Building Sharkey’s 35g Anemone Tank

[ActiveAngel]

Its nothing too fancy; but I’m setting up a new 35g Anemone Tank for myself and thought I’d document the journey!

Thanks to @yrevanth for selling his old 35g tank and stand.

It was sitting in the basement for a little while. Here, you can see we wiped away most of the dust and spider webs. Aside from some minor scratches, there shouldn’t be any leaks or other major issues.

I’m so lucky to have such a supportive wife that likes to have fun with me on these little projects!


We painted on a fresh coat of black paint as well as a few coats of white paint on the inside. For some reason the white paint seemed to perspire a brownish liquid by the following day. But it’s old wood and this is not meant to be a dream tank; so we don’t mind if the inside is not perfect. After wiping it up, I applied 2 layers of clear coat to the stand; and am just letting it off-gas for a while before we bring it in.


We hope to have this new tank up and running shortly! I already have live rock and sand ready to go. I’ll keep y’all posted on the progress, and hopefully have it filled with nems within the next couple months.

Intended initial livestock:

• 3 Sunburst BTAs
• 1 Rainbow BTA
• 13 Ultra Flower Nems
• GSP
• Xenia
• Plating Purple Sponge
• Some rare mushrooms (tbd)
• AE Leng Sy Montipora
• Clean up crew
• Some Harlequin SeaStars and other serpent stars with cool patterns
• 2 Black Ice Clowns *maybe more to turn it into a clown harem tank... undecided if I can (or want to) fill such a small tank with so many clowns as to dissipate aggression

 

[thragger]

Sounds cool! Are you worried at all about the anemones moving around and stinging / hurting any of the other coral?

 

[ActiveAngel]

Not really. Most of the corals in this tank are going to be pest-like corals that grow very rapidly. I’m sure they will get stung, but just as sure that they will eventually take over the tank!

Fortunately, these anemones have a strong enough sting to clear up space and are able to move around whenever they want to.

The exception to this is the Leng Sy; but it’s growing well in my other tanks and I want to spread out my risk by holding some in other tanks besides my main reef, as well as experiment with the effect of lighting and flow on its gene expression.

 

[Doberman13]

Love that tank size. Would love to find one. Good luck can't wait to see more progress.

 

[yrevanth]

Good luck with the build man!

 

[ActiveAngel]

The paint has finally off-gassed sufficiently to bring inside. We chose a spot, began filling with water, leveled the tank, filled with some sand and live rock, added additional bacteria, and placed a temporary heater.




I got the hoses and return pump; but still need the hose clamps before it’s operational... as well as the mount to hang the lights.

Meanwhile, I have some dry rock to add too, and can work on the aquascape tonight.

 

[dball711]

Great start, paint looks great. Keep the pictures and progress reports coming.

 

[ActiveAngel]

This mornings work... before I left for work:
•Added and programmed Radion
•Aquascaped
•Added more sand
•Added bacteria in a bottle (2 different brands I had extra)
•Set up Return pump and tubing last night (no leaks this morning )
•Moved heater and some rocks to sump
•Moved several softies to the new tank
•Cleaned the glass

Next on the agenda:
•Add more sand and adjust aquascape
•Adjust coral placements
•Make screen top (until I have time to make a canopy next month)
•Add Clean Up crew (4 Trochus, 4 hermits, and 4 mini conchs to start)
•Move over my non-favorite Ultra Flower nems, and one of my BTAs (My other Nano needs immediate real estate)
•Observe corals and nems
•Test water daily (I may have used all live rock, sand, and water from my other tanks... but it doesn’t hurt to test.)

This tank is still very rough around the edges; metaphorically speaking. But it should work well as a temporary tank!

 

[ZapataInc]

I can't wait to see it fully stocked.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Update:
I added the new skimmer, clean up crew, and flower nems. More nems and fish will be added later.

So the BTA was pissed off for 3 full days; so after testing the parameters and nothing seeming apparent, he was moved back to the 20g, where he opened back up within the day. Otherwise, the flower nems and others all seem to be fairing very well in their new tank.

After this, I added a bag of carbon to the sump as well. Hopefully between the skimmer and carbon, we can clean up whatever he isn’t liking. In 2 weeks, I’ll try the BTA again. Can’t wait until they’re in there and opening up!

 

[ZapataInc]

I can't wait to come see it in person

 

[Mom2Many]

Love the size and the look. Your doing a great job with this! I have a soft spot for anenomes. Never had one but oh so tempting!

 

[ActiveAngel]

Love the size and the look. Your doing a great job with this! I have a soft spot for anenomes. Never had one but oh so tempting!

Me too! The tank is coming along better lately; the water is cleared, nems opening up... I’ll do an updated post with photos soon.

And hopefully, within the next few weeks, I’ll be able to build and paint the new canopy.

 

[matt7]

Tank looks good! I had the left side of my frag tank dedicated to nems and at one point I had 11 or 12 in there it was really cool to watch. Excited to see this fully stocked

 

[ActiveAngel]

Update:
*Added a DIY screen top
*Acclimated more flower nems
*Acclimated 2 clowns and the first BTA again.
*Ive also added two frags of my favorite Monti that weren’t doing too well due to overcrowding in the other tank.

It’s been 24 hours, and the nem has been open the entire time. I suspect there was something in the water that got adsorbed to the carbon that he didn’t like during that first try.

Also; not only has normal algae growth been on the glass, but also I’ve noticed tons of pods too. Looks like the seeding was successful!



The tank is great! Minor scratches as you said but no leaks. Thanks @yrevanth
The new skimmer is working great! Thanks @jgeorge06
And @matt7, thank you for that fine looking green leather that you see in the back corner

Also; after I construct a canopy, I will be moving my Nuvo 20 immediately next to this as a frag tank. And both tanks will utilize the same ATO.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Not much progress recently. Life got in the way a little bit, as it often does. Nonetheless, here’s an update!

•Built and painted a canopy using almost entirely recycled material.
•I installed some t-slotted rails to create a cheap slide-mount for the Radion.
•added a handful of Polkadot Hermits.
•White Pulsing Xenia has covered its little island and puts on a good show.
•Snails (Trochus and nano conchs) are reproducing like crazy, tons of babies and eggs.

Next:
•Add some dwarf zebra hermits
•Add an additional 6-8 clowns
•Move one of my old Rainbow Nems in (I suspect i will have a new split soon)
•Install a door on the canopy. I also intend to just recycle materials.
•Add an ATO
•Move my current Nuvo 20 to the small stand on the right.

 

[Mom2Many]

Everything is looking great! Love all the rock flower nems! You tank has very nice balance in the way you positioned things too by the way!

 

[hiimsean]

I love the tank!!

 

[YoungReefer10g]

Wow this tank is stunning !!

 

[JPH]

Beautiful work. What is an ATO? And why does it need to be close to another tank? Thanks for the help!