I'm jumping in

[Be11yDancer]

ChrisRD: Yes, lobster tank made us laugh here . . but in print, maybe not.

I saw a clown fish at the LFS that was rolling around in a tongue coral, but I didn't like the looks of the tongue coral, it looked like as tongue! So this might be his home?

What is the difference between an anemone and soft coral?

I just can't figure it out . . . . and you say something that blurs things even further for me: clown fish will accept a coral instead of an anemone as a home?

I want the clowns to be as happy as possible, so I can't put just one proper anemone? Ins just the right spot?

 

[Meloco14]

I will try to explain a little bit without getting too technical and confusing. Soft coral is a term that describes thousands of species of corals. They are called soft because they do not have a hard calcium skeleton. They are either entirely soft, with their structure held together largely by water, or they have many small calcium spicules that create an inner structure. When you say soft corals look just like anemones, well this is not very accurate. Some soft corals do indeed look similar to anemones, and some look very different. Personally I think large polyped stoney corals like heliofungia and euphyllia look closer to anemones. Anemones are more of a developed animal than most corals. They have a large mouth and digestive system. While most anemones are largely photosynthetic, they still require good feedings of solid food. In a true symbiotic relationship with an anemonefish, the fish feed the anemone scraps of food. There are many corals that also feed on solid foods, but for the sake of this explanation I will remain more general. Anemones are more active feeders, using their stinging tentacles to capture food as it passes. Corals are more often filter feeders, feeding on plankton and dissolved organics. Again, there are thousands of species of corals, so this is very basic. As for clownfish hosting things other than anemones, this can and does happen very often. Clownfish do not require an anemone to survive. Anemones do not require clownfish to survive. Furthermore, in the wild certain species of clownfish host in only certain species of anemones. If you want "Nemo" (I shudder whenever someone refers to fish this way ) and his appropriate anemone, you will be most commonly getting a carpet anemone, which can grow to several feet across, and will also eat other fish in your tank. I doubt you want this. They also require a lot of light, which you don't have yet, and scheduled feeding. Your tank will also need to be well seasoned to keep an anemone, so this would be 6 months to a year down the road. Anemones are a more advanced species. IMO no beginner should ever attempt an anemone. They have strict requirements, and in the wild they are very slow growers. The thought of how many anemones are pulled out of the wild only to die in the tanks of innocent, unknowing people is very sad. Anyway, luckily for us clownfish will host in other things. I have seen them host to powerheads, pvc pipe, and inside the mantle of gigas clams. Mine hosted in my tree coral. If you want something that looks like an anemone that they might host in I would try any of the soft corals that you think look like anemones. I am sure you will be very successful with this, though there is no guarantee that a clownfish will host to anything. I don't know if you have thought about this yet, but I suggest getting a tank raised percula or ocellaris clown as opposed to a wild caught one. I would not get a blue (hippo) tang for this tank, and definitely not a moorish idol. The yellow tang will be fine, I think. What are the exact dimensions of the tank? And a cleaner shrimp will also be fine. Anyway, sorry for the long post but I hope this helps, and I am glad you are asking all these questions before rushing out to buy. You will be much more successful because of it.

 

[Be11yDancer]

I planned on being so patient, but it's hard looking at an empty tank that *looks* so healthy and ready for fish!

Last night I got a reminder I'm not ready yet>

I heard gurgle and sucking in the middle of the night. I thought it was because of the protein skimmer. I played with the air inlet because I thought it wasn't making enough waste.

But it wasn't; the water in the sump fell below the black line (the line the former owner made). So I added a gallon of tap (lesson one: always have water ready!)

Now, I why did it fall? Is it evaporation? Or does something need to be adjusted to regulate the amount of water in the sump?

Thank you for your help!

 

[Meloco14]

Well most likely it was just evaporation. And yes this was a good lesson. You should always have a few gallons of RO water prepared. If you have the storage space you should also have fresh saltwater prepared. But RO is most important, as adding topoff water is a daily chore. On my 55 I normally go through 6 gallons a week just from evaporation. The black line the former owner made is the fill line. Always keep your sump full to that line and you will be fine. It is hard for a newcomer to notice because the level in your display will not drop, only your sump. And who sits there staring at their sump, right? So just make sure to keep up on your topoffs with RO water (no salt). You want to do this regularly and in small increments. If you let the level get too low the salinity gets high, and if you try to add a lot of freshwater all at once the salinity drops way too quickly and can kill your animals. HTH