Anemone Cube

GreenSpottedPuffer · #1 09-21-2010, 02:52 AM

I haven't posted much in the past year but have had tank(s). Lately I have had nothing but problems with my 75G (disease and a flooded floor) and thought of giving up a few times but I can't part with my green gigantea carpet and clowns. I bought the carpet about 2 years ago now from J&L, sold it when I took a job in California (thought it would be too much work to keep since I was only back in Vancouver every second weekend) and have since bought it back after leaving that job in the US.

The anemone has been in captivity for over 2 years now and is pretty much bulletproof at this point which is why I am going to try this tank. I wouldn't try this set up with a new anemone or "new" liverock. It will be sumpless, skimmerless, no equipment other than a 20"x20"x20" rimless aquarium (solana with ugly false wall removed), powerhead, controller and 250 watt MH. I guess my RO/DI unit as well.

Right now my 75 has an ATO but I don't use it. I top off every day or two and the anemone doesn't seem to care. I do weekly 5G water changes and that will continue to happen which is a significantly bigger water change for a 34G tank. Nitrates in my 75 now are around 15-20ppm and the anemone has no issues. I have spoken to two people I feel are experts in keeping these anemones and both told me in their experience nitrates do not effect them up to around 50ppm!

I kept this tank skimmerless a year ago and was able to keep nitrates down around 5ppm.

The idea is to have no equipment showing other than the one tunze stream and to have nothing to maintain other than top off water and weekly water changes. I have an ATO I will use when I go away or if the fluctuations become a problem but I don't really want to see the thing on the back of the tank.

Im taking a break from building the stand right now and should have it primed tonight and painted tomorrow. Will post pictures along the way but this won't be an exciting build at all. Just a stand, tank and light. Plus a 12" anemone and a bunch of gorgonians...

Brett (lastlight), I told you I would start a journal this time

GreenSpottedPuffer · #2 09-21-2010, 03:13 AM

3/4" MDF for stand. Will be "elos" style. I had built a similar stand last time I had this tank set up but did not keep it. For anyone ever thinking of using MDF for a stand or to skin a 2x4 stand make sure its primed and sealed well. I love the perfectly smooth finish for gloss paint. In this case it will be sprayed gloss white.

The 12"+ green gigantea anemone. Male clown is busy tending to his eggs underneath the nem when I took this.

I know the clown is out of focus...I wanted to get a shot of the anemones tentacles.

NanoHuman · #3 09-21-2010, 04:28 AM

Looks like a pretty good start. I'd love to have a nem like that but no room! Considering one of the mini ones that live aquaria carries.

Delphinus · #4 09-21-2010, 05:11 AM

Carpet looks great! Can't wait to see the tank once it's up and running.

ponokareefer · #5 09-21-2010, 05:25 AM

Sounds like an awesome set up! I'm in the process of trying to get a Haddoni due to their smaller size, less demand for light and a better record for keeping them alive than the gigantea. Are you concerned that the gigantea will outgrow that size of tank?
Also, right now I just have a MJ1200 but will be upgrading to a larger pump once I get the anemone. Did you consider getting the MP10, or was it even out yet when you got the tunze stream?

Love the pictures! If I hadn't already bought the RSM130, I would have loved to have set up a system like you are doing!

GreenSpottedPuffer · #6 09-21-2010, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NanoHuman

Looks like a pretty good start. I'd love to have a nem like that but no room! Considering one of the mini ones that live aquaria carries.

I had a mini one a few years back and it was pretty nice. Mine wasn't a crazy color but was cool to watch it split very often.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Carpet looks great! Can't wait to see the tank once it's up and running.

Thanks Tony for the encouragement/reassurance that this set up should work. You were one of the two who made me feel it was worth trying without a sump and skimmer

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponokareefer

Sounds like an awesome set up! I'm in the process of trying to get a Haddoni due to their smaller size, less demand for light and a better record for keeping them alive than the gigantea. Are you concerned that the gigantea will outgrow that size of tank?
Also, right now I just have a MJ1200 but will be upgrading to a larger pump once I get the anemone. Did you consider getting the MP10, or was it even out yet when you got the tunze stream?

Love the pictures! If I hadn't already bought the RSM130, I would have loved to have set up a system like you are doing!

I was thinking of an MP10 and may end up "upgrading" to one eventually because I think the anemone may really like the more random flow but for now I just went with the nano stream. I find they are quieter but I am comparing it to the MP20 I had before and maybe the MP10 is quieter. This system is all about minimal equipment and silence.

I don't think it will outgrow the tank. Even if it were to get the full 20"x20" footprint of the tank, they don't lay out flat. I will have one pillar of rock in the back left corner and the rest of the tank is open for it to grow. We'll see though, it may end up outgrowing the tank.

I don't feed the anemone at all (clowns do though) because I am not looking for it to grow any faster than it already does which isn't really all that fast.

Does anyone know how long they take to grow "full" size? Or do they just keep growing and growing but at a slower rate as they reach a certain size?

Delphinus · #7 09-21-2010, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponokareefer

I'm in the process of trying to get a Haddoni due to their smaller size, less demand for light and a better record for keeping them alive than the gigantea.

Actually haddoni's get way larger than gigantea's. Don't let the name fool you. Interesting history lesson coming right up! (Yes I am a nerd!) Anyhow, S. gigantea's were first described (ie. "discovered") by European biologists in 1775 from specimens found in the Red Sea. At the time this was the largest anemone anyone had seen, or at least compared to the coldwater species commonly found around Europe. Apparently it wasn't for another 120 years or so that S. haddoni was described (1893) so for a while it was the biggest anyone knew about.

Anyhow in short, S. haddoni gets way larger than S. gigantea. You don't see too many gigantea's over 20"-24" and in the case of 24" these are the absolute giants of the species. S. haddoni on the other hand I think tops out around 30" or so.

(Reference: Daphne Fautin, http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/intro.html )

On the topic of light, for the most part maybe haddoni's prefer less but I would say they are really about the same. I keep my gigantea's under 175w and they do OK. So it's not like gigantea is a huge light demanding monster. Conversely, haddoni's still need some light so I'd guess they are actually about equivalent. The brighter coloured haddoni's will require strong light to keep the colour. Haddoni's come in a larger range of colours than gigantea's - and are capable of some stunning colours. A bright green haddoni will out-green a bright green gigantea (but you can't beat gigantea for the shag carpet look). I've never seen a red gigantea but man can haddoni come in the most amazing red.

But that said ... gigantea's have a horrendous record of adapting to captivity (many simply don't), and haddoni's have a horrendous record of eating just about anything they feel like. Either one is a carefully measured choice.

Sorry for the thread derail GSP! It's not often I get to do a brain dump on my favourite topic so please forgive me.

Delphinus · #8 09-21-2010, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

Does anyone know how long they take to grow "full" size? Or do they just keep growing and growing but at a slower rate as they reach a certain size?

Seems hugely variable by individual or maybe lighting plays a role. Mine have not really grown bigger than 10" or so and I've had the green for like 5 years now and my purple just about a year and a half. I feed them like crazy too. Maybe with brighter lighting they'd be more apt to grow.

I've saw one monster at a LFS that grew to 24" but started off allegedly at 8" or so and took 5 years to get there. I don't know anything about the tank it came out of though.

GreenSpottedPuffer · #9 09-21-2010, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Actually haddoni's get way larger than gigantea's. Don't let the name fool you. Interesting history lesson coming right up! (Yes I am a nerd!) Anyhow, S. gigantea's were first described (ie. "discovered") by European biologists in 1775 from specimens found in the Red Sea. At the time this was the largest anemone anyone had seen, or at least compared to the coldwater species commonly found around Europe. Apparently it wasn't for another 120 years or so that S. haddoni was described (1893) so for a while it was the biggest anyone knew about.

Anyhow in short, S. haddoni gets way larger than S. gigantea. You don't see too many gigantea's over 20"-24" and in the case of 24" these are the absolute giants of the species. S. haddoni on the other hand I think tops out around 30" or so.

(Reference: Daphne Fautin, http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/intro.html )

On the topic of light, for the most part maybe haddoni's prefer less but I would say they are really about the same. I keep my gigantea's under 175w and they do OK. So it's not like gigantea is a huge light demanding monster. Conversely, haddoni's still need some light so I'd guess they are actually about equivalent. The brighter coloured haddoni's will require strong light to keep the colour. Haddoni's come in a larger range of colours than gigantea's - and are capable of some stunning colours. A bright green haddoni will out-green a bright green gigantea (but you can't beat gigantea for the shag carpet look). I've never seen a red gigantea but man can haddoni come in the most amazing red.

But that said ... gigantea's have a horrendous record of adapting to captivity (many simply don't), and haddoni's have a horrendous record of eating just about anything they feel like. Either one is a carefully measured choice.

Sorry for the thread derail GSP! It's not often I get to do a brain dump on my favourite topic so please forgive me.

Not at all. Please add any info like this to the thread that you can.

I don't know a heck of a lot about these anemones and want to keep learning. I just got really lucky with this one as it turned out to be very tough. Its been through a mini crash in my old tank and didn't show any signs of stress. When I have moved it from tank to tank in the past (and left it in a bucket for over an hour) it stayed mostly expanded and after acclimation completely expands within minutes. It doesn't seem to mind fluctuations in temperature or small salinity changes although I wouldn't want to push it too far!

From what I hear, most are nearly impossible to keep but if you can get past the year mark, they are very tough anemones. I don't know how true this is.

GreenSpottedPuffer · #10 09-21-2010, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Seems hugely variable by individual or maybe lighting plays a role. Mine have not really grown bigger than 10" or so and I've had the green for like 5 years now and my purple just about a year and a half. I feed them like crazy too. Maybe with brighter lighting they'd be more apt to grow.

I've saw one monster at a LFS that grew to 24" but started off allegedly at 8" or so and took 5 years to get there. I don't know anything about the tank it came out of though.

Hmmm...mine must have started at around 7" or so and I measured it at approx. 12-13" the other day. I don't feed it at all but its always been under 250 MH. I do however feed my fish VERY heavily so actually its probably getting quite a bit of food.