BTA yes or no?

I have a 29 gallon tank that has been set up for roughly 9 months now. At the moment it’s a fish only tank containing;

-1x Coral beauty angel.
-1x Carpenter’s wrasse.
-2x Ocellaris Clowns.
-1x Spotted Mandarin.
-2x Blue legged hermits.
-6x Turbo snails.
-1x Skunk cleaner shrimp.
I do have a few green star polyps and a few mushrooms but those came attached to the live rock.

I want to add 2 BTA to the tank for my clowns, I want something more in there but I don’t have the budget to stock my tank with corals. I have a 30” 130 watt Coralife double compact fluorescent strip for lighting. A Current USA Sub-Current internal wet/dry filter and a Hydor Koralia water pump #2 providing my tank with a good current all around. So my question is do any of you see any conflict with what I already have?

Thanks.

 

Before you consider adding a BTA, a few things to consider. Personally, I wouldn't add an anemone to anything less than 55g. Also, your lighting is inadequate. T5s are a requirement IMO. I would wait until you upgrade both.

 

Agree with John on the lighting. I think the anemone might work in the 29 but could come to dominate most of the tank as it grows. If you don't want anything else in there it might be fine. If you're planning on adding more coral I wouldn't add any anemones unless you don't mind losing all the coral if the anemone decides to move. Also, why 2 anemones? I think 2 would be crowded.

Also, Koralia powerheads (as well as any exposed propeller PH) are notorious for anemones getting caught and shredded. I would look at another type of powerhead that you can cover the intake with foam so that the anemone can not get sucked in.

 

Agree on the lighting. I think you could do one in there but I would not try two.

 

To be honest i thought they each needed their own, i do not know much about BTAs but I will do alot more research before i actuly buy one. I do not plan on putting anything else into the tank as far as corals go and i have all the fish and inverts i feel safe having in a 29 gallon so i think i am going to try 1 BTA. I will solve the power head situation before adding one also.

As far as light goes i know my lights are weaker then recommended but the BTA will be able to get 4 inchs from the top of the tank with the light suspended another 3 inchs from the top of the water.

I currently have the lights on timers as follows:

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Actinic only.
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM Actinic and 10,000K.
10:00 PM - 11:00 PM Actinic only.
11:00 PM - 11:00 AM Lunar LEDs.

Should i up the hours the lights are on?

 

Do not plan on the anemone staying at the top of the tank and using that as a justification for the light being strong enough in that situation. The "move them closer to the light" arguement only works with static corals that depend on our placement of them to get enough lighting. As for anemones, they will move, period. I made that mistake once and lost one rose. I learned the hard way that CF lighting is not enough for anemones, I don't want to see you make the same mistake. I have mine under a metal halide now. Until you get a MH or strong T5, I do not recommend getting an anemone at all. If you up the time your lights are on, you will most likely see an algae bloom somewhere down the line. Besides that, your lights will need to replaced much sooner.
As far as the Koralias, it's not a sure thing it will shred a nem. I have had my tank running with 2 K1s and a Seio 620 and neither nem has even come close them. One did move up to my return loc-lines, but that was it.

 

Ok i think i will avoid the BTA altogether.

Thanks for the info.