Anemone only tank

[RayAllen]

Im thinking about converting my Bio Cube 29 from a soft reef over to a Anemone tank. Ive always wanted to keep anemones but didnt want them to stress out the corals in the small tank. Im thinking bubble tip and frogspawn. Does anyone have any tips on keeping them. Ive been in SW for a few years but Anemones will be new to me. My pair of clowns will be happy to host a anemone versus my red zoas,lol. With this said my corals will probably soon be up for sale.

[erikharrison]

Carbon and a metal halide. :)

[RayAllen]

Hmmmm. I run carbon all the time, I wasnt aware that they needed MH light........ If that is the case I may not do it. Are you saying that strictly for wattage purposes? Right now I have 3.6 watts per gallon. If I was to put a 70watt MH Viper on it would be the same.

[RayAllen]

I guess just like corals some want more light than others. From what ive read the Long Tentacles do fine in moderate light; where the rose tips prefer high amounts of light......

[apedroza]

Actually I don't think they require MH lighting, but I would keep them under VHO's or T-5 HO's

[alton]

CFL'S are ubent T5HO's

[erikharrison]

I have a rose... :)

"CFL'S are ubent T5HO's" ????? Are you sure? I thought the life of a pc bulb was only a few months, while a T5 was well over a year.

[erikharrison]

Come to think of it Janus had a green anemone in a biocube 29...

[RayAllen]

Does CFL's stand for Compact Flouresent?? And what is ubent meen (shape of the bulb)? This is getting interesting. PC's last about 8 months before needing changed. Eric Ive seen lots of anemones in Bio Cubes under PC's on Nano reef doing just fine but I always like to check with my fellow Maastards.

[RayAllen]

Does all this meen that I can get the anemones. It got technical real quick,lol. Sounds like id be fine with my PC's............

[erikharrison]

I would think you would be ok since I have seen them in a biocube. U-Bent, is what he meant, but I can swear I have read articles stating that a U-bent T5 is different from a pc bulb.

[RayAllen]

I found this article saying they last quite a bit longer than I thought because of the low power consumption

Power compact fluorescent: Power compact fluorescent systems operate with the same principles as the other types of fluorescent systems. Their appearance is different when compared to other systems. Instead of using one glass bulb, power compacts incorporate bulbs that have a twin tube design. When looking at the wattage ratings on these bulbs, the rating includes both tubes in the total output of the bulb.
Power compact fluorescent systems fall into the medium price range and are modest on energy consumption. They range from 6" to 34" in length with intensities of 9 to 96 watts. There are two commonly available designs: square pin and straight pin socket bases. These bulbs require the sockets that have been designed for the pin layout of the specific bulb type and cannot be interchanged. Because they are operated by an electronic ballast, the average life of these bulbs is 14 to 24 months, depending on the number of hours per day that they are used.
Like the other high-powered fluorescent systems, the power compacts produce an amount of heat that is proportional with the number of watts of the system. When multiple bulbs are used, a cooling fan should ideally be incorporated into the lighting hood to remove any excess heat. A water chiller may be needed when illuminating an aquarium with approximately 4 watts per gallon or more depending on room temperature.
Power compact fluorescents are an excellent choice for any type of aquarium. They are available in a wide range of spectrums, ranging from the low Kelvin rated bulbs for freshwater planted aquariums up to the blue spectrum needed for saltwater reef aquariums. Because of the low operating cost and the longevity of the bulbs, these systems are a good choice for most aquariums.

[RayAllen]

Im going to go for it a switch over the tank :)

[Kristy]

Just to confirm... we've got four BTAs under PC lighting and they seem happy as can be. Our small green BTA has split twice, which is why there are four.

[profntbtr]

yeah you can do it i had an lta under pc and it did just fine for the 8 months that i had it. i had 4 wpg and it dug itself in at the bottom of my 55. Grew alot till i traded it and my pair of o. clowns off on account of the clowns getting nippy.

[greenmako]

Nothing really to add here. Just a thought I wanted to throw out. If you've got a chiller some of the cold specie anemone's make BTA's look colorless...lol. I saw a native CA cold water anemone tank at San Diego Sea World and the colors are still burned into my mind. They were a colonial anemone and hot pink red is the only color to describe them. They also had low lighting (low compared to our reef tanks). Just an idea. I love anemones but also dont want to stress out our corals, so I just wait for the day I can do a cold water tank.
-christina

PS- the tank was full of catalina gobies at sea world.

[RayAllen]

Sweet! Thanks everyone for all the great information. Watch the for sale forum because the corals will soon be up for sale.

[copperband]

you can keeep them with a pc light all the times i tried they died but then i found out my tank wasnt matchure enough

[bigmoe21]

do you have any live rock? are you gonna keep it in? i read a fish magazine that said it was often a misconception of reefers that they NEED live rock..especially making the error of keeping live rock with an anemone..not sure just remember reading it

[bigmoe21]

that lots of live sand was all you needed..and the right lighting, water quality, etc

[RayAllen]

I have LR in the tank. I will keep it for a visual structure. Its not much though; maybe 15lbs.

[devonian]

BTA's do quite fine in a shallow tank with PC's overhead. I have a RBTA that has been under PC's for over 2 years, and it is very healthy and about 9-10" when fully opened.