Anemone lighting curiosity question

[ConnorD42]

Hey all, just a curiosity question, if anemones need similar lighting to that of sps corals, could they thrive off of just blue plus/super blues and actinic..? Or do they require a broader and/or more intense spectrum?? I know there's a lot more to it than that, just trying to learn all I can without experimenting haha. Thanks!

[Clown79]

Depends on the species of anemone.

[ConnorD42]

I'm thinking about a bubble tip

[Tamberav]

On 1/18/2019 at 7:11 AM, ConnorD42 said:

Hey all, just a curiosity question, if anemones need similar lighting to that of sps corals, could they thrive off of just blue plus/super blues and actinic..? Or do they require a broader and/or more intense spectrum?? I know there's a lot more to it than that, just trying to learn all I can without experimenting haha. Thanks!

So you mean t5's? T5 is different than LED and should give a broader spectrum. 

 

I am not sure actinic has that high of par vs blue+

 

Be sure you have a good fixture + bulbs vs tank size/spread. I would think all blue+ would be fine but most people toss in a single coral+ or something so the tank looks more natural and the colors of certain corals look like crap under just blues. People are generally trying to find both color + growth for SPS. A 6500k can really boost growth but make corals look like poop.

[ConnorD42]

56 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

So you mean t5's? T5 is different than LED and should give a broader spectrum. 

 

I am not sure actinic has that high of par vs blue+

 

Be sure you have a good fixture + bulbs vs tank size/spread. I would think all blue+ would be fine but most people toss in a single coral+ or something so the tank looks more natural and the colors of certain corals look like crap under just blues. People are generally trying to find both color + growth for SPS. A 6500k can really boost growth but make corals look like poop.

I do mean t5's, sorry! I should have specified. I popped in a coral plus yesterday actually and I'm waiting for the super blues to arrive in a few days. I only have a 2x24w fixture so I'm limited in the bulb combinations for now but I figured a coral plus and a super blue would work okay for at least softies for now. I talked to LFS yesterday and they said I MIGHT be able to get SPS to work at the top of the tank (20H still). My zoas, leather, and kenya tree seem to love it so far. I checked a couple other threads and I don't know why in the right spot it could work. I suppose it'll just take bucking up and experimenting one of these days to see if I can get one to grow mid to upper level of the tank. I've also seen some posts where people have gotten SPS (and maybe LPS if I remember right) to grow in lower lighting levels. It's just confusing. I feel like I'm learning a ton, it's just a lot.

[Tamberav]

Just start with easier lower light demanding SPS if you try it. Some SPS look best under high par and others look best under lower par so really research the specific coral you are purchasing. 

 

However, SPS need a stable tank with solid parameters, letting the tank mature and settle helps this. 

 

The one thing about anemones is THEY MOVE... so you can't just stick one on top of the rocks and say ta-da. 

[ConnorD42]

The tank has been up for almost 9 months now and I haven't seen the parameters do anything crazy after the 1st or 2nd month. I'll have to look into it and see if I can find some low light options. Yeah that's what I've seen and heard. The more I look into my options I think I meant LPS and not SPS, it doesn't appear that there are many low light SPS corals but a few more LPS low light options.