RBTA Farm Build
- Thread starter cisco006
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fragtrader
New member
No. DT water is laden with muck from nitrogen (poop) to chemicals from dosing. Old water is just that. It should be kept out of your anemone project. If it has lost its ionic balance with your display tank, it isnt going to do well when you are trying to provide a sterile farm environment for your anemones.
Steveb
Premium Member
If this has already been covered I apologize - I have read the whole thread I have just slept a few times since then. Is there a recommended depth for the system? Would something like this (48" x 48" x 7" inside diameter ebb and flow tray made from 1/4" white high-impact ABS plastic) work w/150w or 250w MH?
fragtrader
New member
7" deep? im afraid no. Im not sure how that could work for any farming. those dimensions are typically ok for holding/quarantine and specimen observation and photography. But it is not a good depth for farming. if this is rbta we are farming, they are rock anemones and not sand anemones. they will need either smooth surface to adhere to or dry rock or filter sponge. this is assuming a bare bottom tank. no live rock. no exceptions.
fragtrader
New member
im going to recommend 18-24". I personally am using 32". Some rbtas come to the top, some stay at the bottom. as long as they are co-cultured species, meaning you start with one, then only keep the clones of the original in the same tank you have nothing to worry about. if you obtained 2 or more and you cannot 100% verify that they are clones, dont even think about cutting them. you must start out with one, and farm from there.
fragtrader
New member
You want organic nitrogen in coral tanks that support scleractinia. Groupers, since they are gulping fish are excellent for that. we are talking anemones. not corals.
live rock is teeming with all kinds of bacteria. you dont need it, and when cutting anemones you leave the anemone open to infection with live rock.
a common 55g would be plenty. bare bottom with some sponge filters, air stones, a couple lift tubes, no powerheads whatsoever, and carbon.
landy
New member
Fragtrader,
All this talk of no live rock and bacteria, I’ve kept rbta’s in my display and in tanks attached to my main system for years(with lr). Now you have me worried. Is there a threshold in the number of nems that can be kept, or any ideas on how I have got away with this for years?
Also, do you view manual division differently then natural?
landy
All this talk of no live rock and bacteria, I’ve kept rbta’s in my display and in tanks attached to my main system for years(with lr). Now you have me worried. Is there a threshold in the number of nems that can be kept, or any ideas on how I have got away with this for years?
Also, do you view manual division differently then natural?
landy
fragtrader
New member
Excellent question. Allow me to explain my position. I am a farmer. I farm for maximum growth, color and sustainability. I am not a hobbyist trying to co culture many species in a closed loop system. You simply are taking greater risks then me however I can probably guess you are not farming in the hundreds of species. Just because nothing bad has happened does not rule out that it won't. I keep one species per system. Live rock is biologically diverse and is responsible for bacteria harnessing within a closed system. Same with a dsb. As far as a number that you can keep I cannot comment. Our target number for each of our tanks is 250 rbtas per tank. As for manual division versus natural, I cut every 10-30 days. You will never experience that in a closed system naturally. If you are a farmer then be a farmer. If you are a hobbyist then you are fine with your setup. Fwiw.
fragtrader, Thanks for the info. you mentioned lift tubes. What are they? And do you put your cut RBTA back in the same tank with your other RBTA's?, so cut and non cut all in one tank? I have a RBTA in my display and he just split into three. I was considering taking two out and cutting them. I like RBTA's but don't have room for three in my display. My original RBTA stays in the same place but one of the new ones came out and killed one of my SPS before I had a chance to move it.... Again, thanks for the info, heck if I can cut a couple and make a $150 to $200, all good for this hobbyist. Or 2 turns into 4 and 4 into 8 and 8 into 16 and........ha
fragtrader
New member
Yes I place the cuttings back with the others. They are all clones so they will not be affected by the toxins. Lift tubes are a safe way to aerate the water with air lines and PVC tubing. There are seeral DIY articles here on assembling them.
What size tank are you keeping the 250 in?
What are you feeding?
Without live rock I am assuming you are counting on water changes to keep your nitrates down, correct?
What are you feeding?
Without live rock I am assuming you are counting on water changes to keep your nitrates down, correct?
fragtrader
New member
I am using the staple "titan" style food grade bins for them. food is hufa enriched mysis. religious water changes and 400mv redox. i dont use any skimmers either. fresh carbon as well. hope that helps.
fragtrader
New member
oh boy....you want all my secrets don't you? well, again, think like a farmer would and not like a hobbyist with a display tank. i use 400w 6500k's for growth and 1 week before "sale" they get moved to guess what, 460nm to color them up.
people that farm under 20k do not get growth. they get coloration. t-5s are ok for display supplementation, but do nothing for farming. i know the adage 'watts are watts', but nothing aside from the $10k upcoming LEP plasmas can match par and lumens and for MH. I own leds, t-5s, pc, and vho. so this is from personal experience.
i wish everyone success in their farming endeavors, ;-)
people that farm under 20k do not get growth. they get coloration. t-5s are ok for display supplementation, but do nothing for farming. i know the adage 'watts are watts', but nothing aside from the $10k upcoming LEP plasmas can match par and lumens and for MH. I own leds, t-5s, pc, and vho. so this is from personal experience.
i wish everyone success in their farming endeavors, ;-)
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