Well, I've gone and done it now...

[gator]

Okay, I know the rule: "research before you buy."   Recently I purchased two small tank-raised percula clowns for my tank, and an anemone for a host.    I was assured that the anemone I purchased would be a good host for the the fish.  The trouble is, it's a Ritteri anemone, and my post-purchase research seems to suggest it's one of the more difficult ones to keep alive.    I have one of those 2x96 W by 36"  coralife lights, one bulb 10,000K, one bulb blue actinic. For my 38 gallon tank, does this work out to 5 watts per gallon? (i.e. does the 96 W actinic count as part of the watts per gallon calculation?)   Does anyone know if this is enough light for this anemone?  I'm not looking to upgrade to metal hallide lighting anytime soon, so If I don't have enough light, I will return the anemone for something more in keeping with my current setup.

[yellowtang]

yes indeed...you certainly need more light....the more the better
just like live rock the more the merrier.
unfortunately your anome is a hard species to keep.
you might want to opt for dual strip.if money is tight then you
might want to place your tank by a window.and get turbo snails
as algae will flurish...as for MH one single bulb will do wonders.
talk to marinescape in carling avenue, if you reside in ottawa
and they will able to respond to any questions you might have.
 

[yellowtang]

hello gator. just forgot to mention
get rid of your wet dry filter.don't need it.
skimmer is sufficient
plenty of rock you have.and enough water circulation with
power head(s)
wet/dry filtration riuns the balance.

[gator]

Thanks for the tips, yellowtang!
As far as the wet/dry filter goes, I've heard from other people that I should get rid of it....something about it being a high nitrate producer.     I was thinking about getting rid of the substrate, and keeping it for water circulation only (it sort functions as a wave maker because the canister slowly fills up and then expells the water rythmically through the spraybar).   Also, I can put bags of activated carbon in there periodically.  Would this be OK?

As far as the metal hallide, I work in the construction business, so I have a friend who works for an electrical contractor sourcing and pricing the parts for me, and I plan to build one 175W pendant.  My friend should have no trouble finding all of the parts, with the exception of the housing/reflector assembly.   Do you know anywhere these parts can be purchased online?   I live in the Toronto area, so Ottawa-local distributors aren't much good to me, unless they do mail order! heh-heh

[DARKPHREAK]

http://aquariacanada.com/osCommerce/default.php?cPath=1_74_90_104

The owner from that site which is in Ottawa area, ships everywhere, send him a message to ask about what you want and he'll quote you a good price.

[luvfishies]

Gator, pop over to

www.pnaquaria.ca

It's a GTA-based Forum, with great people who should be able to help you out!

[gator]

Thanks for the link, luvfishes

Im going to try to post a few pics here....

[luvfishies]

Is that a yellow tang in the tank?

I thought they needed more room than a 38g?

[gator]

Well, in retrospect a 38g is a little small for an adult yellow tang.  My guy is still small - 2-1/2" total length.  Also, he seems very happy, and shows no aggression towards any of the other inhabitants.   In fact, he likes to hang out with two small percula clowns which are about 1/4 of his size.  I plan to start another tank within a year or so in the 100 to 150 gallon range, if I can manage it without having to get a divorce!

BTW, my canister filter crapped out on me, and I haven't installed the replacement yet.   It's been about 9 days now, and ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitrate=5 ppm, pH=8.2.   I still feel leary about using no secondary filtering other than the protein skimmer.  What would you suggest for mechanical filtration, as well as something I can run carbon in from time to time?