Anemone Tank Bioload and Natural Filtration

Grant Beyleveld · Feb 13, 2020

I’m interested in setting up an anemone tank. It will be entirely RBTAs, with a range of compatible inverts, etc. I will probably have a lawnmower blenny for algae and clowns (I’m thinking about a clownfish harem, but that’ll be way down the line and beyond the scope of this discussion). At the onset, the number of fish will be incredible small (I’m generally more interested in inverts anyway).

The tank plan is as follows: 100 gal DT with 30 gal sump. No filter socks, large refugium with macro algae, mud on the bottom and a kessil H80 grow light. No skimmer. Tank will be established with “The Package” from TBS - for those who aren’t familiar, this will be 100lbs of live sand and 200lbs of live rock, all aquafarmed in the gulf and shipped in water. Thus, the tank is designed to have robust natural filtration system in place with a high level of biodiversity.

The goal here is to create a tank that can handle itself in terms of filtration and also be somewhat low maintenance. The large amount of live rock and live sand will host a large bacterial population for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The mud will host another anaerobic zone. The refugium will create space for great expansion of various a phi pods/copepods/etc. which will feed on detritus and provide a food source for the tank (the absence of mechanical filtration means they also won’t be removed). The skimmer chamber will contain the live rock rubble that doesn’t make it into my aquascape.

I’ve heard that anemones are a large bioload. Is this tank setup feasible? Does anyone have any experience with anything similar.

For the purposes of constructive dialogue, I’d prefer to hear from people who have maintained these kinds of natural filtration tanks. I’d like to hear from people who have anemone tanks with few fish - how does your system handle waste? If you’ve only ever run a mixed reef with loads of fish and a Berlin method filtration system, then you’re probably not adding much here. I know there are many ways to run a successful tank, I’m asking about this one.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input. I’m looking forward to learning from some more experienced reefers.

Spare time · Feb 13, 2020

Anemones have practically no bioload. If you get a tank with only a few fish then a simple refugium will work. Heck if done properly a refugium is all you need even with lots of fish. I would still do filter socks as it becomes messy to remove chaeto that is filled with crud.

Grant Beyleveld · Feb 13, 2020

Thanks for the reply. I guess I must have read incorrectly when I heard nems were a large bioload.

Interesting you stand by filter socks. I’m quite determined not to have them, since I really don’t want to be pulling out pods and things from the water column, nor do I want to have to be cleaning them every week. I figure if I fail to clean the filter socks then their value becomes zero because the waste is still in the tank, breaking down, but it’s not being consumed by any corals/inverts and further I’m removing pods. I’d rather aim for a system that can handle the “gunk” on it’s own.

Mical · Feb 13, 2020

Mark has an awesome video on nems

Grant Beyleveld · Feb 13, 2020

Mical said:
Mark has an awesome video on nems

Just watched that this morning! It’s a great video.

Spare time · Feb 13, 2020

Grant Beyleveld said:
Thanks for the reply. I guess I must have read incorrectly when I heard nems were a large bioload.

Interesting you stand by filter socks. I’m quite determined not to have them, since I really don’t want to be pulling out pods and things from the water column, nor do I want to have to be cleaning them every week. I figure if I fail to clean the filter socks then their value becomes zero because the waste is still in the tank, breaking down, but it’s not being consumed by any corals/inverts and further I’m removing pods. I’d rather aim for a system that can handle the “gunk” on it’s own.

Pods will survive regardless of filter socks. I have plenty and they will grow anywhere over the tank. However I understand what you are saying. I am for socks not necessarily to remove waste but to polish the water and keep the sump clean. Sumps without socks can end up being detritus bombs waiting to be disturbed. I built my tank with the aim of little maitenence in regards to phosphate and nitrate and the only filtering I have would be a bag of carbon, socks, and refugium and I am a fan of it. But as with many things in this hobby, your is preference is key.

Blue Spot Octopus · Feb 13, 2020

Have you thought about using Sea Swirls for your return so you do not have any powerheads in the DT?

Maxx · Feb 13, 2020

I've gotta go with spare time on this...anemones by themselves have very little bio load.
Anemones are fun and beautiful, but dont fit as well with "standard" set ups, meaning they do best with species specific tanks. Decide which species you want, (in this case you mentioned E.quadricolor or Bubble Tips) and design the system around their needs. They dont like heavy flow, they bury their foot in rock work and they like light.

Spare time is also right with the sump planning. Rubble in the sump for pods will collect detritus that will negatively affect water quality. Bad water quality will have your anemones wandering looking for better conditions. Anemones in ideal conditions wont move about. Anemones that wander get sucked into overflows, powerheads, and intakes.

Design the system around the anemone and the rest will fall into place.