moving carpet anemone

[rayn]

Well it is finally time to move my carpet nem from QT into the tank it will stay in. What are the proper procedures for doing this? The new tank is filled with new salt water 3/4 way up, I plan to finish filling with existing current tank water. Any reason not to? Best way to get the nem to detach without tearing the foot? How long should I acclimate to the new tank, or just place right in?

There is some established rock already in there, I plan to move the existing rock over as well...possibly the sand too. All equipment will move along with as well...skimmer, lights, mp 10.

 

[juggalogentry]

is this a new system? Its usually not recommended to add an anemone to any system younger than a year, (6 months minimum)

That being said, do the params match? Salinity in both tanks the same? Are there any fish in the system your moving it to? Do you plan on putting fish in there? I asked the last two because if the tank isnt cycled and you put the nem in it wont make it very long if and when it does cycle. The best way ive seen it done is with a credit card and taking your time (assuming your qt does not have any rocks and the foot is attached to a flat surface) Acclimation is advised if the params dont match exactly, if you acclimate do a drip acclimation,

 

[juggalogentry]

if and when you move the existing rock and sand, there will be die off, possibly leading to nutrient spikes that the nem may not be able to handle, the way i would do it is go ahead and make the move with everything else, watch the chemistry and if all is well, then add the nem

 

[rayn]

Tank it is going into has been up and running for minimum two years now. Those fish were relocated to their new larger system. All rock and sand is cycled in there. There will be a pair of clowns added, maybe something else not sure yet. I can forgo the sand move, but would like to take the rock.

 

[KorD]

I would take the rock firsts and wait a full day watching to see if you have any spikes.. since you said you have a 2 year old system, a drip method would be in order to match the waters of both tanks unless somehow you have both running off the same sump.

To move the nem... if it is sure footed and does not try to budge, rub an ice cube along it's foot for a second, it should let go enough where you you can lightly massage the rest of it's foot with your finger.
If it on the rock... just move the rock and nem after the drip acclamation

 

[rayn]

Am I over simplifying it? If the rocks are cycled in the new tank, and the rocks going over are cycled...how would I get a spike? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to rush it and have issues, but I guess I don't understand. I haven't seen spikes before when moving fish, is this just because it is a carpet?

 

[KorD]

nems are touchy critters...
When manhandling rocks and such, you could cause some die off of the rock.

 

[Reefahholic]

is this a new system? Its usually not recommended to add an anemone to any system younger than a year, (6 months minimum)

That being said, do the params match? Salinity in both tanks the same? Are there any fish in the system your moving it to? Do you plan on putting fish in there? I asked the last two because if the tank isnt cycled and you put the nem in it wont make it very long if and when it does cycle. The best way ive seen it done is with a credit card and taking your time (assuming your qt does not have any rocks and the foot is attached to a flat surface) Acclimation is advised if the params dont match exactly, if you acclimate do a drip acclimation,

X2...good advice

 

[Reefahholic]

Ryan, the carpet will have nothing to do with a spike.

What kind of carpet are we talking about here?

If you have established LR in both tanks and the transfer tank has been up and running for 2 years, you will not see a spike unless you add new sand or even the existing sand from the other tank. It's been my experience that sand is filthy even when it's stirred and only been in the tank for 6 months.

Move the rock over and if you move the sand, rinse it well and let the system run for 24-48 hours. Test your ammonia and nitrate levels.

If all is good, then move the nem. But as stated above, the Nem will have issues in a young tank. Six months is the minimum time for most anemones.

If you have issues, you'll have to do large frequent WC's until the tank levels out.

I'm dealing with an unestablished DT now.

 

[rayn]

The carpet is a haddoni, gray/green. Looks a lot like the one on DD last night.

Well I would really like more sand in the bigger tank, so I will get some and let it establish. What's a few more days? The rock in there is well established, coraline algae and all that. Seriously, two years in October it will be up. It is more established then the QT the nem is in now.

Sounds like more sand, then watch parameters.

 

[Reefahholic]

The carpet is a haddoni, gray/green. Looks a lot like the one on DD last night.

Well I would really like more sand in the bigger tank, so I will get some and let it establish. What's a few more days? The rock in there is well established, coraline algae and all that. Seriously, two years in October it will be up. It is more established then the QT the nem is in now.

Sounds like more sand, then watch parameters.

I recently upgraded from a 90 to a 180 that I cracked the back glass. So now I have a 220.

I originally planned to move everything from my established 90/G to the new tank. After breaking the 180/G and going with the 220, things took longer than expected. So after removing the sand from my 90, I put it all in 5/G buckets. It was suppose to be in the new tank within 2 days. That didn't happen.

After only 3 weeks, the sand had fouled and became a toxic mess. When I stirred the sand, it was black underneath and the smell was herendous.

I ended up having to rinse and bleach the sand for days. I didn't want to trash it because it was premium aquatics Reef Flakes. I love this sand.

I took the time and did the nessesary work to keep my sand. It was like using brandnew sand out of a bag when I was done cleaning it. My advice to you would be to keep about 5-10 lbs, and rinse the rest and transfer it quickly.

It will seed the other sand in a few months. I'm a clean freak and my patience runs thin, so putting that nasty sand in my brandnew tank wasn't happening. I'll seed this sand shortly. Plenty of buddies around from local club and message board who have established sandbeds.

If you do plan on using all the old sand, just get it in quickly. Then let the dust cloud die, but run the system with felt filter socks to collect all the muck and silt.

Good luck!

 

[Trex]

If this helps....

I currently have a blue S. haddoni in my 75, and I am in the process of setting up a 210, both my 40 breeder and 75 will be taken down and parts will go into the 210.

The 210 should be wet by the first week in October, and fully running by mid-October. Within the next week or 2 the contents of the 40 will be either moved into the 75 or sold off.
When the 210 is fully running (( new sand, mixture of dry rock and live rock )), I will move over some of the rock from the 75 that I want to save and a few of the fish. The S. haddoni will stay in the 75 for at least a month after I do the first transfer. I do not plan on moving any of the water over (( no bacteria in the water )), and only a couple cups worth of sand.