bta... i know its been done before.

i just upgraded from a 10 to a 15 gallon, and im waiting a little bit before i get my bta, i just wanted to know if the Current 96 watt power quad is enough light for the bta. if not i can get another for about $100. but im afraid that adding another 96 watt would be over kill...

question 2; i was also going to wait about a month to let the bta "settle" before i get a suitable clown. is that a good idea?

 

How old is this tank ? sounds like its not been set up nd running very long . I am of the school of with anemones especially a Bubble tip you rarely can have to much light when using P/C VHO or The T/5 You may prolong its demise with less light but in the end it would most likely fade away.. If the tank is truly cured and aged enough and the parameters are very stable You can try what you have and if needed have the extra light at the ready..
I myself prefer to not add anemones to any tank less then 9 months old and that depends on how easily they cycled. The slightest Ammonia or Nitrite spike its a gone'er they will wilt puke and poof all gone..

 

Monkey, I can not speak for everyone, I have a 12 gal nano DX at 48watts and my green BTA is loving it. He has split twice since I received him. I will post pics later.

 

Tangster: I'm curious of how long the BTAs you mention tended to survive before going "poof"...

And Berlin_Joe: How long has your BTA been happy?

I personally have a BTA in my 5 month-old 20 gallon. I adopted the BTA along with the maroon clown that hosts in it about 2 months ago and have not (knock wood) seen any problems with the specimen.

 

well the ten gallon was running for about 3 years...im using the same Lr corals, sand, refuge, etc... 96 watts equates to 6.4 watts per gallon. The tank is using about five new gallons of water, so everything is about the same as it was in the ten gallon.

so to answer how long the tank has been running 3 years in the ten, and about 2 weeks in the 15.

and are you sure about pc not being to much light? ive heard of btas going into shock from to much light. and i dont want to risk bleaching my corals as well...

 

I kept a bta under 36 watts of pc for around a year, sold the tank (back in 04'), and is still doing well.

 

cool. i think that my tank is well established. 3 years. and 5 new gallons. thats it.

 

i personally think you'll need to buy a 150 watt metal halide....i think i saw one in the classifieds.

 

Wow, shameless promo...well done...

Has your new 15 gallon finished cycling yet? I know your 10 gallon was established, but I think I remember hearing that switching tanks causes enough disturbance that a mini-cycle (at least) occurs. Or I could be making stuff up again...

 

If an anemone is ever exposed to much more then any detectable ammonias or nitrites poof usually happens in a matter of Hrs..and its nasty to clean up total melt down. Thats why I would tell anyone to wait until the tank is truly stable.
I'm old school when it comes to my tanks I always wait several months before I even add a fish other then the single yellow tailed Damsel I always cycle with. Corals when I start to see coralline getting started they make a great barometer of water parameters

I also use the Coraline for any anemone additions to a new tank But I never add an anemone to any reef tank. I would only keep them is a species specific tank only.

The most often needed additive and least added to a marine system is patience