Have you seen an anemone do this?

[jlehring]

Mr. X my tanks is a 55 gallon. I haven't invested in RO DI unit, i buy all my water from LFS since its about 2 miles from work. I do 10 gallon water changes weekly.

 

[Sniperhank]

That is a larger water change than I do, so I'm still confident it's a lighting issue.

 

[mr_X]

But you top off with treated tap water? That could be your unwanted nutrient source right there. As for the anemone....I'm not sure if it's unhappy about the parameters or the light. See how it goes with all 4 lamps on for a week or two. Watch that it doesn't hit a power head and get all tangled up.

 

[Dimdim]

Its a brand new ro di unit, and my api test for phosphate came up dark blue measuring like 10 ppm! i did the test right from the ro di outlet to my tankI did a test on my tank, almost 0 phosphates, tested the tap water, under .25. Tested newly mixed saltwater read .75 -.5 tested all again with the same results

 

[jlehring]

I top off with distilled water. I'll try all 4 lights and see how that goes. Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[Sniperhank]

Its a brand new ro di unit, and my api test for phosphate came up dark blue measuring like 10 ppm! i did the test right from the ro di outlet to my tankI did a test on my tank, almost 0 phosphates, tested the tap water, under .25. Tested newly mixed saltwater read .75 -.5 tested all again with the same results

API phosphate test is garbage and not worth the money due to how inaccurate it is. That is what you are experiencing if you have 0 tds reading. If you don't have a tds meter, I'd highly suggest one to go along with a better phosphate test. The Red Sea ones are supposed to be good, but I use the Hanna checkers. More money, but worth it as it will display a number rather than a color to figure out.

 

[Dimdim]

I used to use distilled water, and it was perfect! Never had any issues. Except carting gallon and 5 gallom jugs everywhere !

 

[jlehring]

Maybe it's me being paranoid, but I think I need to upgrade my lights. I would like to start researching prices and saving up. Do you guys have any recommendations? It's a 55 gallon, 48"L x 18"T x 12"W.

 

[Sniperhank]

I know you need better lights. Check out the taotronic LEDs. You can find them on amazon and ebay. They are cheap and youll be able to keep whatever your heart desires under them, as long as they are photosynthetic of course. I'd suggest the dimmable model so your livestock can adjust to the new, and much stronger, lighting. You'll need 2 units above a 55.

 

[jlehring]

The pictures are taken at the same time. 2 different anemones at opposite ends of the tank. One looks great one looks not so good. I bought 2 sets of taotronics LEDs, should have them Monday or Tuesday. I'm confused why does one look so worse than the other? It's been like that all day! Any suggestions?

 

[Sniperhank]

I'd remove the one. Other looks like it is doing great.

 

[jlehring]

I have been reading constantly about this because I hate to give up. I noticed the "bad nem" looked torn around the base, in my reading I found that maybe the substrate could be causing that with also being stressed. I believe the "bad nem" was having trouble locating the live rock in my tank. I took a small piece and moved it close to the foot of the nem and last night it looked like he was attaching to it. I woke up this morning, the nem has moved. The body looks good and the tentacles are full. Right now I'm thinking he was stressing to find a spot.

I have turned off 1 power head (on his side of the tank)encouraging it to get comfortable and plant his foot. I'm hoping the LED lights come in tomorrow so I can remove that from the equation. But I think that he is still healthy and now has located the live rock so maybe he is searching for a spot.

 

[mr_X]

I wouldn't remove either yet. I would also not turn off power heads. If it's because of them, when you turn them back on, it will be stressed all over again.
Turn those LEDs way down in the beginning. It took me months to acclimate a long tentacle anemone to them.

 

[jlehring]

LED's finally came in!!!! I am going to try to mount them this evening. The ones I bought are not a dimmable version, they are either on or off. Plan on hanging them from the ceiling with the mounting kit as well as a chain and "S" hook. My question is this... Should i hang them higher from the water so they are not as intense? then slowly lower them to where they will end up?

I do not have a top on my tank so i dont think I can lay bug shields or mesh material to help reduce light.

On a side note, over the past week the anemone has moved and positioned himself on the backside of my live rock. During the daytime he is full and a healthy looking color, I feed him a small piece of krill yesterday and he took it well. Is there anything I can do other than move the rock to get him in constant view. I am at work now, i will post a picture when I get home.

 

[mr_X]

Yes, that's what I would do. Either that or do the window screen method (buy a roll of window screen and cut it in squares to fit over the tank. Use 3 layers or so. Remove one layer a week.
You could easily place this over your tank, and just tape the edge or something in a couple spots to hold it in place. It's only going to be temporary.

You really have no guarantee that if you move the rock so you can see him, he will stay there. Try to mimic the flow and lighting in the back of the tank with out front. This way, it may like the front of the tank better.