H.Mag questions

[xSquishyx]

Im was just thinking about a spare tank i have.

its 34,18,18 plus sump and oversized skimmer. I was wondering if this would be big enough for a H.Mag only tank. just the nem and a pair or clowns nothing else apart from clean up crew ofc.

so first question would it fit ?

second question would a single 150watt halide with 10.000k blub be enough light or maybe a 6,500k for more par? I could make a rock pilla for it in the middle of the tank probs about 3-4 inches from the halide.

dont worry im not planning to do this anytime soon also i want honest replys and from people with exsp with this nem not just ive read this here and think that etc. not being rud ebut i want to know what works factually I wont keep it if its not ok. plenty of time to research etc so if you can help would be greatfull.

thnx

 

[xSquishyx]

forgot to say ive been keeping reefs for about 4 and a half years

 

[dantodd]

I'm sure you know that H. mag is one of the most difficult anemones to keep alive in our tanks. If not consider it very carefully it is much different than keeping a mixed reef.

First you'll need to set the tank up for a few weeks to allow it to stablize. Read here about tank stabilization:
http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx


There is a little information on H. magnifica in "The Anemone FAQ" from this thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=282136 The thread is a sticky at the top of this forum so you can find it later.

Also, look for postings by Flighty as she's one of the people working hard on improving the viability of magnifica in our tanks.

Ultimately; I believe that if you do all of your research and are still interested in keeping a magnifica you will probably end up with a 250w or 400w MH fixture.

 

[xSquishyx]

ty for the help

yeah i understand its pretty dam hard to keep which is why im going to really take my time to make sure i have a good enough setup before I try it. Also H.Mag are probs the most healthy specamins out of all the anemones my lfs sells (sadly). Im thinking ill take rock/water from a tank i already have and sell/ move the corals. then give it altleast 6 months maybe a year with just the clowns. probs feed the clowns on the heavy side while there is no nem in the tank to get the tank stable for high bioload.

ill look into 250's altho 150 would be better for me as i already have it and i dont pay the elec bill haha. If I went with a 150 watt halide do you think feeding everyday would help? I was going to feed it every 2 days anyway.

im wondering if the tank will be big enough? i read they thread for idea setups and they seemed to want 24 inch cubes where as my tank is only 18 in wide?

lastly do you think i should bother with a sand bed or keep it bb to really pull out the waste ?

thanx again

 

[xSquishyx]

ok been researching so much my eyes hurt

was up untill 3am last night searching and about 6 hours today am i dedicated or just sad haha!

in genral seem that large tanks and 250/400watt halides are the common setup for H.Mags.

altho ive come accross a few accounts of them being keep alive under pc and 150-175watt hallides in tanks 18 inch and under (height)

here is an exsample from wet web medias FAQ:

Lighting for Ritteri anemones 11/27/04
Hello Anthony,
<cheers my friend>
I've read your advice that Heteractis magnifica do better under metal halide lighting. You suggest that long-term sustainability may necessitate MH lighting.
<'tis true... exception being dedicated displays under high intensity fluorescents where the animal is physically restricted (by tank/water depth) to live under the top 10" of the water surface>
The reason I am writing is to find out if the way I have my system set up is sufficient for long term (many years) success with this species. I have a Ritteri that I have had for 2 years now. The tips of its tentacles are literally about 3 to 4 inches from the two 96-watt power compacts and two 55-watt power compacts (all 10,000K) that light the system.
<ah, good to hear. And fine but with the warning/reminder not to go any bluer than the 10k K lamps you have now. Arguably, this animal would do better with warmer colored lamps. Go easy on the actinic blues though>
The anemone sits on a large rock in the upper half of an 18 inch deep tank. This anemone has more than doubled in size (it is about 17" across now) in the past 2 years and appears to be perfectly healthy and happy (from what I can tell--please see attached photos for your assessment).
<it looks well, although a bit pale. Feed it heavier and it may do better/be darker. or, it can be caused by the fluorescents exceeding their useful lifespan of 6-10 months, a bummer... poor value in this regard>>
It does not move and eats approximately a teaspoon of food (chopped silversides, squid, salmon, Mysis, shrimp, clams, etc.) every other day or so. By the way, I learned from you on WWM
within the past year to chop rather than feed whole--which is what I was doing before (thank you).
<excellent mate!>
I just want to make sure I am giving this anemone what it needs to live a very long life. Do I "have" to get MH's for long-term success?
<not at all here. You have a specialized set up that is well suited for this species. And your regular feedings are a very worthy support to more moderate lighting systems with high light animals>
I don't want to go to the expense of another lighting system, but I will if necessary I suppose. Also, I've read about the preferred Kelvin readings, would you recommend one of the 10,000Ks be replaced by a 6700K?
<actually, yes.. if you don't mind or would enjoy the warmer color>
Another thing, different advice on how often to change out the bulbs (some say 6 months others a year), what would you recommend in my specific case?
<Stagger their replacements to make the shock (increase in light) less stressful on the creatures... and do so by the tenth month IMO. If you really want to know the exact time to change them, do invest in a PAR meter. Apogee brand makes affordable hobby market units>
Thank you in advance for your recommendations, Gary
<always welcome my friend... best of luck/life to you. Anthony>

 

[xSquishyx]

ok so my plan is ill keep my 150watt halide and buy a new bulb arround 6500k-10000k. ill burn it 10 days before i buy the anemone to let it burn in and the colour to adjust.

Ill make a bomie in the center of the tank and start the halide 7 inches off the water and lower it right down over time. (with plenty of fans)

if i see a decline ill pick up a 250watt halide from my lfs they said they will loan me one if needed for a week while mine comes.

what do you think about this plan ?

 

[maxxII]

Thats a healthy looking H.mag in that pic. If you're going to go w/ 150's I'd really suggest going with the IceCap PAR reflector and the 6500K flood light.
IceCap/150 HQI Review

Product Review: Revisited Reviews, Part II: LiterMeter III Peristaltic Pump, IceCap Pendant, 150 Watt Ballast, and Iwasaki 150 Watt Bulb

If this is not what you already have, I'd suggest making the jump to 250's. The bulb choices alone will give you much better flexibility with your lighting.

I currently have a small H.mag I've kept for almost 6 months. Its in a 58 gallon BB tank. Water movement is supplied by an Iwaki 55RLT pushing approx 1k gph through an OceansMotions 4 way unit. There are 4 outlets, water moves from one outlet to the next every 15 seconds. I also have a Maxijet 900 blowing water past the anemone from about 10 inches away. Water is blown directly on the anemone, but past it. It can expand/extend into the currents path if it so desires. An important thing to note:
I moved the powerhead when cleaning the glass of the tank and must not have placed back exactly, because the anemone started wandering all over the tank. It finally moved back to its original location, directly under the light (about 4 inches beneath the surface of the water, lights are about 8 inches above the water surface), where the most water flow is.

Lighting is provided by two 250 watt Mogul based AB10K bulbs. One of the pendants is directly above the anemone. My lighting is suspended over the tank and is able to be raised and lowered up to 18 inches.

A pair of Onyx Percs are hosted by the anemone. I do ocassionally squirt food into the anemone's tentacles, but the majority of the time the clowns bring food back to the anemone. For the record, I dont feel the anemone is being "fed" by the clowns, but rather the clowns are bringing food to a "safe" place where th rest of the fish in the tank cant get to it...and the anemone eats it. Ive seen the clowns get annoyed and try to play tug of war w/ the anemone over bits of food. They rarely win.

IMO the greatest key to success with anemones is getting a healthy one from the get go. H.mags ship so poorly that its incredibly difficult to get a healthy one. Mine had been in captivity for approx 4 months when I bought it. It was kept under 20K mh's and fed mysis shrimp regularly. When I first got it, it looked great. I slowly acclimated it to my tanks water, (about 3 hours) and then placed it where I thought it would be happiest, (high light, high flow...where it is now). It deflated over the span of 3 hours. I freaked and was convinced the damn thing was dying. Later on in the evening, it was fully inflated and looking good. Same thing happened next day. Once again I freaked and was convinced the anemone was dying. Once again, later in the evening, it was fully inflated.. This continued for about a week, and finally stopped altogether. IMO, the anemone was acclimating to the increase in lighting, even though I had raised the lighting as much as possible. It really looked like hell while it was deflated....

My current intent is to set up a 75 gallon tank with the anemone as the center piece. The tank will have a shallow sand bed, and will have Bourneman Surge Devices providing the majority of the flow. I will also have a refugium in the sump...may or may not go with a plenum in the fuge. I want to go this route to lower my electric usage with this tank, and I feel the BB tank is too low on nutrients for what I want to do.

The new tank will be in operation for at least 6 months prior to anything being moved over from the 58, to allow it to go through all cycles and get established with pods etc...

Nick

 

[xSquishyx]

thanx great to have real exp posters. ill look into the bulb/reflectors see if i can get them in the uk.

as for the healthy nem it shouldnt be too hard ive seens some pretty healthy ones in my lfs and they sometimes have one that have come from customers tanks that have been in captiv care for a year or two. Im not going to rush into it so there is plenty of time to put the word out on what im looking for.

thanx again

 

[Ciarán]

I've kept my Magnifica for a year under 150W 10000K lights and it grows like mental. Plenty of flow - greater than 40 times the volume of the tank indirectly onto it and frequent feeding - once a day to every two days. Very low stocking and bioload, heavy filtration - i have a skimmer that is rated 14+ times my tank and i use loads of carbon and macroalgae and a mangrove. My Mag. is 2" below the surface on a custom made ledge mounted on a bommie so it is completely isolated.

Magnificas IME always find the highest spot they can and if they have space to fully plant their foot it will stick. I have found a ledge like this:

VERY TOP OF BOMMIE WHERE FRONT OF FOOT RESTS (SUMMIT)
----------
aaaaaaaaa\
aaaaaaaaaa\
aaaaaaaaaaa\ aPLATEAU SLIGHTLY LOWER TO FIX BASE & STABILIZE
aaaaaaaaaaaa-------------------------

Where the top half of the foot goes on the upper ledge and the bottom half on the lower part (with the remainder on the incline), is what they prefer. 150W provided it is in the top of the tank should be perfect IMHO.

Here is a closeup pic of mine:

Ciaran.

 

[xSquishyx]

great this really gives me confidence as to it being possible.

intresting info about the rock platform ill have to try and work something like that into my rock structure. ty

ok so far ive tanken my 29gal nanos rock / water into the new tank and sold the corals. the 29 was up for a year running stable.
i havent created the structure yet need to get some putty stuff.

ive added my v2 skimmer rated for 100 gallons should cover me ok for 2 clowns and the nem.

now i guess i have to play the waiting game. How long will it take to be mature enough as ive baiscly just added more water to a old setup? I would rather be safe then sorry on this time period.

thanx again

 

[maxxII]

If you can get acrylic rods, I would buy several and drill holes in your rockwork and use the rods to support the rock structure, instead of the putty.

My cordless drill will only accept 3/8 inch bits at largest, so I went with 3/8 inch rods, and drilled several holes to accomdate. I have one rock made of 4 smaller ones held together with only acrylic rods.
The rock my H.mag is perched on is a concrete "home made" rock that has an acrylic rod supporting it.

Here are pics...

The large rock structure on the right side of the tan, (behind the brain coral) is the one made of 4 smaller rocks....

 

[Pavlo]

I think that you will be ok with a 150w halide. I have kept a magnifica for 4 years under 250w lighting but the nem is sitting deep in the tank with at least 24" of water above it. If yours sits high up it will get enough light.