Need lots of help

[ilovemynewtank]

I have inhereted an aquarium and have no idea what I am doing. The aquarium I inhereted is 6 months old and has 2 anemones ( I think one is a condy and the other is a long tenticle), a maroon clown, lawnmore blennie, blue damselfish, scarlet skunk shrimp cleaner, green mandarin, clue green chromis,4 blue mushrooms, a crocea clamand lots of snails and hermit crabs. I also have just noticed a new snail and a mysterious crab it looks like a normal small crab( not a hermit)
Problem I am having is my long tenticle is beginning to bleach, everything with the tank is the same except I did a major water change since the nitrates were high( now normal lever) and I added a red prism skimmer. The tank is a 46 gallon bow front and has a doubble bio wheel carbon hanng on filter, tank is kept at 80 degrees, I have a power head, lots of liverock, and 10K combo light ( one is blue and one is white). How do i know if the lights are the problem and I need to upgrade or if the anemone is in shock from the tank move and change in nitrates.

 

[dennis210]

Just quessing here but with what you said about the bulbs and color I bet you have no where near enough wattage. 46 gallon tank needs a bare minimum of around 300 watts to keep the anemone (LT). So the first thing you need to find out is how many watts do you have now?

 

[ilovemynewtank]

Ok I have two bulbs the blue and white combo the fixture is a jbj and the bulb says 10,000 FPL 96 watts. I have been reading a lot about saltwater tanks and I was thinking about getting T5 lights. I really dont know about the different types, but I do know that I can not afford metal hailides. What do I need to keep my tank healthy?

 

[fishfreak1242]

Originally Posted by ilovemynewtank
http:///forum/post/2875747
Ok I have two bulbs the blue and white combo the fixture is a jbj and the bulb says 10,000 FPL 96 watts. I have been reading a lot about saltwater tanks and I was thinking about getting T5 lights. I really dont know about the different types, but I do know that I can not afford metal hailides. What do I need to keep my tank healthy?
T-5s would the way to go if you can't get halides. What you want to get is a fixture that has individual reflectors. It will be much more powerful than a fixture without individual reflectors. A 4 bulb fixture will do for your setup. Some good brands are TEK, Nova Extreme Pro, and if you have the cash Aquatinics. I would also suggest looking into getting a sump. Check out melevsreef dot com. Hes the sump expert and theres alot of info on them.

 

[ilovemynewtank]

48" T5 HO 4x 54W Aquarium Reef Light low profile 216W
I can get this for 105.00 is this a good deal, is it ok to go with a generic brand light

 

[ilovemynewtank]

here are some pictures of my bleaching anenome and my tank. As you can see my clam looks healthy ( I think???) and my mushrooms are extended, but good in color, and my other anenome is fine. Just one bleached??????

 

[rotarymagic]

Originally Posted by ilovemynewtank
http:///forum/post/2875830
48" T5 HO 4x 54W Aquarium Reef Light low profile 216W
I can get this for 105.00 is this a good deal, is it ok to go with a generic brand light
nope. make sure each bulb has its own individual reflector and a good ballast driving them or you will have wasted your money.
Get you a current USA nova extreme pro 48inch at the minimum.

 

[fishfreak1242]

Originally Posted by ilovemynewtank
http:///forum/post/2875830
48" T5 HO 4x 54W Aquarium Reef Light low profile 216W
I can get this for 105.00 is this a good deal, is it ok to go with a generic brand light
Yeh you're probably getting a really bad quality fixture. A good one cost around 300-500$.

 

[fishfreak1242]

Originally Posted by ilovemynewtank
http:///forum/post/2875912
here are some pictures of my bleaching anenome and my tank. As you can see my clam looks healthy ( I think???) and my mushrooms are extended, but good in color, and my other anenome is fine. Just one bleached??????
I'd be careful with that anemone. If it dies in your tank its gonna release of bunch of toxins and potentially crash your tank. I'd give it to a friend with proper lighting or try to give to a LFS. The shrooms should be fine, they don't need really powerful lighting.