setup for H.Magnifica

[elegance coral]

I am planning an aquarium for H. Magnifica with a pair of true perculas and would like any sugestions.
I am thinking of using an octagon tank I already have. I believe it is around 35gl. Plumbing it in with the rest of my system. The over all water volume would be several hundred gl. 250 MH, color temp? Low wattage actinics. 2 return pumps with the little wave making splitters. Not sure what they are called. This way there would be 4 alternating discharges into the tank.
I have been unsuccessful with this anemone in the past and want to do everything I can do to get it right this time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[GSMguy]

what are the dimensions on that tank?
i think you will want to go bigger.

[bencozzy]

are they SCWDs?

they need lots of flow! and light!

and i believe they get upward of 36" in diameter.

so if you look at their natural environment they live on a reef slope were there are tons of stony corals and basicly no softies so if the tank is setup to grow SPS the nem should take to the tank.

id say as a min. 70+x turnover rate and 9+wpg of a 10k MH bulb with a bit of supplemental actinics.

ive never kept magnifica though, but have experience with other host nem species hopefully one of the successfull magnifica keepers can chime in.

HTH
ben

[GSMguy]

instead of the SCWD's u should have a CL witha big pumpa and an OM 4 or 8 way for the random flow.

they do get very large so you will need to have a big square tank.

i have only seen a couple mags in real life and never owned one

what went wrong when you have tried these nems in the past?

[bureau13]

I would set up your rockwork so that the highest point is away from everything like walls, overflows, etc, otherwise they'll wander off onto the glass. Mine rampaged over everything in my tank (wasn't set up properly for a Magnifica) until it got on the glass, so even though it looks goofy, its better for me than having it trample everything. Lots of turbulent flow and light as people have said.

jds

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9906874#post9906874 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
what are the dimensions on that tank?
i think you will want to go bigger.

The tank is 20" wide by 25' tall. I assume that the anemone wont be real large when I buy it. Trust me, if it outgrows this tank I will be more than happy to buy him a larger one. I would look like this dude :rollface:

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9907248#post9907248 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
instead of the SCWD's u should have a CL witha big pumpa and an OM 4 or 8 way for the random flow.

they do get very large so you will need to have a big square tank.

i have only seen a couple mags in real life and never owned one

what went wrong when you have tried these nems in the past?

you will have to excuse my ignorance because I don't understand a thing you said in your first sentence. I'm an old school DIY guy. I'm going to guess at what you said. I think the SCWD is the "T" connecter that alternates flow from one side to the other. I chose this system because I figured there is no powerheads in the tank he can wander into. Can you explain what the rest of what you said means?

I tried two. The first one didn't look good when I bought it. I have bought sick animals and brought them back before and this was the first one I saw in person. It never ate and just continued to decline. The second one was 12 to 14 inches in diamater. It was doing good till I set a rock on part of it without noticing. I discovered what I had done 3 days after rearranging the tank.

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9908928#post9908928 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bureau13
I would set up your rockwork so that the highest point is away from everything like walls, overflows, etc, otherwise they'll wander off onto the glass. Mine rampaged over everything in my tank (wasn't set up properly for a Magnifica) until it got on the glass, so even though it looks goofy, its better for me than having it trample everything. Lots of turbulent flow and light as people have said.

jds


I figured a rock pile like this wouldn't look so bad in an octagon tank with the anemone top dead center. At least thats where I'm hoping he'll stay.

[OrionN]

This anemone will need 24X24 square area at least. It will get there really fast if does well and you feed it well.. It need high flow I manage this by pointing high flow return at it from 2-3 feet way. I used a automatic switch valve to change the direction of flow every 20 min or so, and also pointing several jet of water meeting each other (180 degree) right above it. It is on a high pile of rock with enough clear area around it where it cannot tough the wall. If it want to move it must move down the rock pile first.
Given all these requirement, I think a 20 inches Hex is too small for it. I think it is best to set up a tank at least 24X36 inches with light right in the middle (at least 250 W MH)

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9907248#post9907248 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
instead of the SCWD's u should have a CL witha big pumpa and an OM 4 or 8 way for the random flow.



the SCWD are the t conectors you mentioned they ar kinda cheap and restrict the flow greatly making them inefficent.

you will be better off with a closed loop plumbed with a big pump and an Ocean motions

an ocean motions is a thing that can move water bettween 4 or 8 different outputs for random flow done the right way.

here is the website for OM

http://www.oceansmotions.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=33&osCsid=b876765be8cc20b36056b876b9f6150a

[elegance coral]

WOW! That is to cool! I think the price of this tank just went up 400 bucks. Thanks for the info.

[shred5]

These should only be left up to the best. They require lots of space, lots of lighting, nothing they can get sucked into or trapped in. They will almost alway die if damaged. That is the hardest part with these anemones is getting them undamaged. In my opinion they should not be collected.

They also seem to like to go to the highest spot in the aquarium and never where you want them...

Dave

[Ron Popeil]

i think youll be looking to set up a system very similar to what im doing. in my current set up i have a 24 x 24 x 24 inch, sixty gallon aquarium, with two 1" sea swirls as my sole source of water movement in the tank. those sea swirls are fed by a reeflo dart which loses half its flow to the tank seated next to it, but i imagine about 1200 GPH or so is being pushed into the magnifica tank. the anemones are seated under a single 20k XM 400w bulb housed in a lumenarc reflector. i like the appearance of the 20k bulbs, and have never used supplemental actinics. i placed them on a rock structure i made, and they receive a nice random assortment of flow with the occasional blast. they have not moved. as with your planned system, mine was set up with this particular anemone in mind. here are some pictures of my current set up:

side view:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/ronaldpopeil/DSCF1026.jpg

front view:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/ronaldpopeil/DSCF1036-1.jpg

and to show you what you can do with a larger tank with this species as a center piece, my previous system:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/ronaldpopeil/P1010001.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b293/ronaldpopeil/P1010012.jpg

i have a friend who is housing two magnificas in something closer to a 30 gallon cube and has been enjoying success. i believe hes running a 250w halide over the top, has a large pump for a sump return, and two maxijet powerheads for additional flow. while mine dont seem to grow, his definetely have grown in just five months or so to the point where he will need to get himself a larger tank. it can be done with some careful consideration and diligence, but not necessarily long term.

set up the system is the easy part. the difficulty you will experience is locating a healthy specimen.

good luck!

[shred5]

Ron Popeil that is awsum.. They sure can be spectacular esp when they get big. To me 24" X24" tank will get out grown sometime though.

I have always wanted to get one but two many get killed just to get one healthy Anemone.

But congrats on your success, looks like you know what you are doing.

Sure would be awsume if someone could figure out how to propagate them in captivity.

Dave

[elegance coral]

Fricken Awesome!!!!!!!
How long have you had them and where did you get them? They look very happy to me. I hope mine turns out as nice as yours.

[Ron Popeil]

thank you for the generous compliments. ive had three magnificas during the course of four years. the white based one i had for two years, and i absolutely adored it. but during a move something with the water from the new house did it in. the other survived, and then i purchased another one. the other two anemones have been in my care for three and two years.

all were purchased through local stores. this is the most effective way of purchasing this species of anemone. you can observe for a length of time and make an educated decision on whether or not to purchase the anemone, instead of the gamble of mail order.


good luck in your search!