Proper RFA tank setup

[mfrumkin]

I currently have a 180gl mixed reef that went through a disaster a couple of years ago and is being slowly restocked. About a month ago I stopped at my lfs and saw a rock with what looked like very interesting mushrooms. I was told they were not mushrooms but flower anemones. I asked if they would be suitable for my tank. I was assured they would be so I bought them. Fast forward 3 weeks and I'm thinking I'd like a little tank of these in my office. So today I ordered a 20gl plus waterbox. It is backordered for 2-4 weeks which gives me some time on the learning curve. So here are my questions.
1. How long should the tank cycle before putting in rfa?
2 I understand they prefer lower flow. How low?
3 What do you set your led at?
4 How many can I reasonably put in a 20gl tank?
5 Can I put zoas/platys and mushrooms in with them?

I know these are a lot of questions but this is an animal that is new to me and I don't want to kill them through stupidity.
Thanks in advance.

 

[James M]

Nems need a tank that’s 6+ months old. They choose what flow they like and every nem is different.
You can put zoas and mushrooms with them

 

[RJinPV]

RFAs rarely move if you place them on a rock with access to light. I have bought five. Three stayed where I put them. One disappeared never to be seen again and the fifth one roamed a little until I found it and moved it back to where it was initially. It has stayed there ever since.
1) All anemones like stable tanks that are fully cycled. If you start with live rock and live sand and are experienced at keeping levels steady you could probably start earlier than the typical 6-12 months recommendation. A 20 gallon may be harder to keep steady levels. RFAs seem more hardy than other anemones.
2) My flow is on the order of 3000 gah for a 55 gal tank. They are on the lower portion of my rocks where they don't get blasted directly. My tank is 24" tall and the three power heads are in the upper third where most to the direct flow is. They seem to be very happy.
3) I have two 39W ATI T5s and 2 AI Primes for lighting. I was running the Primes at ~100% (blue and violets) at about 10,000K color.
4) How many in a tank? Not sure, but I would guess a lot. They can get as big as 6" and are limited to having a good spot on rock
5) zoas and mushrooms are fine. I have both in my tank

Hope this helps

 

[tupes]

Check out this forum. it should answer your questions. BTW I have a 10 gallon with 15 RFAs as of now and planning to get as much as 25 total.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ron-reefmans-rock-flower-experience.409436/

 

[mfrumkin]

RFAs rarely move if you place them on a rock with access to light. I have bought five. Three stayed where I put them. One disappeared never to be seen again and the fifth one roamed a little until I found it and moved it back to where it was initially. It has stayed there ever since.
1) All anemones like stable tanks that are fully cycled. If you start with live rock and live sand and are experienced at keeping levels steady you could probably start earlier than the typical 6-12 months recommendation. A 20 gallon may be harder to keep steady levels. RFAs seem more hardy than other anemones.
2) My flow is on the order of 3000 gah for a 55 gal tank. They are on the lower portion of my rocks where they don't get blasted directly. My tank is 24" tall and the three power heads are in the upper third where most to the direct flow is. They seem to be very happy.
3) I have two 39W ATI T5s and 2 AI Primes for lighting. I was running the Primes at ~100% (blue and violets) at about 10,000K color.
4) How many in a tank? Not sure, but I would guess a lot. They can get as big as 6" and are limited to having a good spot on rock
5) zoas and mushrooms are fine. I have both in my tank

Hope this helps

Thanks. I currently have a 180gl mixed reef and a 125gl fowlr so this nano is is an experiment for me in a lot of ways. Typically I would put in live sand and jump-start bacteria and let the tank cycle for 4-6 weeks dosing with ammonia each day. Probably add starter fish in week 3-4.

The tank comes with AI Prime lights.
What I am not sure about is whether to add a protein skimmer, there is no sump. I lean towards adding a skimmer for redundancy even though waterbox says it is not necessary.

Some sort of mini powerhead/wavemaker in the tank? I'm not sure. I keep reading that rfas can get sucked in and don't like high flow. I can't find anywhere what the specs are for the pump that is included.

 

[RJinPV]

Thanks. I currently have a 180gl mixed reef and a 125gl fowlr so this nano is is an experiment for me in a lot of ways. Typically I would put in live sand and jump-start bacteria and let the tank cycle for 4-6 weeks dosing with ammonia each day. Probably add starter fish in week 3-4.

The tank comes with AI Prime lights.
What I am not sure about is whether to add a protein skimmer, there is no sump. I lean towards adding a skimmer for redundancy even though waterbox says it is not necessary.

Some sort of mini powerhead/wavemaker in the tank? I'm not sure. I keep reading that rfas can get sucked in and don't like high flow. I can't find anywhere what the specs are for the pump that is included.

RFAs don’t travel like bubble tips do. My RFA took days to move six inches. I doubt you have to worry about power heads sucking them in, once they have attached to a rock of course. In my 55 I have two AI Nero 5s and one Tunze 6055. I have them dialed back. A 20 gal could get by with 1 or 2 smaller power heads

 

[mfrumkin]

RFAs don’t travel like bubble tips do. My RFA took days to move six inches. I doubt you have to worry about power heads sucking them in, once they have attached to a rock of course. In my 55 I have two AI Nero 5s and one Tunze 6055. I have them dialed back. A 20 gal could get by with 1 or 2 smaller power heads

Thanks.