Josh's 55gal - Intro and Question

[joshie4ever]

Hey Guys,
I just joined the forum today, although I have been interested in saltwater aquariums for a few years now. This is my second setup...I lost my first due to unforeseeable circumstances, but I’m back again. I currently just have a pretty basic setup....

Standard 55 gal tank with crushed rock bedding
I have no idea how many lbs of live rock or what type, I just know it looks good . Standard florescent lights ...It needs to be better, I know...I just don’t have the money to upgrade to what I want as of now...and an ehem cartridge pump for flow and filtration.




I have a couple of fish so far :

A Royal Gramma , A Yellow Tang , A Clown Fish, and a Fire tail Goby ( That I see on rare occasions....) ,
A Banded Shrimp, a few hermit crabs, an emerald crab ( That I also NEVER see....I assume he's hiding somewhere ) and a little pink shrimp...I forgot what the name of it was.



Also a few inverabreas... 2 Pink Tipped Haitians I believe and another anemone that I not exactly sure what type it is but that what kind of leads me to my post today.



Does anyone know what’s going on with this thing? When I first got it, it didn’t look anything like this. I thought it was dying on me but it’s still alive I assume. I’m feeding my anemones silverfish but this one hasn’t eaten anything since I've had it. I haven’t talked to my LFS yet...I was hoping that I could find out something by doing some research but nothing has come up.

It looks pretty swollen and it changes shape through the day. Any help would be appreciated in response to my question or on my tank setup...I really think my clown fish is the most concerned....I believe he would like to being hosting

[metalhead]

Your anemone probably needs more light... Unfortunately, if you currently have standard fluorescent lighting, the anemone will die unless you get some adequate lighting in a hurry or return it to the LFS where you got it.

We'll all be happy to weigh in on any other specific questions you may have and welcome to ReefLand!!!

[Parrothead]

+1 on the lighting and advice on the ane.

Welcome to reeflands

[twisted]

maybe its not doing well because you just set the tank up?
i forsee more unforeseeable circumstances

[metalhead]

maybe its not doing well because you just set the tank up?
i forsee more unforeseeable circumstances

Oh no!!! Please tell us you allowed the tank to cycle before you added all that livestock! If not you better be taking it all back to where you got it with a quickness!

[Parrothead]

maybe its not doing well because you just set the tank up?
i forsee more unforeseeable circumstances

That too, no set date info has been posted.

[twisted]

being the crushed coral expert that i am, i noticed that his cc is brand new, no crap on it whatsoever and i know that noone can keep cc that clean...to me, it even looks like it was dry rock or at least some of it was.

[joshie4ever]

being the crushed coral expert that i am, i noticed that his cc is brand new, no crap on it whatsoever and i know that noone can keep cc that clean...to me, it even looks like it was dry rock or at least some of it was.

The tank was setup along time ago...So I just started it again about 3 - 4 weeks ago. I did give it time to cycle ( I'm just assuming a month was long enough....all the fish are still alive ). I had the water tested at the LFS and everything was set and ready for me to start.

About the live rock...it was live when I bought it a few years ago, but like I said, the tank did die off and it sat for a while before I started it back up again. Chances are that the rock that was "live" at one time could now be dead..... The only thing I know to revive it is to just let it cycle itself out. The same story with the CC...

I agree with the lighting, that could also be the problem but my other anemones are doing ok under it. I stated before that I don't know exactly what type of anemone this is, but it very well could require stronger lighting to survive.

Any suggestions or bashing is still appreciated...I'd like to make sure I have a stable setup to sustain any other life that I decide to add to my tank.

Thanks guys !

[joshie4ever]

Just finished doing some more research. I'ev come to the conclusion that my anemone is a Heteractis magnifica . According to wiki ( which is not a reliable source for information, but it will due for now ), these anemone require high lighting and a violent water flow. I have neither of these.

Whats the best thing to do at this point ? Its about 10:10pm here and I know the lfs doesnt open till about 11am or so. As of now, the anemoe is face down in the coral and not looking to good. Should I take him out or leave him in or what ? I dont want it to mess up my tank if it dies and I would prefer to remove it if it is going to cause a problem between now and when I can get it to the fish store in the morning...

[blennydude]

Ya might wanna try doing the research before you buy your next animal. If you have other anemones in there I would bring them all back along w/ the rock they are attached to, don't pull them off or you will tear their foot. They are not for someone who is still a novice and w/ a young tank. I'm pouring out some of my 40 oz. in honor of the dead homie nems

[joshie4ever]

Ya might wanna try doing the research before you buy your next animal. If you have other anemones in there I would bring them all back along w/ the rock they are attached to, don't pull them off or you will tear their foot. They are not for someone who is still a novice and w/ a young tank. I'm pouring out some of my 40 oz. in honor of the dead homie nems

Thanks for your response, and I respect the honor to the fallen nems across the globe....although mine won't be returning to the store. I might take the one back that im questionable about, but the other two are fine. That one was an impluse buy because I wanted something for the clown fish but I will be doing research from now on when selecting things to go in my tank. Thanks

[Steve McKay]

Ya might wanna try doing the research before you buy your next animal. If you have other anemones in there I would bring them all back along w/ the rock they are attached to, don't pull them off or you will tear their foot. They are not for someone who is still a novice and w/ a young tank. I'm pouring out some of my 40 oz. in honor of the dead homie nems

+1,just because the others aren't dying yet doesn't mean that they are growing.With that lighting there just surviving,for now.

[twisted]

Thanks for your response, and I respect the honor to the fallen nems across the globe....although mine won't be returning to the store. I might take the one back that im questionable about, but the other two are fine. That one was an impluse buy because I wanted something for the clown fish but I will be doing research from now on when selecting things to go in my tank. Thanks

nems should not be in tanks under a year old or beginner tanks. worry about having the right equipment, getting your tank to mature properly, and do yourself a favor, get a fresh water tank with guppies.

[twisted]

i know my last post was a little rude, but it gets frustration to see pple that though they say they do, they dont care about the right way to do things and waste so much life. there is a reason to follow the rules and guidlines to have a healthy tank. there are no shortcuts or quick fixes. i wont be back to this thread but i still think you are better off with guppies

[joshie4ever]

i know my last post was a little rude, but it gets frustration to see pple that though they say they do, they don't care about the right way to do things and waste so much life. there is a reason to follow the rules and guidlines to have a healthy tank. there are no shortcuts or quick fixes. i wont be back to this thread but i still think you are better off with guppies

Your post did not come off as rude....you've been a little cocky throughout this entire thread. None of your posts were informative what so ever and your "rude" words I could care less about.

To me, learning is trial and error. I saw a problem in my tank so I asked others who share my interest to give me advise on how to fix my problem. I do thank metalhead & steve for pointing me in the right direction to fix my problem and Parrothead & blennydude for contributing also ; but the way I see it, your an expert with no advise. As useless as an oasis in a desert with no water. The only thing I am going to thank you for is removing yourself from my thread and being an expert enough to know not to post again.

As for the anemone, it did end up dying. I ordered some T5 lighting off e-bay last night so it should be here within a week or two to help out the other 2 anemone that I do have in the tank. Thanks again to those who did chime in with their helpful post. I do appreciate it and yes I will be making some better choices in the future when picking items to go in my tank.

Thanks
We're done here

[Parrothead]

Josh,

Good step with the lighting, while I personally wouldn't have bought the fixture off e-bay, it should help alot, Now what I strongly recommend, maybe request would be a better word, is since we already know you are not gonna take your ane. back to the store, go to your store and buy your own test kits,

Do not rely on you lfs employees to dictate your water quality for you, they are there to sell things, and with few exceptions, most don't know a damn thing about reef keeping, I lived in Tampa many years ago, and most of the stores that I knew didn't care about you or your tank, however they did care about "whats in you wallet", I actually owned half of one store with a buddy of mine, however we went out of business because we would not sell you a fish, invert or coral that was not suitable for your tank, and yes, we actually kept cards on everyone, and everything they purchased, and the size tanks they owned etc.

Alot of us here care a great deal about what we have in our tanks, what you have in your tank, and what is living in the wild, we try to duplicate to the best of our ability the same env. the creatures come from, all your ane. if they survive are actually to big for a 55 gallon aquarium, yes they do grow, and as they grow so does there appetite, watch your little fishes. I hope this claifies why a freind of mine here is gonna not post here anymore, he cares more about animals in general than he does about himself at times, He's a good guy, cut him slack and listen, we all listen to people better than us here and we do try to pass that down to others who are just starting out, sometimes people don't listen, we can't control that, but it does get upsetting at times when you see gods creatures put into something that is either not large enough or not ready for them.

Thank You for reading all this, sorry it's so long

[joshie4ever]

Josh,

Good step with the lighting, while I personally wouldn't have bought the fixture off e-bay, it should help alot, Now what I strongly recommend, maybe request would be a better word, is since we already know you are not gonna take your ane. back to the store, go to your store and buy your own test kits,

Do not rely on you lfs employees to dictate your water quality for you, they are there to sell things, and with few exceptions, most don't know a damn thing about reef keeping, I lived in Tampa many years ago, and most of the stores that I knew didn't care about you or your tank, however they did care about "whats in you wallet", I actually owned half of one store with a buddy of mine, however we went out of business because we would not sell you a fish, invert or coral that was not suitable for your tank, and yes, we actually kept cards on everyone, and everything they purchased, and the size tanks they owned etc.

Alot of us here care a great deal about what we have in our tanks, what you have in your tank, and what is living in the wild, we try to duplicate to the best of our ability the same env. the creatures come from, all your ane. if they survive are actually to big for a 55 gallon aquarium, yes they do grow, and as they grow so does there appetite, watch your little fishes. I hope this claifies why a freind of mine here is gonna not post here anymore, he cares more about animals in general than he does about himself at times, He's a good guy, cut him slack and listen, we all listen to people better than us here and we do try to pass that down to others who are just starting out, sometimes people don't listen, we can't control that, but it does get upsetting at times when you see gods creatures put into something that is either not large enough or not ready for them.

Thank You for reading all this, sorry it's so long

I think I know the store you are referring to if it was located in Brandon. Im going to head over to the LFS later to see about returning the other two anemones. I am not sure what their return or exchange policy is but will see.

I dont fault any of you when it comes to getting annoyed with repeating the same things over and over to people dont listen or dont understand what you are saying. I deal with the same thing when dealing with my computer & A/V clients.

I do want to do this thing right so that why I asked for the opinions from my more knowledgeable peers. I will be picking up a test kit from the store later when I stop in and Im looking for an alternative to the lighting from e-bay.

[Parrothead]

Look at the Nova Extreme Pro 4 or 6 bulb T-5 set-up either would rock your tanks world,

The store I co-owned was on Waters Ave and Benjamin Road in the town and country area of TB

[blennydude]

Well said Parrot.

Josh, your a good man to take everyones advise. I will bet the fish store will be reasonable w/ you if they want to keep your business. You aren't the first guy to elevate emotions here and you won't be the last. You like many realied on the advise of a fish store and they burned you, lesson learned. My best advise is to get a test kit like they recommended. Some combo kits come w/ a test for nitrate, phosphate, calcium, and alk. Ph, and maybe even nitrite if your tank is new. Next, read, read, ask, research to learn all you can. Have a long term vision for your tank that is going to include compatible species. Last put livestock that are not just going to survive in your tank but thrive! Good luck