Help with my GBTA

dbetts

dbetts

Member
I concluded that my tank is way too young to house an anemone, and I got caught in the LFS salesman just trying to make a sale by saying it would be fine (and being so new to this, I believe everything they tell me). But I cannot return my friend now so I was hoping for some advice. After about a week of having the GBTA (in that time he was doing great), he decided to hide on me. I read about it and everyone said that's ok, so I let it go and he finally moved to where I could see him, but he was opened up showing his mouth; which I also read was normal for them to do for a short period of time. He was still eating (or at least grabbing for food) so I thought that seemed normal. But he stayed with his mouth open for multiple days, then moved again to under some rocks. I can barely see him but he looks like he has shriveled up a bit. He is however still hanging onto the rocks, so I think that is a good sign. My water parameters are all fine (amm-0, nitrites- 0, nitrates-10, PH- 8.0ish, SG- 1.022). Has anyone had their BTA act weird for an extended period of time? Or should I be worried?
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
I know your not going to want to hear this.

It looks like you just set up your tank. It'd going to be very difficult to almost impossible for your anemone to live in your system right now.
Do your anemone and your self a favor and return it to your LFS, or sell it, or give it away.

Having an anemone die and not removing it quickly can lead to a lot of problems. Here are a few things you should look for. Give the anemone the "smell test". If it smells really bad, foul and rank, it's likely dead. If you see what looks like "white smoke" coming from it, it's likely on the way out. If it seems to split, or have tears in it's "skin", or if it inverts it stomach it's in serious trouble, but sometimes they recover.

If you still want to try and keep it, your going to need excellent water conditions and excellent lighting. So the next questions are how big is the tank, and what is it's filtration system, and what lighting does it have?
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Again, I'm not trying to beat up on you. A HOB filter is not going to provide the filtration you need to maintain an anemone. I'd recommend adding a large skimmer. It could be a HOB skimmer as long as it's large enough. If money is no object, then an overflow, sump and skimmer would be ideal, but not absolutely critical.

Your lighting would need an upgrade also. Look at the specs for the fixture. It's a 59w fixture with 356 LEDs. That's less than .2w per LED, which is rather low. Just to give you an idea, I run 4 AI Hydra 52 fixtures on my tank. Each of them is about 135w for a total of 540w. Now, watts are not everything snd the tank is a bit more than twice the size, but this gives you some idea of what you want if your interested in SPS corals and anemones.

Your kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. You kind of got a double wammy of too new a tank, and equipment not up to the job. You got a lot going against you here. I can't really recommend you upgrade equipment since even if you do that, the chances are slim.

If your going to still try, I'd add the skimmer first, and upgrade lighting only when I was sure the anemone was going to make it. A skimmer will help the water quality a lot, and is not that expensive. Make sure it's a top quality skimmer. I recommend you run your choice by the group here before you spend any money.
 
dbetts

dbetts

Member
No, I welcome the advice! I knew the HOB filter wouldn't be adequate in the long run, so I am planning on going to the LFS today to see what they carry, then research them and hopefully get one bought very soon. The anemone is still hanging on and actually looked better last night, so hopefully that's a plus. The lighting is something I keep finding mixed reviews on, but since that is an expensive piece, I will definitely do what you suggested and do the skimmer first. I wanted to get one anyway (this will be my argument to my wife so I can spend the money. haha). But money is actually a concern, so I will have to look at HOB skimmers (at least for now).

I was also told my salinity was too low for him by my LFS. So I will try to gradually increase it with my next water change. They were saying to get it to more like 1.024
 
mr_tap_water

mr_tap_water

Well-Known Member
Hi there
This is just my opinion, first of all your SG, I personally would Bring it up to 1.025 but very gradually,
I believe the only reason why anemones struggle to survive in the majority of New systems is because the water chemistry is unstable in the beginning but if you really stay on top of your testing and keep tweaking your stats you should be able to keep things stable which will allow you to keep it alive, you just need to leave it alone and let it do its own thing I wouldn't even feed it until you know it's settled properly if you're lighting is sufficient that's all it really needs as in my opinion feeding only Helps it speed up It's growth rate.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
dbetts

dbetts

Member
mr_tap_water said:
Hi there
This is just my opinion, first of all your SG, I personally would Bring it up to 1.025 but very gradually,
I believe the only reason why anemones struggle to survive in the majority of New systems is because the water chemistry is unstable in the beginning but if you really stay on top of your testing and keep tweaking your stats you should be able to keep things stable which will allow you to keep it alive, you just need to leave it alone and let it do its own thing I wouldn't even feed it until you know it's settled properly if you're lighting is sufficient that's all it really needs as in my opinion feeding only Helps it speed up It's growth rate.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

How slowly would you suggest I increase the SG? And I assume I do this through frequent water changes? As for feeding, I haven't specifically fed him since he started looking bad. But he does grab food when it passes him as I feed my fish. This is still ok right?

Thanks for the help!
 
mr_tap_water

mr_tap_water

Well-Known Member
If it was me I would increase my Sg by one every other day and yes do it by water changes ,don't add salt directly to your tank as this will do more harm than good, as for small particles of food being taken by the BT that's not a problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
dbetts

dbetts

Member
mr_tap_water said:
If it was me I would increase my Sg by one every other day and yes do it by water changes ,don't add salt directly to your tank as this will do more harm than good, as for small particles of food being taken by the BT that's not a problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Ok. Great! Thanks for the help! I am happy that people on this forum are helpful rather than degrading like I have seen on others. :)
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
dbetts said:
How slowly would you suggest I increase the SG? And I assume I do this through frequent water changes? As for feeding, I haven't specifically fed him since he started looking bad. But he does grab food when it passes him as I feed my fish. This is still ok right?...
Click to expand...
mr_tap_water said:
If it was me I would increase my Sg by one every other day and yes do it by water changes ,don't add salt directly to your tank as this will do more harm than good, as for small particles of food being taken by the BT that's not a problem. ...
Click to expand...

I would change the SG a little differently. I would mix up a small batch of SW at 1.025 and use that as my top off water, until the tank reaches 1.025, or what ever SG you want to maintain.

If you don't have one already, I also highly recommend getting a refractometer. It's a lot more accurate, and you only need about 3 drops of water to do the test.
 
dbetts

dbetts

Member
DaveK said:
I would change the SG a little differently. I would mix up a small batch of SW at 1.025 and use that as my top off water, until the tank reaches 1.025, or what ever SG you want to maintain.

If you don't have one already, I also highly recommend getting a refractometer. It's a lot more accurate, and you only need about 3 drops of water to do the test.
Click to expand...

How often would I be able to do the water changes if I do it this way? Every day, or is that too often? Also, I have been thinking about changing to a refractometer in order to get more accurate readings. So now that someone else has said it, I will probably buy one.
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
You do you water changes as normal. Mix your water to your current SG and do the partial water change. You use the water you mixes to 1.025 as top off water only. In other words, it's used to replace only water lost through evaporation.

Typically, you want to change about 10% a week or 25% a month, but this can vary a lot, depending upon your system.
 
dbetts

dbetts

Member
DaveK said:
You do you water changes as normal. Mix your water to your current SG and do the partial water change. You use the water you mixes to 1.025 as top off water only. In other words, it's used to replace only water lost through evaporation.

Typically, you want to change about 10% a week or 25% a month, but this can vary a lot, depending upon your system.
Click to expand...

Got it! Thanks!

And yes, I have been doing about 10% a week.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
I think you know this... but for anyone reading & new to the saltwater world

Salt does not evaporate - so we top off with plain ro/di water, not saltwater, but a great way to slowly increase salinity, when needed, is to top off with saltwater
 
dbetts

dbetts

Member
He hid on me again. So I can't monitor him easily :( Hopefully he comes out of hiding soon. On the other hand, I setup the protein skimmer yesterday and it has already made a difference in the clarity of my tank, so I'm pretty excited! I have a mixture of 1.025 water that I am using to top off, so hopefully things turn around. I'm trying to be hopeful!

As for my next question. The LFS is having a big sale for Labor Day, and I am wanting to take advantage of it. I definitely want to get another powerhead as I only have one 650 gph one right now. Should I get another 650, or should I go with a different one? Also, their livestock is going to be 50% off and I was wanting something for my clownfish to hopefully host, and to start the reef portion of the tank. I was thinking of green star polyps because I hear they are easy to take care of (good for a beginner) and I love how they look. But I also read that they can take over your tank. Does anyone have any suggestions?
 
mr_tap_water

mr_tap_water

Well-Known Member
Hi there again,
As for your Bta I would forget about for now just let it do it's own thing, The green star polyps though they're meant to be easy They can also be temperamental and stay close for no apparent reason but if you're lucky and I do grow They can spread quite easy, you have a couple of the choices of Either leave them on their own piece of rock or you can simply peel them off the rock as they grow like a piece of carpet, and with your pumps if you have Dead spots in your tank then I would go with another pump the same size, or with another size you think you need to cover it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
dbetts

dbetts

Member
The BTA is out and has been so for a while now. He still isn't looking great, but is still alive. I am slowly increasing my SG, and the new protein skimmer is doing amazing! All my params are staying in check too, so I am still optimistic.

I went ahead and got some GSP and put them on their own rock. They immediately opened up and have been opening every morning and closing every night. So I think they are liking their new home. :) Hopefully they will grow and maybe I can sell bits off. I also got another powerhead of the same size, which I think is helping. Thanks for your help!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top