What I'm trying to do

[thebully03]

ok. first and foremost i'm new to the hobby and I don't want to get lost and spend a ton of money on wrong equipment and abandon the hobby in six months. with all that.... this is what I want to achieve:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/totm/index.php
and this is what I found from my neighbor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqWj3ew52II&feature=plcp

Please advise on how to achieve this. Will i need LED's for this, trying to prevent a chiller if i can. Skimmer options? and sand bed vs crushed coral gravel? and dosing if needed?

Also trying to determine the right inhabitants for a tank like this....

Please help however you can. I really want to take my time on this and do it right and make it successful for the inhabitants. My friend thinks i'm crazy to do an anemone tank only, but that is what I want to look at everyday.

 

[Tmoriarty]

If you want a tank like the one you linked, it is not all that hard to achieve. Bubble tip anemones require pretty low light compared to other anemone. In general any T5HO setup will work. You could also go with halides or with LED's, the choice is yours.

BTA's, or in the case of the tank you want to emulate, Rose BTA's split naturally via linear fission. That means if you buy one after enough time it will most likely split (there is some debate that there is a non-splitting type of BTA). You can help it to split by feeding it which will increase the rate at which it grows.

The tank in the video will work fine, sand type is your choice as BTA's are not sand dwelling anemone. You can mix BTA varieties most of the time, occasionally they will respond poorly to other BTA's that are not clones.

Inhabitants are honestly anything you want to put in the tank, with the knowledge that it is always possible for the BTA to eat any fish that is a non-associating fish. Clowns do not usually work well as anything more than a pair, so only add more then two clowns are your own risk.

BTA's in general have a pretty minor sting, most fish will not get eaten by one even if they touch it unless the fish is already sick and weak.

If you want to go with another anemone type you will not be able to have a tank covered in them like that most likely as most other nems do not do well in close proximity to even nems of the same sub-type. The exception to that rule is Magnificas which will usually tolerate their own clowns (the only other hosting naturally splitting anemone).

Another piece of advice... once your tank is cycled and ready for fish/corals... wait another six months to add in any anemone. You can add them earlier but the truth is your tank will most likely not be stable enough for anemone until around the six month mark, possibly longer.

Hope this helps some.

 

[thebully03]

That is the most help i've gotten from anyone! thank you. any advice on skimmer needs? any name brands for lights and base rock

 

[Tmoriarty]

Light brand honestly won't matter, I have kept BTA's under halides in a Reefhamilton fixture, ranging from cheap artemis 20k bulbs to expensive Radiums with very similar if not the same results.

The same BTA's were previously under a cheap no name $100 dollar 4 bulb t-5 fixture off ebay.

As for base rock, I prefer Pukani from BRS but only because of how pourous and gnarly the pieces look, much more variety then standard FIJI. For any base rock keep in mind there is a chance for it to leech phosphates (especially the BRS pukani), this can be solved with a muriatic acid bath prior to cycling the rock, or lanthanum chloride. Or you can just sit it out and wait like I did before I knew it leeched phosphates, lol.

Or you can go with mostly live rock. Advantage of a nem tank is a lot of the pests that come on on LR attack other corals (I am not honestly sure of pests that attack anemone other then some fish).

As far as skimmers go, anemone in general like low nutrients (although I have kept BTA's up to 50ppm nitrates without issues). Go for a skimmer rated well over your tanks volume. I can only reccomend skimmers I have tried, I have tested a few different ones out and out of ones I have tried I have found the Reef Octopus skimmers are extremely nice. They are also quite cheap. Read the reviews your self but I am sure you will not be dissapointed with one of those skimmers.

You could either go with an SRO-3000 or an NWB-200 (both reef octo skimmers). The NWB is rated a little lower but still plenty high for your tank. If cost is an issue you can get away with a NWB-150 or SRO-2000 as well.

Anemone are messy if you are trying to get them to split, if you are feeding them often take that into account for sizing your skimmer. If you notice high nutrients you can feed less, but again you will more then likely see slower growth and less splitting as a result.

 

[reeferoni]

That is the most help i've gotten from anyone! thank you. any advice on skimmer needs? any name brands for lights and base rock

I've been very successful with RBTAs under T5 HO lights... check out craigslist, people often sell them dirt-cheap there when they are parting out tanks. I feed my nems once or twice a week, defrosted raw table shrimp or halved silversides soaked in Selcon. They split once in the past year and each clone is about ready to split a second time.

 

[sqwat]

Get tank ready add a dsb of five inches and add 1 inch on top with live sand.get a 3/4 of dry rock a d 1/4 off live rock.get the large cpr hang on refugium with the skimmer included fill with cheatomorph macro algea.now tank is full of water rock and sand with a skimmer get the good powerheads that magnet half inthe tank and half out safest for anemone.get a titanium heater controlled by aqua logic nematodes 4x.this will stop heater malfunction witch can feather cook or freeze tank and you can hook a chiller up to it also if needed.I find the aqua logic very important I have cooked a whole tank b4 a d this will stop that and a allarm goes off to if it goes to high or low.now get lights.for anemone I would get halide you cannot go wrong with it and you will get best color out of the rose obtain. Now you must wait 8 months to year if you want to add a anemone very important to do this.also get a light with 2 250 watt halides with t5 attinics.this settup will be great for the tank you want to achieve.also get 2 powerheads the ones with the most turnover.it will be expensive but you cut corners will only cost u money in the long run anyway.also get a good set of water test kits.gl pm me if u need more help

 

[thebully03]

I was looking a that CPR Refugium. are you talking about the AquaFuge2 PS or the AquaFuge Pro? WHat powerheads you talking about too? I can be patient so I will listen to everyone and wait the 8 months to add an anemone. what do you think of the kessil 150w sky blue 10k led pendants? Apparently some people have told me that is the way to go and will prevent a need for a chiller

 

[thebully03]

You could either go with an SRO-3000 or an NWB-200 (both reef octo skimmers). The NWB is rated a little lower but still plenty high for your tank. If cost is an issue you can get away with a NWB-150 or SRO-2000 as well.

this is what i was thinking since i was sump-less..... recommend any of these.
http://www.reefspecialty.com/virtue...65-super-reef-octopus/102-super-reef-hob.html