my 26g bowfront anemone/clown system

[Clarkii3]

well i just set this up 3 days ago, i still havn't filled the tank the entrie way, the water is still sorta mily, i have 30lbs of aragamax sand in there with 26lbs of premium fiji from Dr.Mac which is cured and covered in purple coralline, i expect a pretty fast cycle, but heres a pic, will take more once water clears up a bit

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/7656/0000070qv3.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

 

[Clarkii3]

im still deciding on what i should do, the anemone will be a BTA, as for clowns im leaning towards a pair of a.sandaracinos

 

[Clarkii3]

heres a clearer pic, its still freakin cloudy. i aquascaped this without being able to see in the tank! what do you guys think? keep it or change it?

 

[WDLV]

So far so good. Is this your first tank? Either way I would postpone the anemone until the tank is more mature. It looks like it's off to a good start.

 

[Clarkii3]

nope been reefin for almost 5 years, i've had 6 different reef tanks in the past. heres my current 24g nano 7 months old

 

[WDLV]

Very nice! I guess you already know how poorly they typically do in new systems.

 

[dc]

Well I like it, but then that's entirely up to you whether to change or not.

 

[Clarkii3]

i actually did change my aquascape, pics come tomorrow. i am no anemone expert, ive only had flower and condy anemones before. anyways once my tank cycles heres what the cuc will look like...
6 nassarius snails
6 astrea snails
1 turbo snail
3 nerite snails

as you can tell i hate hermits, and i tend to not add much of a cuc, imo people overdue it. as for clowns, i really have no idea what to add, any ideas?

 

[WDLV]

I definately agree on the hermits. Those little snail murderers.

 

[Clarkii3]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8287124#post8287124 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WetSleeves
I definately agree on the hermits. Those little snail murderers.

exactly,plus i never really cared for hermits. no ideas on a clown pair? i don't want to spend forever trying to get clowns to host a bta so it needs to be a species that readily hosts

 

[WDLV]

Marroons

 

[Clarkii3]

new scape....



hows it look?

 

[Clarkii3]

i still think im gonna change it...

 

[WDLV]

I wouldn't. It seems to be off the sand and is a decent sized structure to attach corals. In fact, if it were mine the only change I'd consider is removing the top rock so the corals have enough room to grow.

 

[Clarkii3]

it does look pretty good, i have some pretty nice openings for water to circulate between the rocks.where should i place that top rock? i really won't be adding any coral, though i really want to add a bunch of rics in there. just don't want to take any risks of having the bta sting everything. Won't a pair of maroons be too much for this size tank?

 

[WDLV]

Well brah, you wanted to know what kind of clown would readily host in a BTA....If you have no plans of adding corals to the system I wouldn't worry about removing the rock, but if you are adding corals I'd suggest removing it for two reasons. The first is that it will give the corals more vertical growing room. The second is that it will give you more horizontal attachment sites on top of the reef and give the reef more depth front to back. Instead of having maybe one or two rows you can put four or five rows in. Don't quote the numbers... I think you get the idea. It's like comparing the top surface area of a pyramid to that of a Mesa.

I decided to only fill current reef about half way because of the attachment sites it gives me and and because it frees up room to swim above the reef. It is pretty much hollow underneath to give adequate hiding places. It seems to have worked because there are fish I only see about once every three months.

 

[Clarkii3]

i have a 130w pc fixture right now, i wonder if i should upgrade to a 4x24w t-5 fixture. i hear they penetrate more, and are therfore good for deeper tanks. the fixture does not have individual reflectors. would an LTA do ok under this light?

 

[WDLV]

I'd love to help you there but I have no experience with T-5. Hopefully someone else can chime in. Though if you go with the WPG rating you should be fine with what you have. BTAs are by no means easy animals to keep, but IMO they're the easiest of the host actinians.

Good luck to ya.

 

[Clarkii3]

well i changed my scape again, and i think im satisfied with it, here it is



tank is now 2 weeks old and im really starting to see alot of diatoms on the sand. as far as clowns go, i still have no idea, but im really looking into getting 2 of these guys http://reefhotspot.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=21_30&products_id=710 can't be the price at $15

 

[WDLV]

Yep those will readily host in a BTA. Just a few itsy bitsy little things you might want to consider.
- If that's the first fish you add, make sure you only add fish with brass kahonies. Marroons are mean mothers.
- Make sure the anemone is fairly large. They're known to be rough on their hosts and will kill it (with kindness) if it's too small.