Need help planing a new tank - Page 2

salt creepette · 03-09-2004, 11:21 AM

that, and anemone's survival rates in captivity are in the single digit percentile. AND, clownfish in the wild NEED them to survive, whereas clowns in captivity dont need the anemone's to protect them from predation. so its best to leave the anemone's in the wild, from a conservational viewpont (conservational to the clownfish AND the anemone!)

dustin · 03-09-2004, 12:25 PM

Hello scottie,
I wanted to pass on my experience with keeping an anemone in a 30 gallon. I kept an anemone under 2 55watt power compacts for 2 years. It got HUGE. As many here have pointed out, anemones can be tricky to keep. I have kept two, the one bubble in my 30 that eventually went to a another reefers tank, and now my bubble rose anemone in my 58. I dont feel that metal halides are a must for keeping an anemone healthy, as this hasnt been my experience. However, what I would want to warn you about is the size an anemone can get to and how it will eventually be more than its worth in my opinion. If your wanting to stick with a 30 gallon, which if money and space are issues for you I think is a fine size, but Id stay away from an anemone. It will dominate the whole tank and sting anything it comes into contact with. So your 30 gallon will be anemone tank and thats its. I think this will turn you off after a while, and more than likely you will buy more corals only to watch them get stung and die.

This has also been the case with my 58 and the rose bubble. It has gotten so darned big that Ive had to totally rearrange the rockwork and add power heads to keep it at bay and away from my other corals. After you start full swing with keeping a reef tank you'll find your interests exand and you'll want some mushrooms and zooanthids etc. This really wont be feasible with an anemone in a 30 gallon. Id research and view some nano tanks, go to some reef stores in your area, and check out all the cool hardy soft corals you can add and keep with success. With some luck, you can get a clown to host in a frilly mushroom and youve got the whole symbotic thing going on without the difficulties and pains of an anemone.

Good Luck, and if youd like to see some pictures of an anemone in a 30 gallon, or my 58 gallon, and see how big mine has gotten let me know.

Dustin

salt creepette · 03-09-2004, 12:46 PM

(I wanna see!)

SaltBlock · 03-09-2004, 01:04 PM

Lets see them Dustin......

I would have to agree with everyone else here, leave the anemones out of your 30 gal.

AEB

dustin · 03-09-2004, 01:10 PM

When I get home in a few hours I'll post them.

dustin · 03-09-2004, 07:40 PM

This is in the 58 and not the best pic, but it will give you an idea. The size now is what Id call a medium day. About once a month it will get about 25% larger and wreck the surrounding corals. This is an old pic, but the red branching coral to the left and the acropora colony directly above the anemone I lost after coming home one day to a large day for the anemone.

I cant seem to find the 30 gallon pics, but I had the anemone right in the middle of the tank, and some days I could barely see the rock work behind its mass.

salt creepette · 03-09-2004, 08:11 PM

yup! thats a big fat sis-tah if I ever saw one! good job keeping it happy!

NYPathfinder · 05-14-2004, 09:40 AM

Dustin,
About how long did it take for the anemone shown in your 58g to get that big? I've got one in my 30g that's about the size of a grapefruit (tentacles and all, "stump" is about 2-3 inches long)when its having a "large day". In the future (probably 1-2 years) I'm going to upgrade to a bigger tank but due to structural (my downstairs neighbors probably won't appreciate my tank crashing thru the floor) and financial constraints I can't have anything bigger than my 30 at this time. I'd like to figure out if I could happily house this anemone until then or if I should cut my losses and give him to someone else? I am interested in starting a reef tank (right now it's FOWLR) and since I don't have the strict space limitations with coral that I do with Fish, it's a great time to explore that part of the hobby.
I've had this anemone for about 3 months and he hasn't grown too much, however I've seen a lot of anemones blossom and begin to take over their tanks. I was wonderign what timeframe I have.

Boxster · 05-14-2004, 01:18 PM

The folks are right about reading. I have been planning for about a month now, reading these helpful threads and books. The big picture is much clearer now. first i bought my 72 RR bow with a stainless steel stand. next i reseached protein skimmers and am currently awaiting delivery of my euro-reef after their products were highly recommended by many on this forum. today i cut plastic for the baffles in my 20L sump. once the fuge and sump are done im planning a fresh water test for leaks.

btang · 05-14-2004, 09:32 PM

Sounds like your on a great path. Good luck with your water test. I will be doing mine in about two weeks or so. Are you going to get a RO unit? (highly recommended)

Boxster · 05-17-2004, 06:24 AM

I was not at first, but it seems like RO units are the way to go, i was wondering if i could cycle the tank ( about 2 months) without one? this would help with my start up expenses

salt creepette · 05-17-2004, 01:21 PM

boxter you probably could, but using tap water to get started just means that you have that much more dissolved solids and phosphate for algae to get a foothold

im sure you dont want that. better to buy filtered water from a water store or from your LFS (ask them what kind of filtration they use first though! be sure its ro/di or cold sterile!) usually most places will sell you plain water (no salt; you can salt it yourself!) for 25 cents per gallon. hope this helps!