tank cycled how long 'til coral/anenome

[syddakyd]

ok tank is cycled got coralline and green slime algae(sux) hair algae nitrate nitrite ammonia=0 ph= 8.2

yay

tank has been set up less then a month

have 10 blue legged
5 astrea snails
a hitch hiker fan worm
brittle star (spikey version)
bunch of copepods and amphiopods
a few brittle worms
cherry stone clam

penguin filter for 50g
emperor 400
aqua c remora pro w/ mag 3

coral life fixture 260 watt with flourscent and blue actinic lighting and lunar lights



how long untill i can add soft coral/other medium light corals and medium light anenomes



can a bubble tip live w/ my lighting?


how long 'til i should add feather duster and other inverts

 

[keene1981]

i would like to keep a anenome to so a would like to ?????????

 

[syddakyd]

i understand they need a minimum of 3 wpg although its a measure of intensity and not merely just amount of watts but i have vhos i believe and have about 5 watts per gallon

 

[keene1981]

i only have flourscents a round 160 watt's but a heard of pepole keeping anenome's at that light i have some mushroom's that look be to doing vary good. i have a round 20'000k all togeter

 

[Krish]

What size is your tank? I'm assuming with 260 w pc's it's a 4ft tank. I kept an anemone for a few months under the same lighting on my 90 gal (first ever setup using a retro fit 4x65w pc by Coralife) The anemone did well and when I tore down the tank out of frustration, I gave the anemone to a friend of mine that kept it under the same lighting (but smaller tank 75gal) and it did great as well. So as far as I know from my experience, they should be ok, but not sure about the bubble tip anemone. The only thing I'd say though is I don't see where you have much flow listed in your first post (just a few powerfilters) If that is the case, you will have an un-happy anemone. They love flow! What do you have besides the powerfilters for flow now?

 

[syddakyd]

looks liek there is too much flow in the tank actually. lol. yea i have a 55g btw

 

[Slickdonkey]

Check out this Anemone FAQ. Good information there.

 

[steve-s]

tank has been set up less then a month

have 10 blue legged
5 astrea snails
a hitch hiker fan worm
brittle star (spikey version)
bunch of copepods and amphiopods
a few brittle worms
cherry stone clam

Did you add the star or was it a hitchiker? Your system is far too young for animals of this nature.

For filter feeders like feather dusters, you really need to wait. They are not as easy to keep as the LFS would have you believe. They are strict filter feeders with a very sensitive dispostion for ammonia and/or nitrite. Higher nitrate readings will also do them in. Without an established waste producing population (fish etc..) you will pollute the tank trying to feed them strictly via food additives. Give the tank some time to "grow" before adding these if you do at all by then.

When to add fish or inverts will depend on the stability and "ability" of the system to support their needs. Wether that be directly from it's own resources or indirectly from you. Water stability and the ability to feed the animals you add is paramount, it's not just about lighting either. You also need to understand the care level for each animal you wish to aquire down to the actual species, not just "soft coral". Each are very different.

Before you start adding anything, I would suggest some books on coral husbandry in general. From there, you can further decide on the direction of your "reef" based on your likes/dislikes and available budget to carry that out properly. I would check with the sponsors for deals on the books, they can often be better than Amazon and the like.

Once you have read up on what you wish to keep and how to keep them healthy, the answers to your questions will be among that reading material. In short, neither you or the tank is ready.

I kept an anemone for a few months under the same lighting on my 90 gal (first ever setup using a retro fit 4x65w pc by Coralife) The anemone did well and when I tore down the tank out of frustration, I gave the anemone to a friend of mine that kept it under the same lighting (but smaller tank 75gal) and it did great as well.

It would actually not be the same lighting. Even though the same lighting equipment, the tank depth is lower on the 75 than on the 90. The light would actually be more intense provided both set ups where otherwise the same.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Krish]

It would actually not be the same lighting. Even though the same lighting equipment, the tank depth is lower on the 75 than on the 90. The light would actually be more intense provided both set ups where otherwise the same.

Agreed...Thought that was a given when I posted and figured I didn't need to mention it which was why I asked what size tank he had. There is really only 1 size up from what I had on a standard all-glass tank (110 gal) and figured if the anemone lived fine under the 260w pc's on a 90 gal, then even more so they should do well under a bit more intense lighting had the tank been shallower (which I assumed seeing a 110gal is not all that common). Also, the anemone will move to where it feels comfortable anyways with the lighting...Too intense, they'll move down low. Not intense enough, they'll move higher in the tank. I'd seen my anemone wonder all the time

looks liek there is too much flow in the tank actually. lol. yea i have a 55g btw

LOL...How much do you have now? Just to toss out some numbers, I have almost 4,000 gph on a 38gal and everything is doing great. Some corals will require more flow than others, but I've seen my anemone move in the tank to the spot that had the most flow which was why I suggested sufficient flow. Either it was the flow or the lighting he was looking for, but I put my money on the flow. Anemones have been found many times as well being sucked into powerheads. I figured they were just trying to get close to the source and got too close

 

[steve-s]

Krish, was not trying to push any buttons. . I do not know what people know or don't know until they say it.

As far as a 110 goes though, it's 60" long and the same height as a 90 gal.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Krish]

Krish, was not trying to push any buttons. . I do not know what people know or don't know until they say it.

Steve you know me...I won't ever think like that

As far as a 110 goes though, it's 60" long and the same height as a 90 gal

Wanna bet? Check the large tanks page in the link below Your dimensions equate to a 110 as well though but, remember I mentioned above all-glass tanks that's why I said 4ft

http://all-glass.com/products/aquariums/index.html (48x18x30 I almost special ordered one )

 

[syddakyd]

 

[Krish]

Nice tank, but definately will need some flow in there. Powerfilters like the ones you have mostly only provide surface aggitation and not much for down below the surface. Eventually, you will end up with algae problems in areas where flow is lacking. Also, corals require it...Some not so much as others, but all need some to an extent. Without proper flow in there, detritus will accumilate on your rocks which in turn will fuel nuicance algae to grow. Not trying to scare you or anything...Just looking out, but you ask anyone here and they'll tell you you need some more flow

 

[Meche]

ok, krish i am humbled by your ultimate autority... but I have a 55gal with just a couple of rocks in it. My fish look more like their swimming for their lives rather than enjoying the current. I have 350gph of flow (maybe less).

Does the addition of more LR make all the difference? How do you keep 4kgph in a 38gal tank? The way mine looks, 1k would blow all of the water out of the tank. What gives?

Thanks,
Brett

 

[Krish]

It's placement and besides, 1K is nothing...I live on an island and the currents fish have to endure is more than you can imagine. Just think of Don's tank (DonW) He has a 110 gal with about 10,000 gph of flow. My fish swim just fine and they love it! Infact at night, they have spots they sleep where they can be pretty much stationary. Here some shots of my tank where the flow is concerned. There are 2 nozzles down low you can't see in the pics

 

[Meche]

That is a beautiful tank!

Where did you learn to photoshop like that? I still don't believe that you have 4kgal/h. That means you overturn literly 1ton of water (2,000lbs) every 3min and 36sec! Holy smokes!

 

[Krish]

Thanks and no photoshop. I only use the program to upload the pics from the camer to the computer and that's it. All my corals are harvested here and got a few more today I'll addd to my cube's thread you see the link to in my signature. As for the flow, I have (2) Quiet One 6000's which are 1506gph each (3012 gph combined) and my sump return is a mag950 (950 gph) Sounds like a lot, but I have 7 nozzles putting out water in the tank so it doesn't just blast everything. You'll be surprised man at what flow does and how much everything loves and needs it. My 75gal had over 5,000 gph in it! Start a thread about flow and see what people say. I'm probably a joke to some of the others. Mike (Mojoreef) has about 36,000 gph in his tank if I remember correctly!

 

[Meche]

I might have an old pool pump in my garage. I wonder what its specs are. <tim allen voice> hehehe </tim allen voice>

 

[Krish]

ROFL! Believe it or not man, but flow is one of the most important things in a tank. Just think about corals that can't swim to go for their food. Flow has to bring it to them. Also, without flow keeping everything into suspension (waste/detritus) corals won't have the opportunity to feed on them, the detritus would never make it to the overflow and down to your sump were your skimmer is to be removed etc so what you end up with is a tank filled with detritus degrading water quality and the list goes on. But seriously, if you like to get some feedback on flow, start a new thread. You'll be surprised

 

[Krish]

I started a thread...Follow along here to see some of the responses

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=198568#post198568