240g Magnifica system questions

[illcssd]

Hey Anthony, and all:
I have currently kept my h. Magnifica successfully for 6 years. About 4 months ago i decided i wanted to pursue more with these anemones, possibly propagation or something along those lines. So i acquired a 240g cube acrylic aquarium....It has euro bracing across the top and now i have some questions that i was hoping you could answer for me.
My current h. mag resides in a 60g cube, sitting on top of a rock structure in the middle under a 400w radium bulb with a lumenarc reflector, in this situation it has split once for me in 6 years and has grown considerably. This will be one of the anemone's going into the 240g cube.
The cube measures 48"x48"x24"
The cube has about 200 lbs of live rock in it, making two tier's on each side/middle so the anemone(s) will feel at the highest point and will not be able to touch the walls or back of the aquarium.
I am running an aqua-c 1000 skimmer on the aquarium for backup or needed filtration in case of spawning or other things that may happen, as i know how fickle my anemone can be when the water gets dirty.
Current is provided by 1 Poseidon pump ps4 that provides 1225gph for the return pump from the sump that returns into a 1" sea swirl in the left corner of the aquarium. Also for a closed loop i have a sequence reeflo dart with 3 input's on the back returning into 5 smaller outputs on the back.
I plan on keeping the aquarium at 80degrees throughout the year.
Inhabitants will be probably 2, if i can find another specimen that has been in captivity 1+ year, to add to my current h. Magnifica anemone, and a "colony" of a. Nigripes clown fish(4-6 if possible?)
If you have any other questions about the setup let me know.
My questions for you are regarding lighting, these are the options i am considering for this anemone:
1.
4 Single ended 400w metal halides, each with a lumenarc reflector mounted on each corner of the tank.
2.
The same as above yet with 250w halides?
3.
A single 1000w halide mounted directly over the center of the aquarium, made by sunlight supply or pfo, with a big reflector to match?

I have given much thought to number three, and i realize it would provide the most light, but Ime, Magnifica will move to directly under the light, top dead center, and having rock tower's on either side will not be directly under the light.
What do you think would be the best option?
Also, in regards to spectrum of light;
Which spectrum of bulb would be best? I have been keeping my Magnifica successfully under a variety of light spectrum's from 6500-20000 and have not really decided if one was better than another. i would assume since where these anemone normally come from in the wild that a 10k bulb would probably be best considering they are usually high up in the water column, but i have seen them alot deeper than i previously thought and thus-forth have considered a 20k light to be alright.

Another question in regards to flow:
I have considered adding a tunze wave box or two, one on each side of the back, to add to a more natural flow, and wanted to know if you think that would be a good addition, as long as i can make sure they are anemone proof or wouldn't have the ability to seriously suck up one of the specimens....

I apologize for the long post but this is important to me and i am trying to replicate as natural as possible a display for these beautiful yet extremely hard to care for creatures....
fwiw
Austin

 

[morgan]

hey no one has posted yet so to keep this thread alive here i go
1. i would probly go with ur first option plus sum fluros? u could probly get away with 3 mh bulbs down the middle and a couple antincs would be nice
as for spectrum of bubl if u have had succsues with all then it may cum down to ur preferance big h.magnicias normally inhabit the bottom the reef or tucked under ledges so a 20k might be better?

as for the wave boxs sounds great unless ur anenome walks to the top of it other wise they are pretty much and over device
would love to see pics of current setup and any clown fish u might have if u dont have pics wat colour is ur anenome ive seen a large pink specimen in my lfs it was about 2feet diameter lfs owner said it took him close to an hour to get it off a rock i hope its still alive where every it is

 

[illcssd]

1.
I like running 20k radiums or something along those lines so i can avoid flor bulbs, This is an open top setup and the lights are going to be hung so florecents are not a great option.
As for the pix, here ya go:
Temporaraly light by an 8 bulb tek light fixture.
6 weeks old in this picture.

 

[illcssd]

Here is a picture of my mag's a bit after they split, before i got rid of the one.

 

[illcssd]

They are in a differen't system then that one now, that was a temporary holding 55g tank while i redid some things in my 60.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

please invest in a PAR meter my friend for such an endeavor (or borrow one). Many of your lighting questions will be answered in making the transfer from your to-date success into the next system(s).

1000 (total) watts of light will be fine for this tank (200-250 gallons). Ritteri are raher shallow water species in full sun on the reef. You should seek very warm colored lamps (5000-6500K) and high PAR. Iwasaki 6500K is far and away the best lamp for this species health IMO for growing. For aethsetics... thats another story.

 

[illcssd]

Eh, not what i wanted to hear on the warm colered lamps. Oh well,
any comment on the wavebox's? Or i have been playing with the idea of a surge tank, good idea, or no?
Thanks for your help
austin

 

[Elmo18]

IMO, I would run XM 10ks in Single Ended bulbs. Just an observation, but my anemones love the strength of the bulb, and I like the overall color. Not too yellow, and not too blue.

Best,
Ilham

 

[Anthony Calfo]

Alas... in this case its a really big deal. One of the reasons (beyond dismal shipping on import) that magnifica have such poor survivability in captivity is that they are more light hungry than even the highest light-loving, so to speak, sps corals you will ever see. Very warm, high PAR light is your best bet my friend.

That said... after you meet that need, you can temper it with some blue weighted T-5s.

Or... if you are willing to shoulder the extra operational (replacement) expense of multi-lamps (versus one 1000-watt lamp)... you could run two 400 watt 6500Ks... and add a single 250 watt MH (or two 150s or 175s) that are blue weighted (as much as a 20k K Radium indeed).

Regarding the surge or wave boxes... they are aesthetically a pleasure and functionally no advantage (over simple random turbulent flow). Add them or not as you like... they will have little benefit on the cnids. Just insure that one way or another you have adequate water flow (something in the neighborhood of a 40-60X tank volume turnover)

 

[Maxx]

Austin,
What is your H.mag under right now in your 60 gallon? If your goal is to make this an H.mag specific system, and you really prefer the look of 20K bulbs, I'd suggest going with a pair of 400 watt MH's over each pillar. Getting them close to the surface of the water should provide you with enough light to keep them from wandering. If its not enough, you could also supplement the 400 Watt MH w/ some 250 20K DE's...

Nick

 

[illcssd]

Alas... in this case its a really big deal. One of the reasons (beyond dismal shipping on import) that magnifica have such poor survivability in captivity is that they are more light hungry than even the highest light-loving, so to speak, sps corals you will ever see. Very warm, high PAR light is your best bet my friend.

That said... after you meet that need, you can temper it with some blue weighted T-5s.

Or... if you are willing to shoulder the extra operational (replacement) expense of multi-lamps (versus one 1000-watt lamp)... you could run two 400 watt 6500Ks... and add a single 250 watt MH (or two 150s or 175s) that are blue weighted (as much as a 20k K Radium indeed).

Regarding the surge or wave boxes... they are aesthetically a pleasure and functionally no advantage (over simple random turbulent flow). Add them or not as you like... they will have little benefit on the cnids. Just insure that one way or another you have adequate water flow (something in the neighborhood of a 40-60X tank volume turnover)

There is roughly 55x turnover in the tank now, so i think i'm set on those.

 

[illcssd]

Austin,
What is your H.mag under right now in your 60 gallon? If your goal is to make this an H.mag specific system, and you really prefer the look of 20K bulbs, I'd suggest going with a pair of 400 watt MH's over each pillar. Getting them close to the surface of the water should provide you with enough light to keep them from wandering. If its not enough, you could also supplement the 400 Watt MH w/ some 250 20K DE's...

Nick

400w radiums in my 60. They never wander on me and have done well.

 

[morgan]

cheers for the pics man have u got any current full tank shots? would love to get an idea of the size of the H.mag nices looking speciem to

 

[Maxx]

400w radiums in my 60. They never wander on me and have done well.

In that case, I'd suggest keeping the 400 watt radiums in LA3's over the pillars, and then use some lower wattage lighting for anything else needing light that you may want to put in the tank. Are you planning any corals down low or beneath the H.mags?

Nick

 

[illcssd]

Probably no corals, maybe, but very few, the whole point is going to be the anemones and clownfish. I don't want to have to worry about calcium or anything like that more than the basics, and i don't want a calcium reactor. I may throw in a small monti-cap colony or something, we will see.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

to avoid frequent supplemention... please employ a heavy waterchange schedule (see the sticky thread on auto water changes in my "fav links" atop this forum. Quite easy.