In a word ...devistated

My tanks levels have just about stabled themselves ammo is between 0-0.25, NO2 at 0,and NO3 between 20 and 40. I was told at my lfs that nitrate levels are fine untill they get higher than 60. Added a couple damsels(yes i found out that wasn't the samtest of moves), they have found their own little corners and made my tank their home. Well my next step was to start research on which anemonies and soft corrals to get. It turns out that my tank will not be able to do such a thing since the tanks is so small. After about to months of goin there and stating everytime that it was a twelve gallon eclipse system, no one ever said I couldnt get inverts or corals. Does anyone have any light at the end of this tunnel, the main reason i started in this hobby is becasuse of the mesmerising sway of anemonies in the water current. I have already started looking into a larger tank but will more than likely have to wait untill the fall to put that one in the works.

 

A 12 gallon aquarium can still support numerous corals- many with a beautiful look and sway that is similar to some anemones... The torch coral is just one of these for example.

And Yes, a 12 gallon might just be a bit too small for an anemone... Aside from that anemones require PRISTINE (and i cannot emphasize that enough) water conditions. The fact that you even have ammonia in your aquarium shows that you are not QUITE there yet. And also you need undetectable (or near it) nitrate levels. On top of that- all your other parameters need to be bang on, and stay consistent- at all times. Then you have the requirement of excellent lighting, and filtration equipment.

All in all- you are much better off just housing easier corals until you get the swing of things and learn how to maintain proper water chemistry. Then you can try some of the more difficult corals. But anemones are inverts that really should be left to advanced aquarium setups (and owners).

 

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Why cant you get inverts or coral? 12 gallon is big enough. You will be limited on fish, but not so much inverts or coral.
You WILL however need to wait a very long time for an anemone.

 

the problem is that its a sort of starter tank and it has its own lighting fixture and according to the workers at my lfs there are no lighting fixtures that would that the shape of my tank would accommodate. As far as ammonia goes it has never changed since the day i started testing, besides water changes what else can i do get it any lower.

 

How long has it been since you started testing? It can take a while for a tank to cycle completely. You should see your ammonia rise and fall, then nitrite, and finally you may start to see some nitrates. Once you have seen your levels do this you can begin to slowly add fish etc. Of your levels don't go down ata ll you may want to double check the levels with another test kit just to be sure. As far as lighting goes there is actually a couple of retrofits made by current usa that fits the eclipse 12. Here are the links...

Current USA PowerCompact Dual SunPaq Retrofit Kit

Current USA PowerCompact SunPaq Retrofit Kit

One is a single 15in 32 watt bulb and the other is double. That will give you just about enough lighting to keep most corals. If you wanted to go all out you could run the tank without the hood and buy a viper (or similar) clip on 75watt hqi setup. Do woory there are deff. options.

 

Well let's start with actually getting to know your system. Any live rock? How many damsels? Since it's and exclipse we know it is a bio wheel, any other type of filtration we need to know about? With your tank it seems, like Phayes said, you aren't quite there. Are you feeding to much? Right now what you want to do is limit how much load you are putting on the system. When you say a couple damsels you mean 2 right? Is there anyone else in your area that may have an established tank that you would be able to take a culture of substrate from to give your bio filtration an extra boost. Like I said right now what you need to do is limit how much organics you are putting in your tank and let the system culture your bacteria.

 

you can easily house most shrimp, small reef safe crabs, feather dusters, many soft and LPS corals, snails, etc. All are invertebrates.

Whoever said you can't have invertebrates in your tank clearly isn't well informed.

You can house more inverts than vertebrate livestock in a 12g nano.

You could even house a smaller anemones in there eventually. Not yet tho.

my LFS has a 12g aquapod on their counter with a small BTA and a pair of percs.

 

i'm in a hurry and just got a chance to read a few lines..so sorry if someone has already mentioned this..but about your ammonia..have you tried testing with another kit? when i set up my tank it read i had like .5 ammonia for weeks after my cycle ended and i was hesitant to put anything in there..but i tested with another kit and it read dead zero

 

The reason why 12G is too small for a 12G tank is the high oxygen needs that anemones need. Generally, 12G tanks are too small to have a skimmer, unless you plumb a sump into it and/or incorporate a protein skimmer. Generally, a nano tanks only need tiny water changes to remove the dissolved organics that a skimmer would remove.
Now, that being said, a tank needs to be extremely stable to support an anemone. A bare minimum is a tank that is about 8 months old. I didn't get one until my tank was 2 years old. They need very specific care, and a lot of research should be done before getting one, because they can devistate a tank if they die.
With your tank showing levels of ammonia, that means it is still going through a cycle, it will become NO2 and then NO3. A normal healthy tank will have about 20ppm of NO3, it's hard to get them down to zero without the help of a fuge and natural filter feeders that consume NO3 (like bivalves). Getting into the 40-60 range and you will want to fix it fast before it becomes toxic to the inhabitants.

 

You shouldn't be doing water changes until your cycle has completed. If you are still showing ammonia, then your cycle has not finished. Give it time. As others have stated, you will need to wait for an anemone. However, your lighting may not be enough to keep one. Do some more research into what you want to keep and go from there. You will need to acquire equipment according to what you want to keep.