Absolute minimum for a clownfish/anemone tank

[jmsilhy]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the hobby and I've been reading the forums a lot. I'm interested in a small system to learn on, and my question is, what would be the absolute minimum for keeping a clownfish/anemone in terms of size, lightning and filtration.

Thanks for your opinions!

[jauld]

I keep a true perc pair and a green bubble tip nem in a 37 gal with no problems.

[username in use]

I would say 30-40 gallons is the minimum for an anemone. You will also need some decent lighting, t5's or halides, for the nem to be really happy. A lot depends on what type of anemone you plan on keeping. If you want a carpet, your going to need a bigger tank than a bubble tip or sebae.

[sharrison]

a good inexpensive setup for that would be a 29 gallon. I will warn you though the smaller the tank the harder it is to keep stable. That is unless you have it hooked up to a 100 gallon sump.

[DC_40gallon]

Do a 10-15% water change weekly with RO/DI water and do your top offs and you can keep a 1 gallon tank just as easy as a 100 gallon in my opinion and from what so many pros have showed me.

[DC_40gallon]

I'm starting up a 5 gallon in the near future just as a center piece and to put some simple basic corals in with 5 lbs of live rock and a shallow sand bed.

[Toddrtrex]

Really depends on the type of anemone that you plan on getting. But, I wouldn't go any smaller then a 30 (( personally I think that 29's are to narrow front to back )). And with a 30 I would only consider a BTA ((Entacmaea quadricolor)) and maybe an LTA ((Macrodactyla doreensis)), all others, IMO, will outgrow a 30.

As for lighting, need to know the type of anemone before making a suggestion, the lighting (( and care in general )) requirements vary by anemone.

[sharrison]

there is a lot more manual labor on a small tank. you have to touch everything. in a larger system, i dont care what you say, they are wayyyy more stable and a lot less work. the bigger the easier and mo-betta.:)

[seapug]

I have a 28 gallon JBJ HQI tank with a pair of Maroons and about 9 BTAs
(started with 2). I definitely wouldn't put them in anything smaller than that. You can't even see the rocks. The tank looks like a glass box full of orange and green tentacles.

As for the idea that a 1 gallon is as easy to take care of as a 100 gallon tank-- leave town for a few days or get busy and distracted for a week and you'll see why that's not the case, unless you can manage to set up a miniature ATO on the 1 gallon tank.

[jmsilhy]

Wow, thank you all for your replies! Let's say I want to keep a BTA, what do you think the lighning should be? I would consider going to a 30ish tank but in my country it's difficult to get good deals on good lightning systems, so do these guys need MH / Actinics to be happy? I also would consider a sump with a skimmer, and some algae if I can find here...
For that size system, how many lbs of live rock would you use?

[WharfRat]

My RBTA is the size of a dinner plate and I run 4 t5's and 2 pc's. Its split 3 times and is happy as can be. Its foot sits about a foot below the surface of my 90 and it extends upwards about 5 inches then spreads out all over the place. it attached itself to the back wall of the tank on the left side between the side of the tank and the overflow.

[Reefer_Madness]

My very first tank started with 2 percula clowns and a bubble tip anemone. It was a cheap and easy setup with little maintenance, it was simply:
Standard 2' tank
Undergravel filter
4 fluros
You really don't need to worry about all the fancy nonsense that everyone will have you believe that you need. It is all just fancy marketing and gimmicks to try to get you to spend as much as possible.

[coralreefer80]

I have a small green bubble tip anemone with a hosted false perc in a 10 gallon pico BUT it is a TON of work. Keeping the parameters good enough for an anemone in a tank that size is a daily process and I wouldn't recommend it. I am cycling a 28 gallon bowfront right now to transfer the pair because the GBTA is awesome and it needs room to grow. I anticipate it will still take a lot of attention... as with everything else, the difference between surviving and thriving makes all the difference in how much enjoyment you get out of your tank...

[ordy1]

Really depends on the type of anemone that you plan on getting. But, I wouldn't go any smaller then a 30 (( personally I think that 29's are to narrow front to back )). And with a 30 I would only consider a BTA ((Entacmaea quadricolor)) and maybe an LTA ((Macrodactyla doreensis)), all others, IMO, will outgrow a 30.

As for lighting, need to know the type of anemone before making a suggestion, the lighting (( and care in general )) requirements vary by anemone.

Toddrtrex: Would a 46 gallon bow with dual 175 watt, 14K and dual T-5 actinic work for a haddoni and two percs? On a tank this small, would I be able to include SpS and other fish? I saw a post where the haddoni ate a Yellow Tang.

Thanks

[Toddrtrex]

Toddrtrex: Would a 46 gallon bow with dual 175 watt, 14K and dual T-5 actinic work for a haddoni and two percs? On a tank this small, would I be able to include SpS and other fish? I saw a post where the haddoni ate a Yellow Tang.

Thanks

I think that would work great. I used to have my SI percs with an LTA, and when I moved one of my Haddonis to their tank they were being hosted by it before I even had it all the way in the tank.

The other fish might be at risk of being eaten, depends on the fish. In my 10+ years of keeping Haddonis I have only lost 2 fish to them --- a Yellow watchman goby and a Mandarin. I know that I am not the norm for that, so it is a risk.

As for SPS, the only tricky part would be getting the flow right -- enough to keep the SPS happy, but not so much that the Haddoni is upset. Luckily they are sand dwelling anemones so if you keep the flow in the upper part of the tank should be able to find a happy medium.

[sharrison]

yea i had 2 250 mh's on a 46 gallon bow front and I can tell you. OVER KILL haha. 175 should be good.

[reefergeorge]

Do a 10-15% water change weekly with RO/DI water and do your top offs and you can keep a 1 gallon tank just as easy as a 100 gallon in my opinion and from what so many pros have showed me.


I have a 2.5 on my night stand, and I agree.
When I do my weekly wc on the large reef. I just put a gallon out of the large tank into the 2.5. I haven't tested anything for months, and corals are doing great.

For the op. The 28 gallon all in ones would be great, but a 20 long would work also.

[CoRPS]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but.. reefergeorge, how often are you topping off per day and how much water a day are you using? Thanks

[jmsilhy]

Thank you all again for your replies. There's a popular tank/hood combination down here, the tank is 80 lt bowfront (around 21 gal) and the hood comes with a couple of regular fluros, nothing fancy. I think they're 13 watts a piece. With this in mind, do you think any of the above mentioned anemones could live there? I have the same setup with a planted tank and it looks pretty well lighted, and I would really like to avoid using fancy MH's at the moment. What do you guys think?

[CoRPS]

There's no way a couple of 13w floros will be enough for anemones. Look into a 4 bulb T5 fixture with individual reflectors and you should be good with a BTA or LTA.

[jmsilhy]

Ok thank you, I will go to a fish market tomorrow and will let you all know how it went and maybe take some pics and ask for your opinions again.