Tall BTA Tank possible?

[m0nkie]

Hi guys. Just getting some ideas for the next tank. Working on a 2'L x 2'W x 4'H tall tank. ~150gallons with sump..

currently thinking if a bubble tip anemone tank will work for this size. The focus on this tank will be a pair of designer maroon clowns and tons of BTAs.

lighting, leaning toward 400 watts MH.

Question or suggestions:

- Anyways to prevent BTA from crowding the top, leaving the bottom tank empty? If i put a floor light, shooting up into the tank.. would that help with BTA staying at lower tank area?

- what about leaving the tank next to windows? the natural sun light should cover the whole tank, but I don't want BTAs to move to the backside of the tank. Maybe a rock wall background? allowing sunlights to penetrate from the sides?

- Any suggestions on rockscapes or anything in particular for a BTA tank?

originally wanted a seahorse tank.. that idea was shot down to hell after some research on RC. Now I have a chance to pick up a pair of lightning maroons.. want to dedicate a BTA tank to them

thanks!

 

[geckoejon]

possible... yes. advisable... no.

imo, a 2x2x4 bta tank would be a major pita. there are numerous things to consider mainly access. i have learned that i never want a tank that i can't fairly easily access every part of to service. i had dozens of bta's in a tank, and it was necessary to rearrange them sometimes. occasionally one would die and it would have to be removed so it didn't nuke the tank. there is also flow. in that tank it would be necessary to have powerheads at different levels. that would be more powerheads to cover or worry about the bta's getting chopped up. cleaning a 4' tank would also be a pita, imo.

you mentioned lighting. i noticed that some bta's seemed to like more light then others. still a 4' deep tank would not be idea for light penetration. i think you would either fry the top or starve the bottom. i have never heard of someone putting a light through the side of the tank.

all things considered, i would recommend going with a different tank. it would eliminate numerous issues and keeping it would probably be more enjoyable.

 

[DasCamel]

I wouldn't go deeper than 30".

 

[worm5406]

While that would be wonderful, unless you are going to put full scba and a FULL drysuit on, to keep oils and other body chemicals off (including testosterone patches) and out of the tank, there is no way to get an anemone placed or tended to with really tall tanks like that.

Even deodorant can cause havoc to your tank.


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2474342&highlight=testosterone

 

[D-Nak]

I think it would make for a nice BTA display, but as others mentioned it would be a maintenance nightmare. In terms of lighting, you may want to consider a canon-type LED, like the one made by Ecoxotic. It will be able to penetrate a 4' tall tank easily. You can probably mount it on your ceiling.

One thing to consider in a tall tank is the water movement. If you get creative, you can create areas where the flow is high and BTAs won't like, and you'd be able to balance the load that way as well.

 

[m0nkie]

Thanks all! all good recommendations. I find this tank more fun to design. maintenance is going to be a PITA but if it turns out nice, it would look great in my room.

my goal is least maintenance. I rarely touch my mix reef tank. This will be FOWLR and some BTAs. no touching sandbed. weekly glass wipe is easy.

i had dozens of bta's in a tank, and it was necessary to rearrange them sometimes. .

can you tell me a little more on why you need to re-arrange? I don't plan on having corals in this.. beside PHs, I don't see any reason why they need to move manually?

One thing to consider in a tall tank is the water movement. If you get creative, you can create areas where the flow is high and BTAs won't like, and you'd be able to balance the load that way as well.

great advice! I will need to think about this some more.

 

[m0nkie]

Do you know if BTAs will permanently attach to glass walls? Or would they always prefer rocks with holes to attach its foot?

I've seen my Haddoni attach to glass wall. My BTAs had always stayed in the rocks

 

[ThRoewer]

I had a tank like that "“ it was 60 cm by 60 cm and 100 cm tall ~2'x2'x3.25'.
Somebody had build it to get dwarf angels to spawn in it but the thing was just a bad idea. I got it for free and only ever used it as an RO water tank. And even for that it was always a pain to clean.

Going even higher than that is just a bad idea.
The only reason for something like that I could see is if you want to fill it half with sand and gravel for jawfish or other animals that like to dig deep burrows. But even for that I can see tons of problems.

If you want to build a tank that is higher than your arm can reach than you need to go really big so that you can actually dive inside the tank. I know of such a tank in Germany. If you want to see pictures of it go to this website Mrutzek Meeresaquaristik and klick the top menu item named 32.000 L aquarium. This is a reef aquarium with live corals. It is huge and can only be serviced by a scuba diver. It is inside a bank (because you gotta have lots of cash to afford such a luxury).

 

[m0nkie]

Thanks. I can see maintenance as a big issue for reef tanks. but for a FOWLR what am i missing that's hard to maintain?

I've kept my 100gallon for a little over a year. Beside flipping snails and picking up corals, I haven't touched anything else. Only other maintenance was water change and glass wipe.

I could see dead anemones as an issue. Sandbed will be left alone forever.

 

[D-Nak]

Do you know if BTAs will permanently attach to glass walls? Or would they always prefer rocks with holes to attach its foot?

I've seen my Haddoni attach to glass wall. My BTAs had always stayed in the rocks

BTAs prefer to have their foot buried deep in a crevice. They will only attach to the wall if they are not happy -- either too much/not enough light or the flow is wrong.

Same goes for haddoni. They bury their foot deep in the sand, sometimes attaching their foot to the bottom of the tank. However, if the haddoni is small, they will attach to rocks. I have a small 3" one and its foot is attached to a rock.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Would Kessil 360N penetrate through a tall tank like that?

 

[m0nkie]

they advertise 4ft. but I doubt it. My 360WE doesn't really hit the lower parts as advertised.