getting anemone in 10 gal

[nubes]

i need an INEXPENSIVE light that can support an anemone i also need to know if i can switch substrates without hurting my tanks balance. im 15 my name is mickey and i live in atlanta. whats the best substrate to switch to and also is there a light thats equal to metal halide for less. do i need a moon light to raise corals and other invertabrats. will a tank raised clown live in an anemone? what would give sufficient current for an anemone. thank you...



anybody out there...

 

[Fly n Reef]

Hi Nubes and welcome to Reef Frontiers.
I am no expert by any means but what are you trying to do here? An anemone in a 10 gallon seems unrealistic. What kind are you thinking of? Tank raised clowns may or may not host an anemone. As for your substrate...what do you have and what do you want to change it to and why? Lighting I am not sure because I think your tank will be too small to have an anemone. Just my opinion.

 

[Beckmola24]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers Nubes!
I had an anemone in a 12 and it isn't a good idea. It did ok for a month or so but went downhill from there. I put a 96 watt power compact on my 12 (after the anemone) I bought it on ebay for less than a hundred dollars. Around 65 I think. The thing with the anemones is that they need extremely clean and stable water. It is hard to keep the water stable in such a small tank. I have devoted MANY hours to keeping my 20 stable and running. If you have the time and energy and get a good skimmer and a pretty decent light you might be able to keep a small bubble anemone or something like that, but read up on anemone care beforehand. Anemone's need something like 5 watts or more per gallon so that is something you should consider too. It is not something you want to jump into as a beginner. I did, and paid for it in the long run cause my anemone died. As for lighting comparable to metal halide, I am not an expert at all, but I don't think you can get something LIKE metal halides w/o actually getting halides. The structure of the bulbs and the power output of the light itself is totally different from a power compact or VHO. Why do you want to chang your substrate? Is there something wrong with it? Also, unless you have a skimmer or a powerful hang on filter or canister, it would be wise to only put one fish in the tank. Have you considered whether or not you would like to keep inverts?? I have a cleaner shrimp and they're pretty cool. I also have an array of crabs that are cool to watch also. Give us more info on what you'd like to do with your tank and we can all better help you. Good Luck! I'll do my best to try and give you the info I know.

 

[nubes]

hey thanks im trying to change my substrate from regular gravel cause it used to be a freshwater tank, to crushed coral. I have seen quite a few people raise anemones in 10-15s before but i moved and lost touch with them. I actually have a few crabs they are cool i agree. i asked the guy at the pet store if there are lights for my size tank and he said that he would have to special order it. I have a protein skimmer and going to get an under gravel filter too. how can a tank be too small for an anemone as long as its healthy i figured it would last. i just wanted maybe a bubble tip or a long tentacle anemone. i think im just going to settle with metal halides cause thats seems wisest but because im kinda young i dont have a steady stream of cash so it might be hard. i will do some more research about this stuff. O ya if my tanks too small for an anemone than can i get any kind of cool corals.

 

[Beckmola24]

Go for it! If you feel you have the time to keep up with the tank it can be a lot of fun to keep an anemone. I wasn't trying to tell you that you shouldn't, but it will be a lot of work. Just wanted to warn you. I did everything right in my tank and my anemone still died. My water params were perfect, I had a good light over the tank, and I fed it regularly. I've just heard from the experts on here that it is really risky having an anemone in such a small tank. With all the filtration you have, and if you get a metal halide, it should be fine. FYI, I just bought a 20 gallon tank for like 20 bucks. The actual glass tanks are really cheap. You may want to think about getting a little bit bigger of a tank. That way you could go with a pair of clownfish and it would be a bit easier to keep everyone happy and healthy. Where are you located? I have some crushed coral that I'm not using anymore. I had way too much to use it all. Have fun getting your anemone if that's the way you decide to go.!

 

[nubes]

ya i think i will take your advice and go with a twenty gallon and start from the bottom. The only problem is that i already have two tanks the 10 and a 20 so i might not have enough room. Again does anybody have any suggestions on small corals that might fit in a twenty or a ten that are fairly easy to take care of.
hey Beckmola24 what kind of anemone did you get for your twelve?

 

[Vandur]

Nubes,

Up until this past winter I had run nothing but nanos (2) 10g's, (1) 20g H, & (1) 20g L. If you have not already visited it, you might want to visit http://www.nano-reef.com/, and read some of the forums there. It is a site dedicated to reefs that are less then 30 gallons and it can provide you with a TON of information on nano-reefs and what you can do with them.

The type of corals you pick for them is very important! In such a small environment there can be some pretty serious chemical warfare going on between different species. Be VERY careful about adding any species that has long feeders (frogspawn, galaxia, torch's, etc) and DEFINATELY try to research everything before you buy it (don't just go with what the guy at the local fish store tells you).

Additionally, if you intend to keep an anenome, be aware that when they start to move they can do some pretty serious damage to your reef system. I added a small anenome that is non-photosenthetic (it was labeled as a Waratah - though the only anenome I know of by that name comes from tidal zones in Aust.) to a 10g with just some Zoo's, 'shrooms, and xenia and it did great in there. Later on, when it was moved into my 90 gallon, it "went for a walk" through a number of my SPS corals killing some fairly large sections of them. As with any living thing that can move about on its own, you should be aware that they can do this. (He has since settled down, but if I could get him isolated I would still remove it & throw it back into a tank by itself).

Now, havign said all of that, here is a list of things that I have kept in a nano tank:

Mushrooms / Ricordia (assorted types) *
Leathers (assorted types) *
Zoanthids / Palythoa (assorted types) *
Green Star Polyps *
Open Brains *
Montipora (Digitata, Capricornis, Spongodes)
Pocillapora verrucosa
Stylophora pistillata
Candy Cane *
Frogspawn *
Xenia *

I have star'd the items that are great for beginers (mainly softies / LPS). These are low maintenance corals & that can take a bit of a "swing" in water chemestry without being to drasticly effected (as an added bonus they don't require as much light. This means your tank will be easier to keep cool, evaporation will be less, and you can save a bit on lighting.)

You should be aware that in the summer time your tank may require daily fresh water top offs, and you should be VERY diligent about your water changes (particularly if you don't run a skimmer). If you want to avoid having to add water changes all of the time, look into getting an automatic top-off system.

If you want some more information, check out Achu's thread here, I replied to it a while ago, but forgot about it until I got to this point in my response. LOL:
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1144&highlight=topoff

If you want to see what my old 20L nano-reef looked like, take a look at:
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/photos_members/showphoto.php?photo=207&password=&sort=1&cat=all&page=1

Well thats my $0.02 on all of that.

~V

 

[Beckmola24]

I had a Long Tentacle anemone in my 12. It was bright green and really pretty. I have a stylo acropora frag and a blue stag frag =) in my 20 right now along with some yellow polyps. Let me know if you have any other questions. This forum is very helpful. =) Good luck!! Hope all goes well for you. This is a great hobby to get into.

 

[nubes]

THAT IS AWSOME INFORMATION!! thanks a lot. as a matter of fact i was just getting on to ask if a nano reef would do well. i will take the info on anemones killing off your other animals into consideration when im picking out my residents but that will be in quite a while so i will have plenty of time to think about it. thanks again. and your right about not trusting the guy at the fish store... they have messed me up many times before... thats why i came to you guys. thanks again.

 

[nubes]

Would you tell me if this is a good tank for me to raise my animals in? and if not would you give me a link to a good tank that is around the same size. would i need a protien skimmer?


http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...=40000&R=8284&ref=3055&subref=AB&N=2004+62759


thanks!

 

[DonW]

If you like the looks of anenome's then you may want to check into ricordia instead. They are easy to keep and will do just fine under low light conditions.
It does not sound as if your tank is anywhere close, to handling a anenome. You need to get your tank well establish before doing anything. Keep in mind if you decide to get a anemome and fail it could wipe out your entire tank.

Don

 

[nubes]

ya i love anemones, but my tank that i have now is very well established. I was thinking about getting a new one that might be better suited for the job. does that tank that i showed have the right equipment for corals and if not than give me a link that does have a nano reef up to standards. I will look into that ricordia too thanks.

 

[Vandur]

Nubes,

The Nano-Cube you posted is an interesting product, if you check out Nano-Reef.com they have a ton of advice on how to modify it to make it better (Most people will immediately remove the filter media and stuff in the back of it, then add a second PC light under the hood.).

Because so many people suggest modifying it, I would say that a standard 10g glass tank might be a better purchase. For about the same price as the kit above you can get the following:

10g tank ($10)
96 watt CF lighting hood ($69.00-100.00)
a powerhead ($15)
a heater ($15)
--------------
Total: $109.00 +/-

A setup like this will let you get a lot more light on the tank immediately, and you don't have to mess around with trying to modify a hood to add more light.

Just my $0.02.

Here is a good pict of a nano-cube in action:
http://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/data/500/8048P1010198-med.jpg

Here is a nice thread on nano-cube modifications:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=32573&highlight=nano+cube

~V

 

[Beckmola24]

I agree. I got the eclipse 12 and wound up not using anything that came with it (light and filter). It would've been cheaper to just go with a plain tank and then add the filter/skimmer, and lighting on the side. Deffinately the way to go.

 

[nubes]

96 watt CF lighting hood ($69.00-100.00)
I cant seem to find anything like this for anywhere near this price. If you show me a site where i can find it i will be forever in debt to you.

 

[Beckmola24]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46314&item=4302889285&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

Here is one on ebay, but you could get it cheaper if you keep looking. This is what I currently have over my 20 gallon.

 

[nubes]

do you guys know if 144 gph for a power head is too much for my tank?

 

[NeilsReef]

nubes, I think 144 gph will be just fine. I have a similiar sized ph for my 10 gallon.

 

[nubes]

You guys are awsome. I have been telling my friend what im trying to do, and with your help i have been able to pass the knowledge and hes thinking about starting a nano reef too.

 

[Beckmola24]

That's awesome! I also have some friends who are thinking of getting into reefing becuase of me. They're thinking of giving me a budget and letting me design and stock the entire tank. It's such an awesome hobby.