Urgent help please!

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 06:25 AM

We have a green BTA that was perfectly norml a few mnutes ago and now is doing this: https://youtu.be/3IiWqWAVqZE
Is it dying? Should I remove it quickly? what should I do?
Thanks a lot for your support.

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 07:11 AM

The mouth and the anemone are closed now but still well attached to the rock. I wonder if the anemone was just pooping and this is my first "anemone freakout" that any anemone owner has to go through? I also noticed the anemone is getting food every day which is not desirable? I feed my tank frozen brine shrimps and she always gets some on its tentacles, then curl in a ball before fluffing up again... I was thinking food twice a day may stress the anemone and overfeed it?

Sugar Magnolia · 03/30/2015, 07:48 AM

How long have you had it? How old is the tank? Lighting?

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 08:20 AM

We had the anemone for 4 days, the tank is 3 mo old and lights are 2x T8 50/50 day/actinic in a 40g tank

REEFBUILDER1 · 03/30/2015, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paullondon

We had the anemone for 4 days, the tank is 3 mo old and lights are 2x T8 50/50 day/actinic in a 40g tank

2xt8 in a 40 gallon tank is not going to support a bta

addictedreefer · 03/30/2015, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REEFBUILDER1

2xt8 in a 40 gallon tank is not going to support a bta

+1. Not even close. What are your parameters?

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 09:38 AM

Ammonia- 0
Nitrate- 0
Phosphate- 0
Ca- 460
Mg-1300
SG- 1.026
T- 78.8F
dKH- 10.5
pH- 8.2

addictedreefer · 03/30/2015, 09:44 AM

Parameters are good. Now you need to address the lighting ASAP. Also, what do you have for flow in the tank?

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 11:34 AM

For flow I have 2x Hydor Korlia 425 and the flow from the canister filter in which I have no filters or sponges, I just run GFO in it and sometimes GAC.
The tank came with its canopy fixture for T8. I replaced them with 50/50 actinic T8 the anemone was walking all around the tank and then placed itself at about 8" under the lights in medium/high flow.
Is there a LED light strip I can use to successfully supplement the 2xT8s? something that requires minimum space to install? and has a nice PAR?

addictedreefer · 03/30/2015, 11:56 AM

You will need to do more than supplement the T8s. Rather, you will need a fixture powerful enough to support the BTA on its own. There are many good LED options out there, but your typical "add-on" strip will not cut it. Metal halide and powerful T5 fixtures are also a good option.

REEFBUILDER1 · 03/30/2015, 01:05 PM

This is enough light and cheap http://www.ebay.com/itm/181627113534...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 01:09 PM

awesome! that sounds super OK, I was thinking about this: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquar...p17715169.html but I love paying less and get what I need... plus my tank is really small (only 40g)

Sugar Magnolia · 03/30/2015, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paullondon

awesome! that sounds super OK, I was thinking about this: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquar...p17715169.html but I love paying less and get what I need... plus my tank is really small (only 40g)

That's not anywhere near enough light to support a BTA. If you purchase an animal that requires very strong lighting then you need to be able to afford to provide the lighting it needs. If not I'd suggest returning the BTA before it dies, which is likely given the lighting you currently have.

FWIW, I just switched to LED's from 6x39w T5 lighting with a LTA in my tank. I'm running 180w 15k LED's over my 40 gallon tank.

hotelbravo · 03/30/2015, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia

That's not anywhere near enough light to support a BTA. If you purchase an animal that requires very strong lighting then you need to be able to afford to provide the lighting it needs. If not I'd suggest returning the BTA before it dies, which is likely given the lighting you currently have.

FWIW, I just switched to LED's from 6x39w T5 lighting with a LTA in my tank. I'm running 180w 15k LED's over my 40 gallon tank.

You quoted him talking about buying an Orbit Current LED light system and said it isnt enough lighting..
the orbit light system works great
This is my RBTA whom i bought at the size of a quarter and 8 months later he is doing very well so maybe im reading you wrong and you were talking about his original lighting which i agree is to weak. but orbit current makes a great light for BTAs.

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 06:42 PM

Hello guys, the anemone is doing better than ever, its fully open and a gorgeous green (I apologize for the quality of picture, I have no clue how to use this camera on my aquarium... it makes gorgeous pictures otherwise but when I try to capture the marine life...)
I think it was just the overfeeding stress... plus I tried to guide the clown fish into it as I saw on Melev's reef https://youtu.be/g7pGnlGdP-E with that acrylic tube so I probably unnecessarily stressed it a lot. I'm going to leave it alone and feed it once a week.

Now about the light, yeah I am really puzzled here. I got the idea T8 are not OK, I saw the link for the MarsAqua (http://www.ebay.com/itm/181627113534...torefresh=true) and I thought it's great, then I saw the Orbit Marine http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquar...p17715169.html and I also liked it. Now there are some discrepancies here and when I said I like to pay less it means LED lighting is a rip off industry and you can easily pay $1200 for a system you don't need and it's completely unnecessary for a 40 gallon tank. I want to be practical and pay just the right price not over inflated marketing bogus.
And to me it's weird how that gorgeous MarsAqua 165Watts is cheaper than that Orbit system that has 96 LEDs and a total of 23 Watts. All this numbers and discrepancies are making me think how efficient one system is and how much light you actually need? Because I remember when we tested the T5 back in the day they were not much better than the T8 which were slightly better then T12s... and those T12 back in the 90s were growing the most amazing reefs... so what's the deal today?
How can you be sure a system is OK and it's what you need or that you buy exactly what you need and not to much...?
Probably I should ask this questions in lighting section but I appreciate a scientifically sustained explanation from people with experience in reef keeping.

CStrickland · 03/30/2015, 07:57 PM

I think orbits charging a "thunderstorm premium" lol
I have those marsaquas, they're super bright. No controller though. I have mine on those timers you plug a lamp into when you go on vacation. the ramping up and down is a knob so I guess you could break it open and wire something to control that if you were handy like that. I just sent the intensity and it turns on and off.

Led's are pretty interesting, it's not just comparing watts. Searching the lighting section will probably answer a lot of your questions about how they compare to other bulbs. It's one of those things that isn't as clear cut as it seems.

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CStrickland

I think orbits charging a "thunderstorm premium" lol
I have those marsaquas, they're super bright. No controller though. I have mine on those timers you plug a lamp into when you go on vacation. the ramping up and down is a knob so I guess you could break it open and wire something to control that if you were handy like that. I just sent the intensity and it turns on and off.

Led's are pretty interesting, it's not just comparing watts. Searching the lighting section will probably answer a lot of your questions about how they compare to other bulbs. It's one of those things that isn't as clear cut as it seems.

I will do the same thing. How was the installing? What's that hanging kit all about? My aquarium is not tall at all but it's 31" long, is that fixture OK? I think it's 16" long by the seller description?

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 08:35 PM

And yeah... I'm going to do lot of reading but I don't need lots of bells and frills... I just need light that's enough for my needs and that's it.

CStrickland · 03/30/2015, 08:47 PM

this is two over a 55, if that helps you picture it (48" tank) kinda dim in here right now but you get the idea
as you can see, i did not hang them with a great deal of care

they come with the carabiner and everything below. so i put a hook in the ceiling and hung them with that invisible picture wire they sell.

also, the fans are a little loud for me, but i don't have anything to compare it too, maybe theyre all like that. i guess thats why people use canopies.

the full spectrum is cool, it looks really natural except for a couple weird crevices where the rock makes like a spotlight for only one color. so my chalk bass has a purple disco cave to hide in

ive seen them recommended for 40's a lot, i think its fine. it penetrates my 24" depth no problem. if the corners are too dim, the nem will just go someplace brighter, you can put some mushrooms there instead.

they took a couple weeks to arrive from ebaychina, idk if there's a temporary solution for your nem

paullondon · 03/30/2015, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CStrickland

this is two over a 55, if that helps you picture it (48" tank) kinda dim in here right now but you get the idea
as you can see, i did not hang them with a great deal of care

they come with the carabiner and everything below. so i put a hook in the ceiling and hung them with that invisible picture wire they sell.

also, the fans are a little loud for me, but i don't have anything to compare it too, maybe theyre all like that. i guess thats why people use canopies.

the full spectrum is cool, it looks really natural except for a couple weird crevices where the rock makes like a spotlight for only one color. so my chalk bass has a purple disco cave to hide in

ive seen them recommended for 40's a lot, i think its fine. it penetrates my 24" depth no problem. if the corners are too dim, the nem will just go someplace brighter, you can put some mushrooms there instead.

they took a couple weeks to arrive from ebaychina, idk if there's a temporary solution for your nem

Haha, I like that blue extraterrestrial light in your room... Imagine my neighbors seeing that through my glass door... they will be convinced I'm growing weeds...
My nem is gonna be fine until lights get here... BTA re not that fragile if you don't bug them to much... plus it didn't go up in the bright light, she tried 3 spots and picked the middle front of the tank... she has another 2 levels of brightness if she wants more light until LEDs are here lol

CStrickland · 03/30/2015, 09:06 PM

lol that is reeally blue looking.
here's the whites and blues both at about 50%
the spotlights over the tank are off

paullondon · 03/31/2015, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CStrickland

lol that is reeally blue looking.
here's the whites and blues both at about 50%
the spotlights over the tank are off

That's really nice. I will order the lights today.

paullondon · 03/31/2015, 07:18 AM

OH! The anemone was doing the same thing... it looked gorgeous and 2.5 hours after the lights were on she is all closed up spitting something that looks like digested brine shrimp balls connected with strings. What's going on? Is she dying? That's how they die? They spit stuff for 5 min then they look good then they do the same thing every day? At the same time? Then they look god again and so on? Is she eating during night? Is it being overfed during night with something? Because I didn't feed the tank at all last night....???

Rippinfrags · 03/31/2015, 09:14 AM

Your bta is most likely spitting up zooxenthellae because it still is not receiving enough light. Please do not buy one of the cheap led fixtures mentioned above. Take sugar magnolias advice and buy quality. You definitely get what you pay for in this hobby. In my opinion you should look to get rid of the bta until your tanks ready. Btas are considered one of the hardiest of host anemones but if it's needs are not met they will perish just the same. Lastly, you never mentioned how long your tank has been running? I'm guessing it's a rather new setup...

Tsancho82 · 03/31/2015, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paullondon

We had the anemone for 4 days, the tank is 3 mo old and lights are 2x T8 50/50 day/actinic in a 40g tank

03/30/2015, 06:25 AM	#1
paullondon Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: London, ON Posts: 127	Urgent help please! We have a green BTA that was perfectly norml a few mnutes ago and now is doing this: https://youtu.be/3IiWqWAVqZE Is it dying? Should I remove it quickly? what should I do? Thanks a lot for your support.

03/30/2015, 07:48 AM	#3
Sugar Magnolia Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern VA Posts: 17,691	How long have you had it? How old is the tank? Lighting? __________________ Adrienne The only thing to fear is fear itself....and spiders.

03/30/2015, 07:11 AM	#2
paullondon Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: London, ON Posts: 127	The mouth and the anemone are closed now but still well attached to the rock. I wonder if the anemone was just pooping and this is my first "anemone freakout" that any anemone owner has to go through? I also noticed the anemone is getting food every day which is not desirable? I feed my tank frozen brine shrimps and she always gets some on its tentacles, then curl in a ball before fluffing up again... I was thinking food twice a day may stress the anemone and overfeed it?

03/30/2015, 08:20 AM	#4
paullondon Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: London, ON Posts: 127	We had the anemone for 4 days, the tank is 3 mo old and lights are 2x T8 50/50 day/actinic in a 40g tank

03/30/2015, 09:38 AM	#7
paullondon Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: London, ON Posts: 127	Ammonia- 0 Nitrate- 0 Phosphate- 0 Ca- 460 Mg-1300 SG- 1.026 T- 78.8F dKH- 10.5 pH- 8.2

03/30/2015, 09:44 AM	#8
addictedreefer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 965	Parameters are good. Now you need to address the lighting ASAP. Also, what do you have for flow in the tank?

03/30/2015, 11:34 AM	#9
paullondon Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: London, ON Posts: 127	For flow I have 2x Hydor Korlia 425 and the flow from the canister filter in which I have no filters or sponges, I just run GFO in it and sometimes GAC. The tank came with its canopy fixture for T8. I replaced them with 50/50 actinic T8 the anemone was walking all around the tank and then placed itself at about 8" under the lights in medium/high flow. Is there a LED light strip I can use to successfully supplement the 2xT8s? something that requires minimum space to install? and has a nice PAR?

03/30/2015, 11:56 AM	#10
addictedreefer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 965	You will need to do more than supplement the T8s. Rather, you will need a fixture powerful enough to support the BTA on its own. There are many good LED options out there, but your typical "add-on" strip will not cut it. Metal halide and powerful T5 fixtures are also a good option.

03/30/2015, 01:05 PM	#11
REEFBUILDER1 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 142	This is enough light and cheap http://www.ebay.com/itm/181627113534...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

03/30/2015, 01:09 PM	#12
paullondon Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: London, ON Posts: 127	awesome! that sounds super OK, I was thinking about this: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquar...p17715169.html but I love paying less and get what I need... plus my tank is really small (only 40g)

03/30/2015, 07:57 PM	#16
CStrickland Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: New England, U.S. Posts: 4,595	I think orbits charging a "thunderstorm premium" lol I have those marsaquas, they're super bright. No controller though. I have mine on those timers you plug a lamp into when you go on vacation. the ramping up and down is a knob so I guess you could break it open and wire something to control that if you were handy like that. I just sent the intensity and it turns on and off. Led's are pretty interesting, it's not just comparing watts. Searching the lighting section will probably answer a lot of your questions about how they compare to other bulbs. It's one of those things that isn't as clear cut as it seems.

03/30/2015, 08:35 PM	#18
paullondon Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: London, ON Posts: 127	And yeah... I'm going to do lot of reading but I don't need lots of bells and frills... I just need light that's enough for my needs and that's it.

03/31/2015, 07:18 AM	#23
paullondon Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: London, ON Posts: 127	OH! The anemone was doing the same thing... it looked gorgeous and 2.5 hours after the lights were on she is all closed up spitting something that looks like digested brine shrimp balls connected with strings. What's going on? Is she dying? That's how they die? They spit stuff for 5 min then they look good then they do the same thing every day? At the same time? Then they look god again and so on? Is she eating during night? Is it being overfed during night with something? Because I didn't feed the tank at all last night....???

03/31/2015, 09:14 AM	#24
Rippinfrags Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Queen Creek, AZ. Posts: 1,419	Your bta is most likely spitting up zooxenthellae because it still is not receiving enough light. Please do not buy one of the cheap led fixtures mentioned above. Take sugar magnolias advice and buy quality. You definitely get what you pay for in this hobby. In my opinion you should look to get rid of the bta until your tanks ready. Btas are considered one of the hardiest of host anemones but if it's needs are not met they will perish just the same. Lastly, you never mentioned how long your tank has been running? I'm guessing it's a rather new setup...