Need Opinion

[Mishikal]

Hey guys, this is my first post here. I hope you can give me some good expert advise.

I have a 55 gallon tank that is 18" tall from top of sand bed to water line. It's 47" long and 12" deep. I have a Coralife 4x65watt PC lighting and I am wondering what coral possibilities I have for my tank. I really want to get some anemone for a clown fish, so will it live by the top of the tank? I have read that PC light is stronger than regular halogen but I just don't know where I stand and what I can get at this point?

Some help would be greatly appreciated guys.

Thanks

 

[reedman]

Personally, I would not recommend an anemone unless you have MH. I would imagine you could keep certain kinds of anemenes in your tank. Do you know what kind you want to keep? Many have different needs. How long has your tank been setup? Do you have power heads in your tank (anemones seem to love to get caught in the intakes). I would suggest researching anemones carefully before making a purchase. Asking a question here is a good start.

 

[Mishikal]

My tank has been up for alittle over a month. I have a Aqua-C Protein Skimmer w/maxi1200 and a Fluval 304. I have 2 Via Aqua 480's for current and that's about it. I really like the bubble anemone but that one seems like the hardest to keep. What Anemone do you think is possible?

What coral can I have zooanthids, SPS, LPS or Anemone's?

I just don't know how my tank stands in regards to lighting.

 

[reedman]

I think any soft coral is fine. Probably the LPS (hammer, frogspawn, etc.) and zoos will be fine as well. Some of the less light demanding SPS are possible, but I wouldn't recommend it until your tank has been up and running (steady calcium, alk, PH, temp, NO3 parameters) for 6 months to a year. SPS are a lot less tolerant of changes in water parameters.

Are you using RO/DI water? If not, I would strongly recommend it, as you will have algae problems without.

How is your flow? Do you want a tank that has high flow (difficult to keep sand in these environments), or one with lower flow? Most SPS require very high flow ans pristine water clarity with very low organics.

Soft corals (zoos, mushrooms, leathers) and LPS are much more tolerant of higher organics that are typical of younger tanks.

Keep reading and posting questions and you'll learn all you need to be successful without loosing specimens.

 

[Ed Hahn]

Mishikal,
IN my opinion, The type of coral you want for the PCs would be soft corals and Long Polyp Stonies. Such Softies as leathers, zoos, Xenia, mushrooms, Kenya trees,and anthellea,and etc. LPS would be Hammers, frogspawn and etc. Metal Halides are usually stronger than PCs. Again as Reedman said above it takes time for your tank to adjust to each coral or animal unless you have Live Rock and water from a aged mature tank. The waiting(8 weeks at least) seems to be the hardest thing at times, But well worth it. I recommend a pound and a Half of good Live Rock per gallon of tank and waiting 8 weeks. You will thank yourself for the money you have saved. Try to prevent dead spots in your tank. Dead spots are areas that do not get current. You want a smooth current through out your tank so your rock will do the work as bilogical filtration. Keep your temp stable, time your lighting, and use filtered or treated water that is same temperature to replace your water that is evaporated or consumed by fish in your tank. Never mix salt in the same tank with creatures. Ok, this Babbling Baby is done(lmao Dave).
Good Luck,
Ed

 

[Mikeydog]

I agree with most of the other comments posted here by Reedman and Ed. You really need to wait for your tank to mature (cure). You tank is not ready for an anenome.. The problem with them is sometimes they take a long time to die. So they will look alright for a couple months and by then your tank is fine. But the damage you did to them in the beginning is what ends up killing it. As for the lights, I don't think you need to go as far as metal halide for anenome.. But I do think you need more light then 260w... I ran pure VHO's over my 125 for well over a year but I was running 800w. I really didn't need to upgrade to MH but an offer I couldn't refuse came up so I took it. Now my tank pretty much grows out of control.

Anyway. I think I would wait on anything exotic, at least till the tank is 6 months old. I agree with Ed on the live rock, and may just start off with mushrooms and xenia at first, see where it takes ya..

Thanks
Mike

 

[Mishikal]

Yeah, I use RO/DI water and I have about 20 pounds of live rock right now. I want to have twice as much live rock but at $6 a pound the stuff is really expensive. Currently I think that I have good water flow because anything I put in the tank like food never hits the bottom because it's blown around the tank forever. I'm just starting to grow alot of coraline algae the last couple days since the protein skimmer kicked in really good.

 

[Mishikal]

Sorry I mean that I have 30 pounds of live rock.

Somtimes my brain doesn't spark right :exclaim:

 

[Ritsuko Nashida]

Good info you have been given, its very sound advice. Please do take it on board.

For live rock...60 lbs is the minimum, I would suggest a bit more than 30 additional pounds, prehaps a box of 40-45 lbs. If you got some time to kill, some dead rock can be had for cheap via Pet Solutions/Premium Aquatics (cant remember which) I beilve called Reef Bones. Yeah sure its dead but if you get a 45 lbs box of it it can be shipped with standard shipping getting it too you cheap, probably less that 2 bucks a pound. That will be easy on the "fun dollar account". Its chuncks of cacium bases rock that was once living coral and what not. It will colonize with bactreria coursey of the live rock you already have. It will proably take a few months before it shows any coralline algae growth though again beeing seeded by the live rock you already have. But this will allow for your system to stabilize and mature a bit. If your on a budget this would be my option. In more of a hurry, got plenty of "fun dollars" order a box of live rock, and get down to buisness.

Anenomes...are pretty tough creatures to keep alive for long periods although the out look is getting better every day. I would highly recommend a very stable and mature tank about 1 plus years old before attempting one.

The Anenome I would recommend is a BTA or RBTA. I paid dearly for my RBTA a while back before the flood of Chinese ones hit the market and drop the bottom out of it. With that in mind I would go RBTA! The colors are off the chain!!! I think it would be okay under that kinda of lighting, I would however suggest that you upgrade a bit at least. I say this as I have a nano thats about the same demesions as 1/2 a 55 gallon tank and one of my clones is doing very well in it. Its not just thriving but growing too. I do have to admit that this is not the most optimal lighting set up for these guys though as halides are much much better! None the less it is doable I think.

Under your current lighting just about any soft or LPS coral should do good to outstanding. SPS...very few will be able to adjust to this lighting although there are some but you more than likely wont be happy with the colors they will produce as PC is just not intense enough except under very shallow tanks. Even then the difference halides will make will be phenominal conservatively speaking!

I will have to porstitute a phrase someone else made today, and that is...Nothing good happens in a reef tank fast! This is one hobby where patients and deliberate moves/choices pays off big time. Dont get rushed and dont get in a hurry. Chances are you will regret it in one way or another. Patients..its one of the hardest parts of this hobby.

HTH's

 

[Ritsuko Nashida]

Oh did I mention how good they are at finding pump/powerhead intakes? Its "multiples of sadness" when they do!!! I recommend a sponge covering on all of your intakes and over flows. Just a suggestion......

 

[NaH2O]

First let me say...WELCOME TO REEF FRONTIERS! What type of clownfish do you have? Sometimes, clownfish will take to a soft coral and LPS.....sometimes not, but it would be worth a shot. Great advice given everyone!

 

[Ritsuko Nashida]

Good point NaH2O! I kinda got my blinders on when this thread first popped up and forgot that aspect of it all, but true enough you dont need an Anenome for a clown to be happy. They will usually host on a Soft coral or LPS if an Anenome isnt available, so thats always a option for you. I have had excellent luck in this respect with Xenia and Toad Stool Leathers. Just an idea unless you absolutely just have to have an Anenome. Good luck

 

[Mishikal]

Thanks alot NaH20, this place is really great for starting a reef tank.

Sorry, I meant to say that I am going to get an anemone and clownfish. I want to get the anemone before the clown because of stuff I read about the clown damaging anemone if you put it in before the anemone get's established.

Thanks alot you guys for all your help. This hobby is extremely hard for me because I am such an impatient person. But I was hoping that this will make me alittle more patient

 

[MzWeazelle]

I don't know what others may have had happen, but I had my pair of clown fish well before getting my anemone. When I finally got my green bta (a fairly large one) the clowns absolutely ignored it for over a month. By the time they decided to "make friends" the anemone was well established. I know others have had their clowns take to an anemone much faster, so I suppose it could be a problem, but I had no trouble at all.

 

[Ritsuko Nashida]

Im like you MzWeaselle, I have a pair of Golden Stripe Maroons and a pair of Tomato Clowns, and I got both of my pairs long before I broke down and got an Anenome. Mine ignored my Anenome for several days before cozying up to it finally.

I dont really think it will be a problem adding the Fish before the Anenome. But I do like the idea of adding the Anenome first though, especially if its a small one. This will give it some time to get bigger and find its "sweet spot" and get settled in too. I kinda got lucky in that my RBTA was fairly large and my clowns were still pretty small.