Quote:
Originally Posted by christyf5
Wow, great looking tank. I love the solana tanks, they're so clean looking. Those flower anemones are just gorgeous, did you get them locally? Also do they stick to the rock they're on (whether they came that way or you put them there) or do they move about like other anemones?
Also how often do you do waterchanges? I have a 7.5gallon nano that is sorely neglected (mostly because I just can't seem to be successful with it, unless you can define excess algae growth as success). Any suggestions success with smaller skimmerless tanks?
LOL I feel like I'm giving you the third degree here with all the questions  I'm seeing more and more successful smaller tanks lately and I really want to make mine look as great as they do! |
Thanks for stopping by to check out my new set up. The Rock Flower Anemones were purchased from Oceanic Corals. This took place last year around December. Paul brought a bunch of really nice ones and I picked up 4 of them. It seems that this type of anemone does not come around very often. The only time I have seen them was at Oceanics. They were not attached to a piece of liverock when I brought them home and I personally find it very easy to get them to stay put.
First step to get them to attach to a piece of liverock is to turn the pumps off, then make sure that you find a rock that offers them a good area where their foot feels protected. You can also place it on the sand right next to a rock and it will bury its food under that rock. If they feel safe were you placed them then they will stay there for sure. They never wander around in my 50g and they have stayed put so far in the 34g Solana. All in all, these anemones tend to stay put and don't get too big, which makes a great addition for a reef set up.
Now, as far as suggestions to run a successful skimmerless & sumpless set up. The first one would be to buy the right size fish for your nano and avoid crowding it with too many fish. Feed lightly and if you are going to feed frozen food I would highly recommend to thaw it first, then rinse it to get rid of that juice that's loaded with extra nutrients before feeding the fish. Water changes are extremely important at the beginning. Do them weekly and as the tank mature, you can do them bi-weekly and eventually once a month if you like but that can only be achieved over time.
On my set up I currently do water changes bi-weekly. The hope is to do water changes every couple of months or longer but I'll wait a while before to do this. The tank has to mature and settle before I can afford to let it go for more than 2 weeks without a water change. I personally believe that I was able to do this with my previous set up because I didn't overstock the tank and I made sure that no food was wasted. It's a very fine balance but I believe that it can be achieved if you are a responsible reefer.