Problems with Bulb Anemone

[bmdirks]

I am relatively new to the saltwater hobby. Started my 30 gallon tank in January. Stocked with 30 lbs of live rock and live sand. Installed Bak Pak 2 protein skimmer, Penguin 150 filter, and a Coralife Metal halide 150 W light. Since then I have added a Tomato Clown fish, Bulb anemone, Open Brain Coral, Leather Coral, Domino Damsel fish, and a Vietnamese Zoanthid (in that order).

I am feeding the fish 1/2 cube of mysis shrimp daily and feeding the Bulb anemone and Open Brain Coral 1/2 cube of mysis shrimp weekly.

The Bulb anemone was added in early February and has been deflating once a week. In the last 4 days it has deflated 3 times. Each time it has opened back up looking great. Do I have anything to worry about?

Water quality seems fine and is outlined below:

Ca= 510
SP= 1.023
Temp= 81F
Ammonia= 0mg/l
Nitrite= <0.3mg/l
Nitrate= 10mg/l
pH= 7.9
KH=7 DH
Phosphate= 0.4mg/l

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

it sounds pretty normal but you should have 0 nitrite and 0 phosphate. do a few pwc's over the next few days.

 

[bmdirks]

Pardon my ignorance but by pwc do you mean water change? Also, my LFS told me that since my tank is so young I should anticipate some phosphate until bacteria has established itself. Are there supplements I can add to speed up the process?

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

yup: partial water change. how old is the tank? is it fully cycled? how did u cycle? and there arent any good supplements to speed up the process.

 

[bmdirks]

The tank is 2 months old (started 1/11/09), it was cycled in the first week according to my LFS. I cycled with live rock and live sand. Introduced a Tomato clown on 1/17 and the anemone on 2/6. Domino damsel, open brain coral and leather coral added 2/14. Vietnamese zoanthids added 3/1. I am done adding livestock for awhile. Any additional advice?

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

anemone's usually should be added one year in. but good luck. do some pwc's soon and u got any pic's?

 

[bmdirks]

Yeh, I learned that after I bought it. LFS did not tell me that. Not sure how to post pics but my avatar is the most current pic.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

not seeing any pic...

 

[Ziggy953]

Anemones are funny things. They tend to tell us if our tanks are out of whack. The phosphate reading doesn't bother me as much as the nitrite does. It should be 0.

Your calcium is a little high. Are you using supplements? Also since you have an anemone in the tank I would bump the SG up to 1.025-1.026. Get it a little closer to ocean water. Since you have corals and an anemone what kind of lighting do you have on the tank? Anemones get most of their energy/food from lighting. Bubble Tip (BTA) Anemones require pretty strong lighting.

Being as it is you have a new tank you will want to do PWCs (partial water change) fairly regularly. What kind of filtration do you have on your tank?

 

[bmdirks]

I'll do a 25% water change today to see if I can reduce the phosphate and nitrate and increase my SG to 1.025-1.026. How often would you do water changes given my situation (every other week)? Also, what percent would you change each time?

I am using the following supplements (dosed at 1 cap each every other day): Seachem Reef Iodine, Blue Life Precision Strontium, Kent Marine Liquid Calcium. Anything else you would recommend?

I have a Coralife 150W Metal Halide light that is on everyday from 10am to 8pm. This should be sufficient, right?

By the way, the anemone deflated last night and looks great again today.

 

[bmdirks]

Here is the pic of the deflated anemone

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/members/21922-albums459-picture3122.jpg

 

[Ziggy953]

When you raise your SG you need to do it very slowly. Not all in one day.

All the supplements you are using aren't necessary. Doing regular water changes will replenish the trace elements your tank needs. I would stop adding those. Iodine is something you need to be testing for if you are adding it. I would suggest 20-30% water changes every other week.

Lighting is more important the the supplements.

 

[melosu58]

Also anenomes need to be in a mature tank. If not they will fluctuate with the moving water parameters. A mature tank of 9 - 12 months will be pretty stable and the anenome will look much better and stay that way. I also agree with dropping the supplements and doing weekly or bi weekly PWC`s. You will accomplish the same thing as well as diluting the excessive nutrients.

 

[Carebear013]

In regards to suggested lighting for anemoes, would you suggest compact floresent?

 

[Ziggy953]

I would suggest a minimum of T5s and metal halide is better. They require intense lighting to survive and be happy.

 

[CaptainAhab]

He's got a 'Coralife Metal halide 150 W light' in a 30G. Seems like plenty of light. I'd lean towards tank maturity and water parameters

 

[bmdirks]

All the supplements you are using aren't necessary. Doing regular water changes will replenish the trace elements your tank needs. I would stop adding those.

Thanks for the help. I am confused re: the supplements. Since I am using R/O water don't I need the iodine and calcium. Are there enough of these elements in the salt to maintain my tank? I have been told iodine gets completely utilized in a day or two.

My LFS recommended adding some buffer to my water to bring up the pH a little bit. Tried that yesterday and replaced 10 gal of water. Anemone looks very happy so far. I will test the nitrate, phosphate, and pH tonight just to make sure.

 

[austinsdad]

What did "they" say was using up your iodine that qwikly?

R/O water has nothing to do with supplements. It's only a purifying process that it accomplishes.

 

[melosu58]

Are there enough of these elements in the salt to maintain my tank?

PWC`s will handle all you need as far as most trace element. The only one it might not be enough is calcium depending on what type salt mix you use. There is definitely enough iodine to last if doing PWC`s every week to once a month. You should not be adding anything to your tank unless you are testing for it. An overdose of iodine in your tank will not be a good thing. How do you know you need it unless you test for it. If you are doing weekly, biweekly or monthly PWC`s I`m pretty sure you dont need to supplement. JMO

 

[goisles1]

One more thing.. 1/2 cube mysis for 2 fish every day is a bit overfeeding IMO.

I've got 2clowns, a Coral Beauty, and a Fire Shrimp and I only feed 1/3 cube every other day. Could be adding to your Nitrite issues?