MrScuito Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I would like to get a very cheap or free BTA for my false percs if anybody wants to rid thenselves of one (long shot but thought I'd ask) Prefer Vancouver area or close to it. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 How old is your tank Scuito? It is generally not advisable to add a nem until your tank is at least 6 months old. Also, what kind of lighting do you have over your tank? You do need high output lighting to keep nems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrScuito Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Its been up for a year, 29gal with 3 NO 24" (2 daylight 1 actinic),1 NO 18" (50/50 actinic), and 2 13w PC with a total of 101watts however next weekend I am moving into a 72g with 4x48" VHO that has been up for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 i wouldnt put a nem under just the 4 vhos, ideally, metal halides are the best for nems, but t5ho, depending on the tank, work just as well with the depth on the standard 72g bowfront, 4 vhos just isnt enough, unless you can find some way to make the nem stay rooted in one place near the top of the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrScuito Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 I have seen severel MH retro fits on here for cheap any suggestions on how many MH, what wattage, and color temp would be suitable for a tank this size (72g bow). I will just have to buy MH this week before I pick up my new tank and add on during setup. Also what would be a perfect host for my False Perculas? I've heard you cant go wrong with B.T.A's, is this info incorrect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 thats pretty much correct, although, if they're tank raised, its no guarantee that they'll host, ive seen clowns hosting in frogspawn, among others as for the halides, id suggest 250w halides, although there is a dual 175 on CL that would work, but it needs reflectors nick at rose city aquarium has quite a few retro kits, least he did last time i was there, for very reasonable prices and those vhos would be perfect for actinics, your tank will really pop with them as actinics and the halides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrScuito Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 The tank I'm getting currently has a anafalactis? nem and a torch coral. will my false perc clowns use either of those? Sorry one more ? I know this isnt the proper place for ? The nem has been in this tank for over a year and the torch for about 4 months. Will adding MH have any adverse effects on them since they have done without for so long? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrScuito Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 My Clowns are tank raised and mated spawn about every 3 weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 you'll just have to acclimate all of your corals to the new light, either by putting several layers of screen over top of the tank or by limiting your halides for the first few weeks, start off with em on for say 2 hours and slowly increase that til you have them on for the full 8-10 hours as for the hosting, they could host either thing, or they might host a mushroom, it just really depends, some clowns dont host period LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrScuito Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 thanks! for all the info. they were hosting in a rose nem when I got them. but those are very spendy from what I see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 No worries man, if you keep an eye out on here, you can sometimes find members selling RBTA's that have split off from theirs, generally for 25-30 bucks, you can't beat that price with a stick. I've got one coming as soon as USCG-CWO's rose nem splits again lol. Hopefully it waits til after my new tank is up and running, but, we'll see LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phelpsius Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Good questions. I have had similar ones myself. I have actually talked to a few people who have had great success with BTAs without keeping them under metal halides. In fact, I have found a great site that is all about BTAs and says they might prefer VHOs as initailly MHs are too bright, but with time the BTA can adapt to the higher intensity. Here is the site: http://www.karensroseanemones.com She answers pretty much any question you can think of with BTAs. Jgf86123, have you tried keeping BTAs under lighting that wasn't MH in the past and had a bad experience? I have heard similar statements about them only doing well with MHs and wonder why there is so much conflicting information about them out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I personally have never kept a BTA or any nem, Ive never felt my tank was capable, nor was I capable, of supporting one, but I have talked to one of the premier nem keepers in the country and he always recommends MH or T5HO lighting, in tanks that arent very tall, VHO's are fine, its all about the depth of the tank according to him. And you should always acclimate any coral or anemone to MH lighting, especially if they are not coming from a tank with MH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racefan Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I have a RBTA in my 29 gal bio cube with stock lighting. It's grown from a little frag to a large one that is in the process of splitting as we speak. Went from about 2" across to 10" across in about 10 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrScuito Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 ok now I'm confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 the majority of the experts recommend halides or high output t5's, you can get by with other lesser lighting but they do recommend halides or t5's and, again, with the lighting, its really about how deep your tank is, im not positive, but i am fairly certain that a standard 72g bow is taller than a 29g biocube, which means the nem will need to be higher, the only problem is they like to move, and they will move until they are comfortable, its next to impossible to make one stay in one position, they will go where they please, if you will LOL the nice thing about the MH or T5HO's is you wont have to upgrade lighting again, and you'll be able to keep anything you want and have it thrive and look very nice while doing so. after upgrading to my MH i can honestly say i will never go back, i absolutely love the shimmer affect and how the one light illuminates my entire tank, and i, until my caulerpa went sexual, was getting growth from one end of the tank to the other, its quite nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phelpsius Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 It is confusing. I am new to the hobby and have never kept an anemone but would like to in the future. I have been trying to figure out if my 75 gallon with 4 65 watt PC would be a good amount of light for a RBTA. As I mentioned, I have talked to 2 people with similar setups who have had BTAs thrive in this environment. The website I linked has several similar examples with VHOs. She suggests that with tall rock formations in your tank the BTA can move up until it finds it's desired intensity. But again, I've never tried this myself. Anyone out there with success or failure of BTAs under PC or VHOs they would care to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 hey Phelps, the one reason why I dont frequent any other boards is because of the people on them. If you were on some of the boards i used to be on and told them you wanted to keep nems in a 75g under pcs, they'd crucify you LOL people can be such *******s at times The reason why I keep harping on the halides is because some people's definition of thriving is different than others. I have never seen a nem under halides that didnt look spectacular, but ive seen quite a few under pcs, petco anyone?, that look like absolute crap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadams7 Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 I have had anemones of all kinds do fine under lesser lighting (vho, cf, t5), for long periods of time, including showing good growth, eating, splitting, etc. If you are wanting to go halides for other corals then I would suggest getting a halide setup, but by any means dont go buy a halide if all you are wanting is to keep an anemone. That being said, many BTAs (specifically RBTA's) look way better under halide lighting. They are a very hearty coral IME, and as long as your water parameters are not too far off of where they should be, you should be fine adding one to your tank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phelpsius Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Re: WTB B.T.A Thanks J. I think I'll give it a try. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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