freaking out alittle

[Shanxnon]

so the day before yesterday i wole up and my saddleback was finally playing in my BTA and yesterday it was fine as well. well this afternoon i came home and found this..

is this normal or do i need to get that BTA outta there?
the first one is that weird algae I have never had an algae problem and this literally came over night.
the second is my BTA obviously but its been like that with its mouth open since yesterday.

 

[cet98]

how old is your system?....the algae you see is diatom algae that usually occurs during the cycling process of a newer, unestablished tank....

 

[Shanxnon]

my tank has been up since july.

 

[sjwitt]

First of all, it's normal for a tank to cycle a little when you add additional items that increase the bio load of a tank. July is still very new for a tank to have established a robust biofilter so it will react more dramatically to new addtions than a more established tank. Your new anemone doesn't look very happy but it's hard to tell ... it could be acclimating, it could be feeding, or it could be sick. If its sick then you should put it in treatment (see the stickies in this forum before you decide to do that).

BTAs will deflate sometimes, they will gape somtimes and go back to normal or they'll gape and split or, worst case, they'll gape and die. If you're going to keep an anemone you need to be patient and observant. Don't automatically go to "yank it out of the tank" just because it looks a little different than usual.

What are your parameter readings? What lighting do you have? What size is the tank and what else is in there?

 

[Shanxnon]

i only have one T8 bulb in right now because i had to order a new T5 my pH levels, ammonia levels and nitrites are great but my nitrates are really high 40 ppm. my tank is a 30 gal and i have only my little saddleback clown in there. I feed them both mysis shrimp. Today my anemone is all closed up. I run two whisper filters ones a 10 -30 gal and the other is a 2 -10 gal. honestly I'm open for any help. Ive said in other threads this is my first saltwater tank and I've done a ton of research but i still am basically clueless and i wanna do this right

 

[Shanxnon]

First of all, it's normal for a tank to cycle a little when you add additional items that increase the bio load of a tank. July is still very new for a tank to have established a robust biofilter so it will react more dramatically to new addtions than a more established tank. Your new anemone doesn't look very happy but it's hard to tell ... it could be acclimating, it could be feeding, or it could be sick. If its sick then you should put it in treatment (see the stickies in this forum before you decide to do that).

BTAs will deflate sometimes, they will gape somtimes and go back to normal or they'll gape and split or, worst case, they'll gape and die. If you're going to keep an anemone you need to be patient and observant. Don't automatically go to "yank it out of the tank" just because it looks a little different than usual.

What are your parameter readings? What lighting do you have? What size is the tank and what else is in there?

i only have one T8 bulb in right now because i had to order a new T5 my pH levels, ammonia levels and nitrites are great but my nitrates are really high 40 ppm. my tank is a 30 gal and i have only my little saddleback clown in there. I feed them both mysis shrimp. Today my anemone is all closed up. I run two whisper filters ones a 10 -30 gal and the other is a 2 -10 gal. honestly I'm open for any help. Ive said in other threads this is my first saltwater tank and I've done a ton of research but i still am basically clueless and i wanna do this right

 

[Shanxnon]

todays update hes been like this for hours

 

[cet98]

its dying.....your system is not stable nor established enough for an anemone imo...
if you have someone with a well established tank with proper lighting, I would recommend you transfer it there asap....the stress of moving may have a negative effect on it but imo it will likely die in your system regardless so the I think the risk is worth trying to save it.....

 

[ocellaris123]

By ammonia and nitrite being fine, I assume you mean they are zero? I usually wait until my tank is finished cycling and add my anemones and have never had any issues, but your life support is no where near adequate to housing an anemone, or any other photosynthetic invertebrate life. Your lighting is not adequate and neither is your filtration. Whisper power filters are best for fresh water applications, and you do not have enough turn over or flow for the anemone. I wouldn't say he is dying, but he is not happy. As cet said transfer him to another more suitable environment until you upgrade your equipment and get comfortable with keeping a saltwater tank. Good luck

 

[Shanxnon]

By ammonia and nitrite being fine, I assume you mean they are zero? I usually wait until my tank is finished cycling and add my anemones and have never had any issues, but your life support is no where near adequate to housing an anemone, or any other photosynthetic invertebrate life. Your lighting is not adequate and neither is your filtration. Whisper power filters are best for fresh water applications, and you do not have enough turn over or flow for the anemone. I wouldn't say he is dying, but he is not happy. As cet said transfer him to another more suitable environment until you upgrade your equipment and get comfortable with keeping a saltwater tank. Good luck

yes i mean zero. i have no one to take care of this anemone i have no friends who are also into aquariums. i have a aqua clear 150 power filter would that work better? i used it on my freshwater tank i just didnt set it up for this one. i need to know what i can do slooowly of course but i don't want to lose my anemone because of the people at two local fish stores told me it was okay to buy anemone so soon and i really don't wanna nuke my tank and kill my saddleback. even the lighting what would be best, what do i need to change

 

[Shanxnon]

also, i cycled my tank with just the crushed coral and live sand for two months before i even put anything it in. i thought that that was more than long enough, ive tried to do everything right but apparently thats not the case.

 

[Cu455]

Do you have a full tank shot? Do you feed frozen shrimp? You should get new lights, a powerhead and some live rock. Clean your filter. If you are feeding frozen there is problem tons of dead shrimp in the filter decaying.

 

[ocellaris123]

For lighting I like to use t-5's or metal halides. I think you will be fine with at minimum a 4 bulb t5 HO fixture over your tank. Also I would look into getting a protein skimmer (I use hang on back models as I dont have a sump; octopus series are what I prefer). Protein skimming greatly improves water quality. Get some more flow into your tank via powerheads covered in a mesh substance to prevent the anemone from getting damaged.

How much live rock do you have btw?

You can turn your aquaclear 150 into a refugium or to hold media such as carbon. IMO protein skimming should be a big part of your filtration for reefing.


I would at least look into returning the anemone to the store you purchased from as your tank cannot support this anemone for the long haul.

 

[Shanxnon]

Do you have a full tank shot? Do you feed frozen shrimp? You should get new lights, a powerhead and some live rock. Clean your filter. If you are feeding frozen there is problem tons of dead shrimp in the filter decaying.

what kind of lights do you suggest T5s? something with more than one bulb? i literally have no idea and like i said i have that other filter the aqua clear that i could start using would that be better? hold on and i'll post a full tank pic

 

[Shanxnon]

full shot of tank

 

[ocellaris123]

After seeing your tank I would suggest getting live rock; or macro; searching the forum for more info and doing what was suggested above. Your anemone will not do well in the long term in your current setup and the sooner you get it out the better it will be for it.

 

[Cu455]

I had a bleached bubble tip under 2 t5 bulb and it got it's color back pretty quick. You should get a 4 bulb fixture, it isn't that much more. It will make your tank look better, give you better growth from coral if you add and save you from upgrading later. You don't have much area for bacteria to colonize. When you clean your filter you will loose a high percentage of your bacteria. Get live rock it goes lots of good organisms which you won't get on your filer pads such as sponges and feather dusters. You don't get great circulation with HOB filters either.

Check out local reef sites for used equipment. Lots of people are getting LEDs so t5 can be had at a low price. You can also get great established rock. It looks like your tank can use some. Here is my HOB set up. I just throw the pieces of rock which fall off in there. No modification needed. I also have some mangroves and carbon in a filter sock in there.

 

[Shanxnon]

I had a bleached bubble tip under 2 t5 bulb and it got it's color back pretty quick. You should get a 4 bulb fixture, it isn't that much more. It will make your tank look better, give you better growth from coral if you add and save you from upgrading later. You don't have much area for bacteria to colonize. When you clean your filter you will loose a high percentage of your bacteria. Get live rock it goes lots of good organisms which you won't get on your filer pads such as sponges and feather dusters. You don't get great circulation with HOB filters either.

Check out local reef sites for used equipment. Lots of people are getting LEDs so t5 can be had at a low price. You can also get great established rock. It looks like your tank can use some. Here is my HOB set up. I just throw the pieces of rock which fall off in there. No modification needed. I also have some mangroves and carbon in a filter sock in there.

so you've had parts of your live rock break off and you've just put them inside the filter? i have three rocks that seem really healthy but I can definitely look into getting more and I'm gonna try to see what I can do about getting a new fixture. I'm going to see if my friend at the fish store will help take my anemone until I get this straightened out.

 

[ReeferBill]

Your bubble tip is going to die, get it back to the shop if you do not have anyone that has a mature set up to nurse it back. Your tank will not support any anemones until it has aged probably a year from now. You need an established colony of good bacteria,, add a lot of live rock or base rock and some nitro max,stability,or cycle to kick start your nitrifying bacteria. Also read and read some more before killing something else. At least ask someone here on reef central for advice before listening to the guy at the local fish store. Sorry but we are here to help you.

 

[Shanxnon]

i know this sounds crazy but i have a 60 watt spot gro bulb i popped in a lamp and my anemone is actually opening up and seems happier. hopefully that will hold him off for a day so i can get him to my friend.