New Anemone tank

[a7oneal]

Hey all, I've done a bit of poking around and a lot of reading recently, and I'm looking for any info you'd be willing to give me.

To give a bit of background, I purchased a new 40-g breeder (36''x18'' footprint) in September. This tank has been sitting empty since (it's blasphemy, really!), and I was just thinking about building up the aquarium collection for when I moved into a house *eventually*. Anyway, I'm coming up on my 20th year in the hobby, this month (I always remember because it's my birthday), and I wanted to do something special with the tank... though I wasn't sure if I wanted something new or dedicated to species that I've always really enjoyed (i.e. my favorites).

Looking down of my list of "species to keep at some point in my life", I realized that most weren't suitable for the 40-g, so I scrapped that. I toyed with the idea of a reef tank, then a planted tank, then a community tank containing species I kept as a kid... then back to whether or not I want saltwater or freshwater... you get the idea. For months, I've been unable to decide.

Talking to a non-aquarist friend, she said "get some clownfish." I love clownfish, and was considering them anyway (and it was group I've kept before)! Twice before, I've said, "Screw it, I'm getting clownfish." Then, I thought about anemones... if I have clowns, I'm going to want one.

I've had them before, the last time a "sebae" (sorry, I hate not knowing the scientific name to whichever "sebae" species I had) that lived for two years before succumbing to a chilly Maine winter night, an old drafty house, and a failed heater.

I want to do this absolutely right. I'm probably looking at a BTA, as I've been reading about and seeing the success stories on this site. The tank would have live rock, of course, a canister filter, a skimmer, etc. I do all of my regular water changes, and have an RO/DI filter for my soft water cichlids. I would let the tank do it's thing for awhile (months, if need be... I'm in no rush, and as I said, I want to do it right), before adding the anemone.

My biggest question on equipment would be the lighting... could I use a high wattage PC?

Also, where the anemone takes up residence is of less concern to me than it's health, are there ways of allowing multiple places to choose from where it would be visible?

Looking at clownfish, and really not other fish (perhaps some cardinals), I was wondering about other invertebrates, such as shrimp, crabs, snails, etc.? Are there any to avoid with an anemone? Are there any that do very well? I'd imagine that most would be fine, but confirmation is good.

Any other information you'd need, let me know, I'm pleased to give it to you!

 

[andy321]

you could get more than one anemone and that would be pretty cool as for shrimp you could get some anemone shrimp

 

[a7oneal]

Even so, how strong of PC lighting would be required?

 

[GSMguy]

pc sucks for anemones go with individually reflected t5s or Metal halide.

 

[garygb]

T-5 would be perfect for a 40 gallon breeder--nice tanks because they are shallow. But if you want PC's for some reason, a two 96-watt fixture would be fine. T-5's have better penetration (with individual reflectors) and also the bulbs last longer. You should stay in the daylight range if you chose to go with PC's, but a 4 bulb T-5 HO would be perfect. Then you could mix daylight and aquablue (which has a good PAR).

 

[maxxII]

A 40 breeder would make an excellent species tank for anemones. Its shallow depth allows you to use less light/electricity and stll get good results.

Personally, I wouldnt reccomend PC's. Yes, you can use them, but unless I'm mistaken, this pretty much going to be a new system from the tank up...and more and more manufacturers are moving away from PC's and going towards T-5's. Like was mentioned previously, the T-5's have higher output, and the bulbs last longer. Unless you already have the PC set up, I wouldnt reccomend buying a new one.

You could go with a 175 watt MH system for about the same cost as buying a dual 96 watt PC set up, or a comparable T-5 setup....

If this to be your first anemone set up, I would strongly suggest you plan how you're going to do flow/water movement inside this tank. Powerheads are generally advised against in anemone set ups due to the anemones wandering....anemones + powehead = bad day.

You could go with a simple return split two ways, one returning along the back wall of the tank from left to right, and the other returning along the front wall of the tank from right to left. The resulting race track flow pattern of water will give you good movement all throughout the tank, and still leave a relatively calm area in the center. In the center, you can build a rock out cropping, and leave several openings for BTA's to hide their foot.

Regarding anemones and other inverts....

Clowns can be hostile towards anemone shrimp and porcelein crabs.....so keep that in mind, but other shrimp and crabs wont bother the anemone if its healthy.

Nick

 

[a7oneal]

Ok, I'm seeing what you're saying...

I'll look into the flow issue, and I'll do some more reading on this before setting everthing up.

As for lighting, I'll look into what that's going to cost, too. Folks keep mentioning "individually reflected"... is that something that can be looked for when purchasing a light, or is it a post-purchase modification? I can do a search if this has been covered, just let me know. Looks like it's going to be MH or 4 T-5s...

Now, here's another question... with all of the light being pumped into this system, is algae an issue or does filtration, etc. keep it from being a problem?

I would imagine clowns would not like other critters, even shrimp and crabs, in their area... but I never would have thought about that initially. Thanks for the info.

Now, someone mentioned multiple anemones... what are we talking here, two? Or is one enough?

Thanks, all! The information is much appreciated!

 

[eeorrandy]

Start with one... look for a good specimen, preferably cloned or aquacultured. It's not usually advisable to keep different species or even non-clones of the same specie in a tank due to allelopathy (sp?) or chemical warfare between them. You may wind up with more than one anyway if yours splits.

Hope that helps and good luck

 

[maxxII]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12270458#post12270458 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by a7oneal
Ok, I'm seeing what you're saying...

I'll look into the flow issue, and I'll do some more reading on this before setting everthing up.

As for lighting, I'll look into what that's going to cost, too. Folks keep mentioning "individually reflected"... is that something that can be looked for when purchasing a light, or is it a post-purchase modification? I can do a search if this has been covered, just let me know. Looks like it's going to be MH or 4 T-5s...

Now, here's another question... with all of the light being pumped into this system, is algae an issue or does filtration, etc. keep it from being a problem?

I would imagine clowns would not like other critters, even shrimp and crabs, in their area... but I never would have thought about that initially. Thanks for the info.

Now, someone mentioned multiple anemones... what are we talking here, two? Or is one enough?

Thanks, all! The information is much appreciated!

You have all sorts of options available regarding flow for your tank. Just keep a couple things in mind:

Try to avoid powerheads and intakes inside the display with anemones.
Plan to be able to make adjustments to your flow pattern if need be, (IE flexible outputs like Loc Line or Omni-flex allow you to alter flow patterns easily.
Plan for redundancy/emergencies/unplanned events in your plumbing and water movement. IE leave enough room in your sump to allow for back siphon during a power outtage, and/or have a back up pump so your main dies for some reason, you can easily swap it out without causing problems for your tank.

These are just some basic suggestions, and things to keep in mind, not necessarily hard/fast rules to live by.

Regarding light reflectors.......it depends. Some kits are mounted in individual reflectors, (1 bulb per reflector), others are 1 refelector for several bulbs. IMO, the individual kits are more flexible in placement over ome huge reflector with 4 bulbs mounted over it......but again, its up to you. Individual reflectors also mean more wiring/work on your end.....

Algae in the reef tank....yup, gonna be something to keep in mind, but not anything impossible or difficult. Get an RO/Di system, (I like www.airwaterice.com for prices....5 stage typhoon is tough to beat cost wise), leave the lights off during the tank's cycle period, add snails and an urchin, (either a long spined diadema or a tuxedo urchin....best algae eaters), before you add clowns or an anemone, and when you get algae, you'll have the critters in place to handle it.

Multiple anemones.....
One anemone is enough, if you want more than one in a tank that small, I'd strongly suggest you not mix species, IE one or two BTA's, (Keeping mind they are prone to splitting so you could very well go from 2 to 4 in short order), or two LTA's etc.....

Nick

 

[a7oneal]

Cool... I'm looking to get the T-5s shortly, and I'm still investigating the best option for filtration and flow, especially given the fact that I'm not going to be stocking this tank with fish very heavily at all. It'll be more of an invert tank (they still create waste, so that needs to be taken care of) with a couple of fish. Investigating more sump information, as well.

I already have the RO/DI system in place, as I keep soft water South American cichlids, so that's a bonus.

I appreciate all of the help and your patience with my questions...

Now, I just need to figure out which species of clownfish I want... and I'm still waiting on information for the stand.

 

[Javeo]

YOu could use powerheads as long as you covered the intakes with sponge filters, thats what I do. I have a mixed anemone reef with a gbta, (too)many Rbtas, a condy, a sebea, and 2 species of unID'd anemones, all in all I have about 10 anemones in my 50gal.
Id strongly urge you to use the external filter, but empty out all the baskets and fill one with carbon, one with phosphate remover and use the top one for fine filter wool.