Help: Anemone and soft corals

[Tankerini]

Need some solid advice on the exact lighting and equipment that will be best for the following; (I have a 24 inch deep tank, 48 inch long, and 15 inch wide) 60 uk gallon approx, 226 litres).

I will be getting 60 - 90lbs of live (cured rock), once the cycle has completed and is stable I would like to add the following, a bubble tip anemone, a mushroom or two, corallimorphs, Zoanthids and definitely a Tridacna crocea (clam).

Due to the depth of my tank (24") I was not sure whether I need Metal Halides, could I use combo white flouresent daylights (full spec) with separate Acintic Blue? and a moon light or is it Metal Halides all the way?

Also am I right in thinking I do not need a sump/refugium for the above, however if I added the following fish at a later date; pair of clowns, a tang, a neon goby and a royal gamma how necessary would a sump/refugium be?

Do the soft corals and anemones need to be quarantined the same as fish?

Wow that was long! Would really appreciate a reply from someone experienced with the above who perhaps has a similar set up. (Not from people who just have the knowledge)... MANY THANKS!

[agsansoo]

I would recommend MH or T5. Clams and anemones require intense lighting. As for the sump, not necessary but well worth the extra time and money. Lastly, no quarantine is required for soft corals and anemones. SPS corals are a different story. Good luck on your new tank setup.

[Tankerini]

Thanks for the reply, I am going to go sooooo slow with this I want to get it perfect. I think I will probably have just live rock in my tank for 2months lol, to get all of the above will probably take me about a year. Im a scaredy cat and am gonna leave it like 6-8 weeks between each fish I introduce to the tank.

Oh yeah something thats really worrying me is....What do you do, or more to the point who do you trust to take care of your tank if you go on holiday or need to go away?

[blossom112]

You might want to invest in a sump to grow your own food and for plants that the tangs love .
I got a cheap (minijang sump) i paid 60 for and im going to grow copepods ,try and grow rotifilers. and my mother in law is going to give me a 20gl im going to use for plants .
I really need the copepods and they are expensive .
I dont have the sump attached to my tanks so im going to add a prizm skimmer with a mesh covering on the intake .
You will find over time you are spending a small fortune on food so it may be worth to look into .
you can also get some base rock (cheaper) and put it on the bottom of the tank and the live rock will sead it ,and you are going to keep it empty for 2 months so that will help with the cost of live rock .
I myself just added 25 to 30 lbs of base to my 150+ super live rock .
was a pain getting it on the bottom tho but worth saving hundreds.
I will add base 1x a year or as i need it for other tanks lol

if you want the addy for the sump i will search for it for you lol

[Tankerini]

You mean a refugium right? the sumps to give extra water volume and hide equipment. I would eventually like to have a refugium and sump, but for now I am still in the process of understanding how everything works. Especially keeping the water in balance, what causes it to change and how to fix it...Test kits, buffers, advantages and disadvantages in using them and so on.

Not to mention Im still reading s**t loads of reviews on the so called best skimmers, filters etc.

But definitely a good idea to have a refugium to feed your little tank buddies, why pay when you can do it at home, its suppose to do other beneficial stuff as well ( i forgotten what, guess I'll go refresh my mind AGAIN lol)