Help me build ultimate H. Magnifica tank

[Outerbank]

OK, I have kept anemones successfully in the past. I gave away a sebae when I moved. I purchased a H. Magnifica about 3 months ago. It has grown from about 7 inches to about 15-16 inches in diameter. I love to feed it and watch it grow, but I dread a day it decides to crawl all over my corals. My luck is that this would occur when it is a 24 inch diameter monster. They pack a wicked sting and can cause excessive rapid damage to other corals. So, instead of parting ways with this anemone, I would like to provide it with its own tank. However, I need some ideas on how to provide the circulation without having the anemone risk being eaten by a pump, lighting ideas, tank size, etc. The only fish that will be with it will be a pair of ocellaris clowns and maybe some small sand dwellers. I plan to feed it exttensively so it grows huge.

I know, an anemone will not usually move when in the appropriate spot, but there are intangibles that may trigger a very happy anemone to move. I think it is best to assume the anemone will move some day, most likely at the worst time when you are away.

Tank ideas: 36 by 36 by 27 ideally with 2 overflows in case the anemone decides to sit on top of one of the overflows. I need idea on best place to buy the tank

Light: 250 or 400 watt MH. I have an extra of both wattages.

filtration: 5-6 inch sandbed, sump, protein skimmer.

Circulation: I need ideas. I have tunze streams and love them, but I want to avoid as many potential anemone eating pumps.

All input appreciated.

Thanks, Scott

 

[Flighty]

If you make an isolated peak of rock for the anemone to sit on, magnificas are not very prone to moving unless there is a big lighting issue (like the bulb above it burning out). I agree that with BTAs it isn't if they move, but when. When magnificas do move, they don't go nearly as fast as a BTA. The most any of mine have ever done, even under extreme conditions was about 4" in a night and it generally is around the peak rather than down it. Because of this I don't worry about the tunzes with a magnifica the way you have to with BTAs. If you still are worried, you can cover the tunze with a mesh cover or maybe a decco rock (I have not used those, but I'm assuming they would protect the inlet.)

The one thing I would recommend with a magnifica is a large water volume. They make a huge amount of bioload when they are being fed heavily and they don't handle any large swings in salinity or other params well.

 

[Raibaru]

Don't Koralia pumps by hydor not really provide much in the way of suction? Vortech's too?

 

[Overboard]

Hi,

I used to have one in a cube that was about 30" by 24" by 29" as part of a larger system that included a 215 on a common stand (8 1/2 feet of display tank). The anemone was placed at the top of a pinnacle of live rock under a 250 MH. Current was provided by a one inch sea swirl that swept just above it. He seemed very happy, ate anything I gave it, and hosted a pair of black ocellaris. He might move an inch or two occaisionally (at most) but always stayed on top. We moved and I had to break down the system (still in storage sadly) and sold him to a local reefer.

I don't know if it was truly ideal, but it seemed to work pretty well for a sometimes difficult anemone.

Good luck. They are awesome.

Mark

 

[FishnWishn]

I have a 36"H X 36"D X 30"W Cube that I built a horseshoe shaped pinnacle and it worked great. I tried different combinations of lights and settled for a 400w MH in the front and 250 W MH in the back above the pinnacle using 20K radiums. Maybe not a good idea for anemones but worked great on corals.
For a sump pump I use an Iwaki MD-70RLTZ which is a high pressure, low GPH, pump. For a closed loop pump I use a Sequence Dart when it was a reef and switched to an Iwaki MD-100RLT for my anemone tank. I had to modify my overflow because I had the CL return in the bottom of my overflow. For some reason my overflow was built with teeth only on the left side and half of the front with a sump pump output on the right side. It could not handle both pumps. I cut more teeth all the way across the front and on the right side and extended them all 3". I glued a bracket along the bottom of the teeth so I could mount 1" thick scrubbing pads from Home Depot to cover the teeth and prevent accidents. I also cut Plexiglass strips to place behind the pads to adjust the water level for the different pumps. I have 6 output ports in the back, 2 for the sump output (I used the overflow sump pump output as a second "emergency" drain) and 4 for the CL output. I also have CL outputs on the top 4 corners.
Hard to describe so I will see if I can get some pictures from my old computer, but it has a virus and keeps locking up on me (any IT guru's out there?). I currently have that tank down and in storage to use the pumps on a 4 tier Clownfish brood tank project with display refugiums on the top 2 levels.

 

[phender]

If you are worried about powerheads I would suggest either a wave box or two sea swirls (or similar device) or one wave box and a sea swirl for the return pump.

I think a wave box is a more natural water movement for a mag than powerheads anyway.

As for the overflows, you can have a cover made for them with slits to match the tower. It looks cool and will keep the anemones out.

 

[tufacody]

I suggest you be flexible with your planning. I too set up what I thought was magnifica paradise. In fact I purchased the whole tank and system for this animal and a pair of clowns. Unfortunately, like so many others, I lost him in the first 2-3 weeks. These are really hard critters to find healthy. To make matters worse, they crash so quickly. One day they look great and the next they just don't puff up again.

My tank is now a dream tank for a haddoni, lol. I'd love to keep a mag, but I wouldn't try again until I saw a LFS keep it healthy for at least 45 days.

 

[Outerbank]

Thanks so much for the ideas. I had SeaSwirls about 7 years ago and they all broke after about 1 year. Have they become more reliable?

I like the wave box idea and will take a look at them.

 

[Ron Popeil]

if i were to do my magnifica tank over again, i would go with a 90 gallon cube. my overflow box would be external, but built into the back wall of the tank, so that just the teeth are on the back pane, the box attached to the outside. egg crate would be used for teeth.
a large sump would sit underneath, with a large powerful skimmer inside. probably recirculating. probably expensive. phosphate and carbon reactors would also T off my main sump return. and because a tank with just a magnifica in it would be slightly boring, id probably have a calcium reactor under there as well; for additional parameter stability and to grow the staghorn sps id be growing. the feed for this would also T off the main sump return.
my sump return would be something small, maybe a pcx 30 or 40 (if including refugium) or comparable. maybe if i knew i could cease all microbubbles i would go with a poseidon T3 or T4 pump. this would split off back into the tank with one or two 3/4 sea swirls.
id use a reeflo dart as my closed loop. its intake split between two holes, with the low profile intake screens. the out ports would probably be four on the back pane, and two up through the bottom pane, just to be crazy.
for lighting, either VHO or T5 tubes would form a square around a single 400w metal halide, a 20k XM bulb is what id use. this would be in a lumenarc or lumenmax elite reflector. there would be no connected canopy, the box housing this lighting arrangement would be suspended enough to allow air to move across the surface of the water with ease. id probably have two to four fans in the sump, or a chiller somewhere outside or in a garage, if i had the money.
an ACjr or ACIII would monitor and control the system.
if there was space, a 75 gallon aquarium/rubbermade horse trough refugium would also T off my main sump return. this would have a good four inch sandbed, multiple species of macro algae and mangroves and be somewhere in a garage or next to the aquarium if possible. that would look pretty sweet.

and i think that would be it. simple really.

finally, to polish off the system, id have a swarm of a. nigripes in it. done.