Credit card works well. Use your wife’s card though.
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Right, she probably uses ours enough as it is!! (Kidding. No wives on the forum take offense. Happy mothers day! ) lolCredit card works well. Use your wife’s card though.
@crabs_mcjones Very well said!!
One thing to add.
The trend toward zero nutrients and tanks that are too clean is also a big complicating factor to success with anemones.
Anemones are gigantic photosynthetic polyps and have a large demand for phosphate as a result.
In a brand new tank, due to lack of much microbial infrastructure to capture and recycle "waste nutrients", food inputs could be the only significant phosphate source and could be inadequate to a large anemone's demand.
Smaller anemones should seem to be more hardy, because they should have smaller phosphate demands.
In those rare new tanks where nutrients are left "unmanaged" it's possible a large anemone might do fine.
Big anemones use A LOT of phosphate. Because of the nature of that need I'm not even sure that feeding the anemone will supply the need…
Dissolved phosphate might be required. Eaten nutrients go to the polyp first, but it's the resident dinos that need the phosphate.
Was that list also the chronology of events?
So the anemone was added, then the five new fish were added, then the algae bloom happened?
That leaves the clownfish (1 up; 2 down) as the sole fish in the tank up to that point?
Was the bio-block in there the whole time or was it added in response to the algae bloom?
Were the two macro algae you mentioned in there the whole time or were they added in response to the algae bloom?
So how was the tank doing with just the clowns and (I could probably guess, but...) why are two in the refugium? Do yo have a diary of test results that wold give you an idea what the nutrient levels were like at that stage?
Did the anemone ever bleach, or did it just collapse? (It's hard to judge color on photos.)
Downward pressure on nitrates.The MarinePure Bio Block was in the tank from the beginning.
The Macro Algae was already in the tank from about 2-3 months ago
the algae bloom in the display refugium
We tracked and kept the numbers on Nitrates (consistently ranging in the 2-10 range)
Alk looked to be in the lower range as well.
Our LFS did a test the day we bought the Anemone and confirmed that Alk was low as well as low Calcium
The anemone hasn't bleached at any point that we noticed.
We tried moving it 3 times
she moved again
we moved her
we placed her on the other side of the tank
Much appreciated. When you identify the circumstances like that, it only makes sense that the anenome wasn't doing so well. My wife is already in tears knowing we shouldn't have acquired her so soon.Follow me on this...
Downward pressure on nitrates.
Downward pressure on nitrates and phosphates.
Downward pressure on nitrates and phosphates.
If you noticed, that's a lot of downward pressure on nitrates for you to consistently have some available in tests! This suggests that the system might have been phosphate limited through this period.
Wait, what? They knew your chemistry was off because they tested it and presumably they knew that it was a new tank...and STILL sold you an anemone?
Alk and Ca numbers should not be this uncertain for you in the first place, BTW.....grab a decent test kit for either one if you don't have them already!
This could have been a pretty big factor in the anemone's current shape, depending on "how low" is "low".
I'm not sure if that's a good sign.
Here's another big potential problem...
I'd try not to move them once they are in the tank. Only if they're in imminent danger.
With all those possible contributors – phosphate limitation, alk deficiency, moved constantly – I think this anemone has just had a lot of stresses.
I think the odds don't look too great right now, but if you want to try balancing your phosphate levels, or bringing them up to at least 0.03 ppm.....it might help. Correct alkalinity as well – not too quickly though. And of course hands-off from here on...unless she literally drifts into danger.
Good luck!!!
"phosphate limitation"
The phosphates are currently at 0.71
Honestly, ignorant here because I was under the impression it's supposed to be in the less than <0.10 range.
NO3POx for phosphate reduction but now I'm not sure that would make sense based on what's just been shared here.
I just lost my first and only anemone. Wish I had seen this article earlier
Straight in to the powerhead 2 days in. Didn't find much of him.
Not sure I have the stomach to risk another as much as I want to.
Can you expand on that, and maybe also answer my question posted just before this one?Great write-up! You should also note that the 8-12 month waiting period isn't just for the tank to mature - it's also for the fishkeeper. We learn a lot in the first year of actually setting up a reef such as how to keep parameters stable and getting in tune with the tank.
When I see people using the word “luck” in reference to a reef tank, I assume that they are mostly talking about a finely-tuned skill, in a gracious way.Reef keeping has nothing to due with "Luck" IMHO it is about skillz and research less technology more biology.
We are making a long distance move in 6 weeks. Then 6-12 months after that, I hope to buy a place in the same area to stay for years. I had been thinking I should wait until after the second move to set up a tank, but anemones are something I’m really looking forward to. I’m planning to keep them, some soft corals, a funky-looking clean-up crew and maybe a couple fish, if my son wants them. Long-term goals are to have everything in balance so that I don’t need to be adding and removing things all the time.
Now I’m thinking I should start the tank as we settle in after the first move, then lower the water level when it’s time for the second move, so it’s basically a water change that takes all day.
Which do experienced reefers is preferable? If I start the tank sooner, then what things do I need to put in it so it starts cycling, and what things will travel well in the second move? Can it be as simple as live rock in salt water?
Thanks! I’ll be glad when this moving is all done and I can calm down! I had t realized I could switch out tanks as long as i keep the contents. That should make move #2 easier.Hi @dreamsr! You sure have a hectic few months ahead of you! When I said that the waiting period is for both the tank and the fishkeeper to mature, I mean that the tank needs biodiversity to maintain stability and the fishkeeper needs time to learn the proper practices for keeping a reef tank. Most tanks are fairly unstable in terms of nutrient levels, calcium, alkalinity, and other elements. Anemones don't like, and some won't survive in, those conditions. A newbie reefer doesn't know how to properly maintain a sensitive ecosystem such as an anemone tank.
I'd recommend starting the tank after your first move but keep it FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock). That will let the bacteria colony grow and train you and your child in keeping saltwater aquariums. When you move, get a bigger tank, use the same live rock from the old tank, and you can get an anemone within a couple months.
Next question(s): if I’m doing just fish & live rock like you said, do i need all the live rock that I’ll have in the final tank, and if I do need all of it, then can I have it in much less water than I plan on eventually having? I want a 50ish gal tank in the end; can I start with 10 or 20 after the first move?