[bassman]

My 2 cents

I think I know what you are going through. When I saw my first anemone I HAD TO have it right then and there so I bought it and it lived. My tank was also just over a month old and running PCs. This does not mean the one you want will live though. There are way too many variables involved.

I have heard numerous times to wait 3 months before introducing an anemone to a new system. For this argument I have none. I am not sure exactly why it has to be a minimum of 3 months. I personally have had success with just over 1 month.
However, I had plenty of healthy, mature live rock, impeccable water parameters and very few tank inhabitants. As I said earlier though, there are so many variables at play here it is virtually impossible to say what key conditions were being met for my success.

That is really all I can say about the tank maturity level argument. Each tank is different.

As for lights…

You have to accept that you will need metal halides to keep an anemone alive, healthy and growing for any length of time.

However, IMO, depending on the health of the anemone this does not have to happen immediately.
You can keep a healthy anemone alive for a short period of time with PC's.
How healthy it is when get it will determine how long it can survive. I had to go a couple of months once and my anemone was fine. But it was healthy to start with.

Keep in mind you don't have to blow your load on lights either. All you really need right now is at least one 150-watt metal halide bulb that you can keep above the tank on the side that the anemone ends up settling in. You can add more lights later and greater wattage if you want to.
You can find pendants cheap and used all the time. Or you can build your own even cheaper.

If you can get lights with in the next month or two and you have to have an anemone now then I would look for one that has already been in the seller’s tank for at least one month. And one that has been kept under metal halides. This means it's survived shipping/handling already and hopefully has some zooanthelle built up inside. (Zooanthelle is the algae the anemones grow inside them for food. This is why the light is SO important to them) They also eat with their mouths so you can also keep them going a little bit longer by feeding them more often. Not over feeding just a little more often.

I would read up on them a bit so you can find the species you like most. It’s so hard to describe what a healthy anemone looks like as is and that is made exponentially harder due to number of different species available. They all have different characteristics that they reflect when healthy or sick.

Generally speaking you will want to look for one with its mouth closed up tight like a poop chute. If the mouth is open it’s not a good sign. Also if it looks clear or bleached it’s probably almost dead. This is why I suggest you read up on them a bit first. If you know what species you are looking for and you know what a healthy one looks like this will help you immensely. If the pet store just has the one, the one you want, call them and ask them if they can tell you what species it is. Then you can Google it and see some pictures of healthy ones.

If you want it, and you accept that it may not make it but you are willing to try and perhaps fail then go ahead. It's really up to you. If you understand the risks going in it makes it a lot easier to make an intelligent decision.

One other thing to keep in mind, because this happens to me all the time, is that anemones are not hard to get, well some are but you know I am saying. The day after you buy this one another one will come in. Except it will be even nicer, bigger and healthier! It happens to me every time! LOL On that note, I should tell you that it is not advised to keep different species of anemones in the same tank, they can and will kill each other. So you will want to make sure the one you buy is really the one you want in the end.