New Bubble tipped anenome..

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deanp88

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Nov 17, 2009
Messages
73
Location
Indiana
I bought a BTA yesterday and after putting him in the tank, he did great all day. As soon as the lights went off, he let go and began to roam. Today he is still on the move. I have good parameters on the water, 0 ammonia, 0 NO2 and less than 10 NO3. SP is where it should be for him. I have another anenome in tank that has been doing good for a month. I question my lighting, it is 3.1 watts per gallon (125 gallon tank). I have put filters over my PH's so he can roam. My question is, is this normal for a BTA? I realize they tend to roam but does that include free floating? He is inflated and looks good, just won't stay put as of yet.
 
If it`s a bubble tip then I would say you need more lighting. What kind of lighting system do you have? For a BTA you should use T5`s or MH`s which have more intensity. WPG rule is quite outdated.
 
Im not sure of the brand of lighting system I have. I got it along with the tank used awhile back. Maybe you can help. It consists of 4 T5 bulbs 10,000 K 94 watts each, ballast sits on stand near tank. 2 bulbs are blue light and 2 bulbs I bought are the intense white light. BTA is still roaming this evening but looks healthy. Do you think that lighting is sufficient?
 
4 T5 bulbs 10,000 K 94 watts each
No such thing. The biggest T5HO bulb is 60" 80w. What are the length of the bulbs? 48" bulbs are 54w. What are the dimensions of your tank? Your lighting may not be enough for anemones.
 
Sorry, I think they are T8's Coralife HO Fluorescent Bulbs. Am I still in bad shape as far as lighting? Tank is 6 feet wide x 18" deep x 24" tall. If so, what is the cheapest route I could get MH lights that will eventually be used for reef? BTA is still on the move, but is fully inflated.
 
Free floating usually means stressed. It could also be from the change in water parameters. I might try to turn off some of your power heads for an hour or two and see if in the calmer water it will reattach. You are going to want it to end up high in the tank and they like putting their foot into a hole or crack in the rocks where it is protected. Make sure it can't get sucked into any of your returns. That is a quick way to lose a anemone.
 
I will place him higher in tank and turn of PH's for awhile. I will let ya know how it goes. I hate to think my lighting is not enough, I have several things growing on the live rock and lights are 10,000k.
 
Is this the same 2-month old tank that was just having high pH issues, and you were adding ca/alk without testing? Did you get your water parameters back in line?

If it's the same tank, I think you jumped the gun a little on the anemone. They need pretty stable water parameters, and from your other post your parameters sound anything but stable. And yes... unfortunately you don't have enough light. The color of the lighting (10,000k) doesn't matter - it's the intensity (or roughly Watts).
 
I had found out that my kit I was testing ph with was no good. Bought a new kit and ph was fine and also tested ak as suggested. All was fine. Looks like I'll be shopping for some lights.
 
BTA has attached to lower area of tank all day. Full and inflated. I will have to see if he likes it there.
 
IME I bought a BTA it roamed til it was happy only a couple of hours or so but was told it would settle where it wanted, next thing i knew i had four in there as 2 months later it started to split..........
 
No I gave 1 to my friend that has a reef and is doing great....sold the other 2, got nice price.............then the 1 left spit again so sold that on also......... I had to sell them as they all grew to around 8-10" across and taking up to much room in 1 end of my tank............figi clown was busy looking after them all!!!!
 
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