Getting an RBTA

[sixspeed]

Hey guys, in about two weeks i am going to pick up a rbta from a local reefer. I am pretty excited about it, but just wanted to make sure my setup is ready for one before i pick it up. Here is what i got.

75 gallon, with a shallow sand bed, and about 80-90 lbs of live rock. The tank has been up and running since last may, about 6-7 months or so. The water quality seems to be stabilizing but i cant get my nitrates down to 0, they are usually around 5 ppm. I have two koralia 4's going and have a 4x54 t5 ho lighting.

Are all these parameters set to be able to accomodate an RBTA? if they are all set could you give me an tips on feeding and where and how to place the anemone on the lr.

Thanks for the help.

 

[hybridgenius]

Sounds pretty damn good to me. Its past cycling, 5ppm nitrate isnt going to phase it at all(they are more hardy than you think), and with that lighting I'm sure it will be fine(but its a minimum for lighting in my opinion). The koralia 4s are pretty damn strong so try not to place it around where theres HIGH flow. Check to see what lighting it is under right now to try and mimic it. You dont want to shock it with more intense lighting than its used to. Find a spot you like with light flow, enough lighting, and not too high up(and just hope its happy there). It may not eat for a week(this shouldnt be something to panic about) and if it shy... then you could feed it directly with brine shrimp or mysis. Hope that helps.

Oh btw... they love CREVICES.

 

[shibumi]

What kind of fish and corals do you have?

 

[waxy]

Sounds good, hopefully theres a lot of rocks for the anemone to crawl on, otherwise it will crawl on your glass and get sucked into the pumps or fall down the overflow and rip in half and become two!

Just kidding, but who knows depending on how stressed out the anemone is, time will determine the outcome.

 

[garygb]

Yeah, sounds good overall. You want temp from 77-82F, specific gravity 1.025 or 1.026, your lighting should be fine, important to protect the anemone from intakes on pumps as they are prone to wander when initially introduced. As far as those nitrates, it will not likely cause you problems, but if you want to get them down lower, a deep sand bed somewhere in the tank or remote deep sand bed w oolitic aragonite should get the nitrates to undetectable-- assuming you do not have a high bioload and you skim efficiently, also carbon or polyfilter helps absorb organics that ultimately lead to nitrates, and of course partial water changes also export organic wastes.

 

[sixspeed]

alright thanks guy, hopefully all goes well.

shibumi- i dont have any corals in the tank right now, all i have is a pair of true perc's, three blue/green chromis and a yellow watchman.

 

[timrandlerv10]

pumps--you said they were covered with sponges or mesh or something to keep from getting minced nem right?



mine loves seafood buffet--i go to the korean store and get a 5 pound bag of seafood (no preservatives like the bag at walmart). i blend it until the pieces are all pretty small, then freeze it in sandwich bags laid flat (about 1/4-1/2 inch thick). then when they freeze, i whack the bags with a hammer, and repackage the chunks in another bag (amazing how much damage the hammer does to the bag...). i pull out one or two chunks at a time for treats. everybody loves it.