]

so that is a LTA is = in care level to a BTA?

so its less likely to move i am just sick of having nightmares of my nem detaching, waking up at 2 am and checking on him.

is there some better reference page for nems to know exactly what they need i am having trouble finding anything useful!

 

[garygb]

Well, an LTA is on the bottom, so less apt to be sucked into the powerhead. They do require deep sand to stay put. As far as difficulty level, I would say that BTA's are easier in general to keep. BTA's seem to be the hardiest of host anemones.

I'm not sure why your BTA is on the move. Pics of your system might be useful, not sure.