Lighting for anemones and corals

[Jeremy Lain]

Hello,

I have a reef tank that right now only has an anemone, and I have a question about lighting.

So a anemone that I bought yesterday made it all through the night last night with the lights out. At 6 AM the lights came on when I looked at the anemone it was doing fine I checked on it again today at 12 PM today and it was under a magnet glass cleaner looking sick like and looking like it was about to not stay alive. It was sick today due to I think was a salt parameter not correct. Well when I fixed the salt the anemone was fine again all day, opened back up and looked fine. The lights in my reef tank went off at 5 PM and it started getting sick again and closing up. I talked to the a guy at the fish store today about what he thought might be happening, and he mentioned, he thinks it might not be getting enough lighting. That being said, I thought to my self, what if I am not giving them enough lighting during the day, so I turned on the lights on at 8:00 PM and its opening back up at 8:38PM. I have now had 2 other anemones get sick and die from whatever is happening. The first one did the same thing with the lights out. The second one I could get it to stay alive, but I had to leave the night time lights on everynight and it began to shrink in size until it died.

Me and some people talked about how they get there energy from photosynsethis.

My questions are this:

Are my corals getting enough lighting?
Is it getting enough lighting to produce the energy it needs for the day and night with the lights out? Is 6 AM to 5PM enough lighting for the energy it needs, and is it getting enough par?
I have a par meter, but it is not a great one. I had a nice one but it got lost when some boxes where moved, so I can kind of see the lighting to be able to tell if the not so nice par meter is close.
If it's not getting enough lighting, should I move the lighting down, a little at a time, throughout the day for some amounts of time and see how the anemone is doing?

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Tank age?
Parameters?
Tank and lighting setup?
How long has nem been on the tank?
Source water? (Rodi, treated rap, etc?)
Stray voltage?
Done an ICP test on water?
Sorry for all the questions and no answers, but the more info we have the more helpful we can be. Thanks!
Mine looked like crap after adding it as it was doing, what I’ve heard referred to as, a “water change” when acclimating time the new tank. Gave it a little time, let it find its home, and they have done GREAT!

 

[Jeremy Lain]

Tank age?
Parameters?
Tank and lighting setup?
How long has nem been on the tank?
Source water? (Rodi, treated rap, etc?)
Stray voltage?
Done an ICP test on water?
Sorry for all the questions and no answers, but the more info we have the more helpful we can be. Thanks!
Mine looked like crap after adding it as it was doing, what I’ve heard referred to as, a “water change” when acclimating time the new tank. Gave it a little time, let it find its home, and they have done GREAT!

7 months

Salinity 1.019
Calcium 395
Alkalinity 9.1
Magnesium 1300
PH 8.4
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrate 5
Nitrite 0
Phosphate 5
21 gallons with my hang on back protein skimmer.

Here is a picture of the lighting

I got it yesterday.

RODI Water

I don't know what ICP test means.

It won't accept food as of now. it accepted to small peices of shrimp last night, but won't today.

 

[Deep dive coral]

Anenomies do not eat everyday when they are small. Could be digesting. You should be asking yourself why you have ammonia in the tank.

 

[James M]

What brand of test kits are to you using ?
API ?
What do you mean by it’s getting sick ? It’s common for anemones to deflate and inflate during the acclimation process. Don’t try to feed it or mess with it as it’s still trying to settle down

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Salinity looks a bit low to me. Great success from many others at 1.025-1.026 onnreef tanks. Slightly lower for fish only. Hate to say, but I agree on the ammonia question. That’s never good after a cycle? Did the prior anemone pass in the tank and possibly pollute it? What else is in the tank as of now?
ICP is a mail off water test that will indicate any metals or other potential pollutants in the tank. It takes a while for results, but good to just check and make sure things are in line.
In regards to the RODI, happen to know what the TDS from the tap vs the top off water is? 0 on the top off and water change (pre-salt) is ideal. About to send my first in after 3-4 years in the hobby just to check and see what’s up in my water. Things going too well to be true at moment. Lol.
Don’t feed daily, can cause stress. For the most part it will be photosynthetic. It may be shutting down to digest as well.

 

[Jeremy Lain]

What brand of test kits are to you using ?
API ?
What do you mean by it’s getting sick ? It’s common for anemones to deflate and inflate during the acclimation process. Don’t try to feed it or mess with it as it’s still trying to settle down

Yes. API.

 

[James M]

Yes. API.

API test kits are extremely inaccurate. It sounds like the nem us just acclimating to the tank since you bought it yesterday. Give it a week to adjust and find a spot. Can you get water tested at the lfs ?
Also that light is sufficient for coral and nems

 

[Jeremy Lain]

Anenomies do not eat everyday when they are small. Could be digesting. You should be asking yourself why you have ammonia in the tank.

I don’t know where the ammonia came from, my protein skimmer was broke until today, I fixed it and did about a 15% water change to try to bring ammonia and phosphate down, but it didn’t.

Do you think these parameters, the ammonia and phosphate, are making the anemone sick?

 

[MERKEY]

I don’t know where the ammonia came from, my protein skimmer was broke until today, I fixed it and did about a 15% water change to try to bring ammonia and phosphate down, but it didn’t.

Do you think these parameters, the ammonia and phosphate, are making the anemone sick?

I understand this is frustrating when something isn't doing well in our tanks but I believe this is the same anenome you got yesterday. Or did this second one just pop up? Here's your earlier thread. I could be missing something and I am sorry if I have. Just trying to help with correct info for the problem. Will this be the 3rd anenome you have lost?

 

[xxkenny90xx]

It is normal for healthy anemones to close up and look funny at night (your lighting schedule is fine). I do think your tank is a little young for an anemone and you definately need to act quickly to get your ammonia to 0

 

[Jeremy Lain]

I understand this is frustrating when something isn't doing well in our tanks but I believe this is the same anenome you got yesterday. Or did this second one just pop up? Here's your earlier thread. I could be missing something and I am sorry if I have. Just trying to help with correct info for the problem. Will this be the 3rd anenome you have lost?

Different question, that is why I created a new thread. I didn't want to talk about lighting, and water chemistry in the same thread.

 

[Jeremy Lain]

API test kits are extremely inaccurate. It sounds like the nem us just acclimating to the tank since you bought it yesterday. Give it a week to adjust and find a spot. Can you get water tested at the lfs ?
Also that light is sufficient for coral and nems

They asked me if I had got my water tested there before, but I haven't, so I am assuming that I can. So maybe I will do that tomorrow.

Alright about the lighting. Thank you.

 

[Jeremy Lain]

It is normal for healthy anemones to close up and look funny at night (your lighting schedule is fine). I do think your tank is a little young for an anemone and you definately need to act quickly to get your ammonia to 0

How much do you think I need to change?

Do you think the ammonia and phosphate might be the cause of the sick anemone?

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Not the phosphate. Go to your local fish store and buy some "prime". That will temporarily bind the ammonia, then do a large (40%?) water change (and make your your skimmer is working, and see where your at!

 

[Jeremy Lain]

Not the phosphate. Go to your local fish store and buy some "prime". That will temporarily bind the ammonia, then do a large (40%?) water change (and make your your skimmer is working, and see where your at!

Alright. Thank you.

 

[lpsouth1978]

Seeing as how you are using the API test kits, I doubt that there is actually any ammonia in the tank. API ammonia tests are notorious for showing 0.25ppm Ammonia even when there is none. It would be VERY rare for there to be ammonia in a 7 month old tank.

The problems that I see are these:

1. SG is definitely low. in a reef tank it should be @ 1.025-1.026. 1.019 is fine for fish only tanks, but will not support corals, or anemones.
2. Tank is a bit young for an anemone, especially if you are new to reefing. It is not impossible at this stage, but it takes diligence and perfect care.
3. Constant changes and feeding at this point will only serve to stress an anemone even more. Fix the SG, ensure that there really is no ammonia (preferably with a better test kit), and let the anemone acclimate. This can take days to weeks. As stated earlier, it is normal for nems to inflate and deflate while they are acclimating to a new tank. It is also normal for them to close up at night after the lights go out, My Carpet anemones shrink to about half their daytime size, and my BTA closes up completely at night.

One question I have not seen asked, and seems to be a pretty important one, what type of anemone is it. They can vary in their care depending on species.

 

[Jeremy Lain]

Seeing as how you are using the API test kits, I doubt that there is actually any ammonia in the tank. API ammonia tests are notorious for showing 0.25ppm Ammonia even when there is none.

I tested fresh RODI water no salt with the test kit and it showed 0 ammonia. I just did a 40 % water change and the ammonia is exactly the same as before I did the water change.

 

[lpsouth1978]

Now test freshly mixed saltwater and see what the reading is. My API test ALWAYS shows 0.25 ammonia when testing saltwater, and I know for a fact that there is 0 ammonia in my tank.

 

[Jeremy Lain]

Now test freshly mixed saltwater and see what the reading is. My API test ALWAYS shows 0.25 ammonia when testing saltwater, and I know for a fact that there is 0 ammonia in my tank.

I just did the test that you said to do I tested fresh RODI water and it was a 0 ammonia.
Then I mixed up a cup of RODI salt water that hasn't been in the reef tank yet, and it tested at 0.25.

Can this ammonia make my corals and anemone sick? The 0.25 ammonia?