Urchin, Anemone Info

[garnet13aj]

I'm interested in learning more urchins and anemones. I have a 55 g FOWLR that is about
3 1/2 months old with about 40 lbs LR (getting more in the future) and 30 lbs LS.
Inhabitants:
-2 Ocellaris clowns
-1 Royal gramma
-1 SFE
-1 chocolate chip starfish (I know I got this too early)
-assorted hermits/snails
What I'm wondering is:
Which urchin/anemone (if any) would be best suited for my tank, what are their basic needs, and how old does my tank need to be before I get one?
Thanks for any help!

 

[reefreak29]

urchins need a sg of 1.024 to 1.026, there algea eaters, including coraline.
i would star with a pincushin, there not venomouse and they stay pretty small
as far as an anenome i need to know what kind of lights u have

 

[garnet13aj]

Thanks. At the moment I have minimal algae growth, if I suplemented w/nori could I get one now, or should I wait until my tank is older?
I'll check on the lights in a sec, I forgot to put that in, because I decided to ask about anenomes at the last second.

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by garnet13aj
Thanks. At the moment I have minimal algae growth, if I suplemented w/nori could I get one now, or should I wait until my tank is older?
nope u can get one now they can eat dried algea sheets

 

[garnet13aj]

Okay, I don't know anything about light bulbs, but this is what it says on them:
F40C50
Chroma 50
40W
Does that mean anything to you? If so and they are not suitable for anenomes, what kind of lights should I get?

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by garnet13aj
Okay, I don't know anything about light bulbs, but this is what it says on them:
F40C50
Chroma 50
40W
Does that mean anything to you? If so and they are not suitable for anenomes, what kind of lights should I get?
unfortunatly there not good enough for anenomes, somone else might have an opinion but i wouldn attemp an anenome without mh lighting, or at least t5

 

[ophiura]

You should not keep an anemone in the tank. First it is very young, second it is low light...and perhaps most importantly, the chocolate chip star is a predator.

 

[garnet13aj]

The info about the star is definitely good, I'll keep that in mind.
But for future reference, how old and what type of lighting should I have to keep an anenome? I always see posts that say that a tank is too old and needs better lighting, but specifically what type of lighting and how old?
Thanks.

 

[babyb]

i was told that a tank should be 6 months,but i have seen people put them in there right like three weeks old but im not sure they 1) lived or 2) took stuff from an estableshed tank and just like transfered

 

[babyb]

in my 55 i have 260 wts of pc and have a bubble tip an. that has split, everything i have seems to be doing great under my lights

 

[garnet13aj]

So, six months seems to be the cut off to declare a tank mature, from what I read on here, I just want to be sure. I don't know anything about lights, I'm not planning on having a reef tank for the most part, but I think an anenome would be cool. Looks like right now it's not going to work w/the lights/starfish though.
The lights I have now came w/the used tank I bought. Can anyone tell me what kind of lights they are, based on the info I posted above? It sounds like they are pretty basic, but it'd be nice to know what type for future reference.
Also, based on reefreak's post I'm looking into getting a pincusion urchin, anyone else think that's a good idea, just to make sure?

 

[ophiura]

Please take a photo if you can of your light bulbs.
Urchins, IMO, also need slightly older tanks. They are bulldozers. If your rock is not really secure, I would be wary. If you have an acrylic tank, I would also possibly thing twice about it.

 

[babyb]

the last pin custion i had picked up everything, he moved my feather dusters of an hourly basis, had my hermits on his back, empty shells, i took him back and i went in the fish store a few weeks ago and they still had him and he was covered in like foot tall fake plants funny to see but frusterating as all get ip to have to put things back

 

[garnet13aj]

I'm not sure exactly what you wanted out of a photo, so here's a full and close up:

I have a glass tank so that's not a problem and my rock is secure and most pieces are really large. Would you say that I should wait unti algae is prominent in my tank or can its diet be suplemented by nori sheets?
I'm fine with waiting if that is the best option.
And thanks everyone for the replies, I appreciate the help.

 

[ophiura]

I think those may be normal output flourescents...the stock lighting on the tank. It would not be suitable for anemones, IMO.

 

[garnet13aj]

Thanks for the quick, straight reply. I'll hold out for a time when I have a different setup...

 

[reefreak29]

as far as the urchin i say go for it , if u really want it, ive had my pincushion for some time now and it does carry stuff on its back but ive never had a problem with it

 

[garnet13aj]

I'm thinking of going down to my lfs right now to see what they have in. Mostly because I end up going there about once a week just to look around. I'm not to worried aobut it carrying anything, so I might pick one up and see how it goes.

 

[julie853]

I put two pencil urchins in my tank when my tank was about a month old and I have had no problems with them.They have grown a little and do a great job on the alge in the tank.I now have three anemones and you will have to have stronger lighting I made a huge mistake along time a go and put a condi anemone in my tank with out enough lighting and it died with in a week I now have the right lighting and my anemones are doing great.