Time To Admit I Need Expert Help - Anemone

[Doc]

I am glad you keep such a good eye on parameters. that speaks to your dedication. Water changes should happen weekly (in a perfect world), as opposed to every 10 days. I noticed you indicated your DKh was at 280? Maybe that means 2.8 That is really too low. You should look to increasing it. Seachem makes a nice product that will do that for you. I target mine to be about 10 (1000).

-Doc

 

[Bifferwine]

If your refugium is overflowing, too much water is getting into your overflow box. Most have screws that you can raise them up on. Have you tried that? If you get a stronger pump, that will help too. That will remove water from the refugium faster so it won't overflow.

 

[cthegame]

Im a little confused about what you're talking about. If you have an overflow box there is no reason for your fuge to overflow if the overflow's flow rate is more than your return pump which is probably the case. As long as your return pump is able to push the water up to the main tank, the overflow box will drain it back to your fuge.

You need to use only 1 pump. that's all. no reason it should overflow if the overflow box can handle your return pump.

 

[Buzzbomb]

OK, I'm getting more confused as I go along here. The guy at the LFS said my anemone looked fine, and that I shouldn't have to feed it. He also said that I shouldn't believe what I read on forums, that he has ran the LFS for 10 years, and that he worked for Kent marine for more than a decade, also in the R&D department. He said Seabae anemones are the easiest to keep of all, and that 120 watts of florescent lighting was more than adequate - and also that my tank being up and running for two months was fine as long as my levels were fine. He states that 20 on the nitrates was a little high, but said that everything should be fine.

So I returned it anyways, but - I guess it does lead to the question "who should I believe?" Of course I'd rather be safe, and there would probably be no ulterior motives in anyone's advice here, whereas the LFS owner has a vested interest in me buying his product - but it seems like if I bought stuff that would just die, he's got a 14 day return policy on all dead fish...wo he would just be screwing himself, in addition to losing future business from a potential customer if all the stuff I bought from him died.

Don't take this as me being ungrateful for your advice, please. This is just pretty confusing as I've had two LFS owners tell me almost the exact thing, and they seem to have a considerable amount of experience between them. They both stated that 5-7 watts per gallons was completely wrong.

 

[Buzzbomb]

Im a little confused about what you're talking about. If you have an overflow box there is no reason for your fuge to overflow if the overflow's flow rate is more than your return pump which is probably the case. As long as your return pump is able to push the water up to the main tank, the overflow box will drain it back to your fuge.

You need to use only 1 pump. that's all. no reason it should overflow if the overflow box can handle your return pump.

The pump I have in the refugium is pretty stinkin' strong - but I may be over-complicating things. OK, first - I hooked up one of those splitter thingies on the return line from my refugium pump. It has some kind of crazy valve in it that alternates sending water to the left or right hoses coming from it, I was told "to create a natural wave effect". Is this thing slowing my pump down so much that the overflow is...well, overflowing my sump? Would I get better peformance not using the wave thingy?

Also, on the overflow I tried adjusting it some, but when I raise it too high, it slurps and sucks EXTREMELY loud. Wife came out and said "WTF is that noise?" I told her to get used to it, she told me to get used to sleeping on the couch. Sooo...I'm already kind of on thin ice with this whole aquarium thing with her, so I killed it for right then, and like I said, I run it about an hour a day.

I guess I'll try again with a bigger pump, or else without the splitter/wave maker thingy.


Oh, another thing - I think I might have found the source of the nitrates. In my sump I have the blue and white filter floss material - how often should that be changed? Also these green sponge-ey things that are catching lots of nastyness - should those be removed and cleaned, or just pulled out and replaced? How often?

Sorry about the 20 questions, and thanks for the help, guys.

Kirk

 

[kyle]

I have about 15 frags of soft corals in the tank now - mostly frogspawn, some kenya trees, the neon green grass stuff, a candy cane neon mushroom thing... My coraline algae is going freaking crazy growing on everything, I love it. Calcium is around 440. Nitrates at about 25. No nitrites, zero amonia, PH at 8.3, alkalinity at 280, phosphates close to undectable, I use only RO water and Seachem reef salt, which I heard was the best. I am extremely anal about my water, I check it twice a day, I have spent hundreds to thousands on crazy testers and chemicals and whatever else I can to create the perfect environment. I have a "kind of refugium" which I keep under the tank, it cannot run all day because I cannot level the pumps to where it won't overflow, so I run it about an hour a day into the large tank where I can watch levels and shut off pumps when the levels get to high and it is about to overflow.

As for why my friends think it's weird - it's just the guys I hang out with and the type of person I am. Most of my stories revolve around the extremely insane things I do on a weekly basis and the folks I hang out with are mostly like me - I am an adrenyline junkie which means I was a criminal as a teenager (read: loser skater punk), and now I do things like boxing and motorcycle racing and such other really random dumb dangerous things. The aquarium thing for me is almost zen-like. So calming and just...beautiful. If it doesn't involve something that makes a good story to tell someone else later, most of the people I know just kind of stare blankly and go "uhh, what?"

Maybe I just need new friends :D

no worries man. im the same way and so are my friends. they all ask me why i like my fishtank so mmuch and why i put so much time in money in it you know what i tell them. if you had something you put lots of time an money in to.you would to.(if that make any sence)

 

[cthegame]

OK, I'm getting more confused as I go along here. The guy at the LFS said my anemone looked fine, and that I shouldn't have to feed it. He also said that I shouldn't believe what I read on forums, that he has ran the LFS for 10 years, and that he worked for Kent marine for more than a decade, also in the R&D department. He said Seabae anemones are the easiest to keep of all, and that 120 watts of florescent lighting was more than adequate - and also that my tank being up and running for two months was fine as long as my levels were fine. He states that 20 on the nitrates was a little high, but said that everything should be fine.

So I returned it anyways, but - I guess it does lead to the question "who should I believe?" Of course I'd rather be safe, and there would probably be no ulterior motives in anyone's advice here, whereas the LFS owner has a vested interest in me buying his product - but it seems like if I bought stuff that would just die, he's got a 14 day return policy on all dead fish...wo he would just be screwing himself, in addition to losing future business from a potential customer if all the stuff I bought from him died.

Don't take this as me being ungrateful for your advice, please. This is just pretty confusing as I've had two LFS owners tell me almost the exact thing, and they seem to have a considerable amount of experience between them. They both stated that 5-7 watts per gallons was completely wrong.

We'll from experience, the LFS people dont know any more than people here. In fact, they still think like 20 years ago. Things have changed since the old days and soon google will be your best friend. There is nothing a LFS can tell you that you cant find online. My suggestion is, dont just take ONE person's word for it. Do your own research and ask other people in the hobby. We're telling you that 120 watts of light is absolutely not proper for any kind of anemone.

Remember that their main concern is making profits. If they really cared for the innocent life's (fish, coral, etc) well being, they would have to turn down al ot of new customers who just watched finding nemo and just HAVE to have a clown & an anemone. Well they wont turn away that customer...they will sell that anemone and tell them "ohh yes, anemones will be just fine under a 30 watt light". (petco told me this).

Do your own research and dont take any one person's word for anything...If he said 120 watts is fine, that guy needs to re-educate himself.

When i go to LFS, i dont even bother asking for their advice. Its kind of hard to take them for their word when they do have such strong profit motives, no matter how nice they are.

 

[runningrandy04]

cthegame is right, your gonna have to take everything that you learned and make up your own opinion. You may be able to keep the anemone alive but its the same as us living off 500 cal a day. It's possible but would you want to? Its true that marine technology has come a really long way. You have those people that believe in the old ways and people that believe in the new ways. My dad used to keep 8 fish and an anemone in a 20gal with a 20w light and an under gravel filter. That includes yellow tangs and sea horses but he gave up after the sea horses died 6 months later. He just laughs at me whenever I tell him about what I'm spending on equipment.

 

[Bifferwine]

The filter floss and sponge could very well be contributing to your nitrates. Those should be taken out and cleaned weekly.

I would definitely try the pump without the splitter/wave maker thingy. See if it makes a difference.