Lighting Question...advice please..

[Mez]

Hello.

It seems, after convering my FW 3ft tank to SW, i am going to convert my 24"x12"x12" tank into a SW tank, not a full reef tank, but i REALLY want an anemone..not caring which type..but preferably the atlantic pink-tips..(i think these are low light, too?)

Anyway..

The tank will have 3" of LS, making the water 9" from the lighting.

My question is, what is the minimum lighting i can have to keep a low-light anemone? And, can someone tell me the low light anemones? The only low light anemone i know of is the pink tip..

Any help would be greatly appreciated..

James

[tinyreef]

actually many anemones are low light. they're also carnivores though. they typically are found in deeper (colder) water too. the condylactis may be able to go carnivore to make up the difference in light, it won't be in total darkness right? it does prefer the light though.

 

a tube anemone is a nice choice for your sandbed setup but don't expect any hosting from ANY clowns. ZAP!

 

otherwise if you'll looking for hosting ones try the condy. it's cheap and hardy but not a guarantee host. any others will require kick @ss lighting and beaucoup bucks! X)

 

if you go ghetto (as dave says ) at least pop in some uri NO's at least (1-50/50 and 1-actinic).

[Mez]

Lol! I know the tube anemone wouldnt host with a clown..

Im not actually too bothered about hosting, i would just like an anemone..im not even bothered about having a clown..

So, a condy?

Do you have any pics of these? Also, what would be the minimum lighting for a condy? Would ~ 55 watts be ok? 2 normal flouros and 1 actinic?

Thanks for the reply,

James:)

[Mez]

Oh, and i dont want a tube anemone as i have already had one..

[tinyreef]

55w~65w PC is ok, more would be better imo. it's a 15G right? 3x20W NO's are the minimum as you suggested. the condy would have the best chance at survival compared to other photo-anemones but i don't really recommend that light setup tho.

 

here's a couple of pics. the one w/ the clown is in my display and the one hiding under my prizm is in my nano.

[MKramer]

Why do you recommend 1-50/50 and 1-actinic? My lord, that's a lot of actinic light. Maybe it looks nice, but there is ahrdly any usable daylight in that setup. The daylight coming from the 50/50 bulb is 10000K, too, which is already much bluer than true daylight.

 

I'd say 2-50/50, or even 1-daylight, 1-50/50. The animals can't live on actinic light alone. Although it is a good strategy for a no-algae tank.

[tinyreef]

sorry, it only took one pic

 

kramer, just saw your post. the aquasun might be too pink for him. and as you note promote algae in a young tank. you're right, he could go either way. yeah, i personally would go 2-aquasuns and 1-actinics but looks funky! :woot: just thought white/blue might be more mainstream. the two pics actually show that difference, nano under actinic/10000K and display tank under vho actinic/aquasuns.

[Mez]

Does the lighting have to be PC lighting?

can i not have 2 normal flourescent lights and 1 50/50 actinic?

Those anemones look really nice..

[Mez]

Sorry about this, but i gotta ask..what does NO stand for? Normal Output?

[MKramer]

No, it doesn't have to be PC lighting. PC just has some advantages. For one, it's more efficient (almost twice as many lumens per watt, if I'm not mistaken). Plus it comes in more user-friendly sizes (try fitting 100+W of NO light over a 10g).

 

You can certainly mix and match if it saves you money.

[Mez]

Thanks, yes, it saves me money, as i already have 2 unused 15 watt NO tubes!

So, what anemone would you reccomend with:

2 15 watt NO tubes

1 25 watt 50/50 tube

?

Thanks for all this help, and putting up with the questions, i really appreciate it.

James:)

[MKramer]

None.

 

I've never had any experience with the atlantic/carribean anemones. But as far as the pacific ones, about the only commonly available variety I'm aware of that can tolerate such weak lighting is possibly the solitary bubble-tip anemones. But they are larger and hard to find commercially, and very few vendors know the difference between them and the shallow-water coloning variety that requires a lot more light, so you can never really get a straight answer from them.

 

But one of the solitary BTAs would probably be too large for your tank, need a LOT of feeding (which means extra pollution of your water), and would still probably need more light.

 

Maybe someone can give you some better info on the condy anemones, but as for clown-hosting, Indo-Pacific species, you'll need more light.

[tinyreef]

the condy is ok (borderline). i just re-read my previous post and edited it. it sounded like i didn't recommend the condy, it was the weak lighting i didn't recommend.

 

just make sure the anemone's base is not damaged and try to get one with a red base. tends to be more hardy ime and open to hosting (future option).

 

the long tentacle anemone (curly) is another choice but must be fed. not much exp. with it tho.

 

like kramer, i'd recommend you skip the carpet anemones and most others (i.e. magnificents), they belong in big tanks, mh's, and immaculate water.

[MKramer]

To clarify, what species of long-tentacle are you referring to? By curly-tips, I assume I mean M. doreensis. These do have slightly lower light requirements, but still higher than the solitary form of BTA (E. quadricolor). Also similar, is the fact they get VERY large, and require a lot of meaty foods, making tank water parameters a difficult thing to control.

 

And finding them can be a PITA. A lot of the time, both H. crispa and H. malu are sold as long tentacle anemones. Finding one with curly tips is a good indicator, but a lot of the time, stressed, recently-shipped specimins won't have the curled tips.

 

H. crispa and H. malu have much higher light requiremens, and getting one of them accidently would be certain trouble.

[MKramer]

And to add mroe rain to the parade.... I just looked up soem info on Condylactis anemones, and it seems to indicate that they do indeed have high lighting requirements.

 

Has anyone here actually kept on successfully in a moderately lit aquarium? If they really do need the light, that would explain why many people have problems with them devouring their clowns... probably not enough light, making them extremely hungry.

[Mez]

So, what you are basically saying is "if you are going to try one, try a condy" ?

What if..I make a deal with my lfs whereas if the anemone isnt looking in such good condition after a few months or so, i can return it? Sound ok? Im pretty sure my lfs would do that..

[MKramer]

It's up to you.... It's kind of risky from the perspective of the anemone, tohugh. They can reach a point of unhealth that they will not likely recover from.

 

Especially at an LFS, because they tend to take even worse care of their animals. An LFS exists to hold animals until they can sell, not to keep a thriving, healthy long-term home for them. That's a professional aquarium, not an LFS. Odds are, they'd just put it back in a tank with inadequate lighting, exposed powerhead intakes, and other recipes for disaster.

 

But at least the death would be on their heads (and out of their pockets), not yours. If that's any comfort.

 

I'd really suggest just waiting until you can get proper lighting. I imagine you'll be in this hobby a long time, so what's a couple months? Watch for deals in the classifieds here, on other boards, and ebay. Or just wait until you can spend on a decent fixture from petsupply liquidators.com or something.

 

Even with the best lighting setup, anemone care isn't easy. They are not the easiest animals to keep healthy, by far. To add inadequate or borderline lighting to the list of complications, just isn't fair to the animal. We've done enough damage to the reefs just by removing so many of them from their natural homes.... Let's at least make it as worthwhile as we can by making sure they continue to live in their new homes.

 

Wow. sorry about the soapbox.

[tinyreef]

i agree with that assessment kramer. at least get PC's. that's why i suggest the condy, the dandelion anemone . i've had condys in moderate and high light. like you mentioned light-starved anemones will need protein supplementation (food). also like you suggested he should get better lights but peeps do what they want to do sometimes. just trying to help.

 

yes, the curly tips are usually the ones i believe you're talking about. i've never personally raised them tho. i'd doubt any of the heteractis (whatever the sp) would be shipped instead of the doreenis but transhippers do crazy things. give me the malu if you get one! :woot:

 

frankly, only know of 3 or 4 people that have raised carpets successfully (years). too many of these animals get culled from the oceans for clownfish only starve to death.

[Mez]

Thanks guys..

I think i will leave the anemone for now, and save up for some decent lights..

Thats a thing..what are "decent lights"? PC's? Are PC's the lights that are considered "moderate" lighting, and MH's considered "high" lighting?

Thanks again,

James

[MKramer]

The form factor (PC, VHO, MH, etc.) isn't near as important as the intensity and spectrum.

 

Lighting's a tricky subject, and as has been brought up in the Advanced forum here, it does appear that one person's definition of light-dependent can vary considerably from another's. Keep that in mind when I toss about the terms "moderate" and "strong" lighting, or whatever. They're based on my experience and research, but my experience isn't all that complete.

 

What that caveat, here goes...

 

Your tank is what, like 15g? With that volume and that shape, I'd consider 50-60W of PC or VHO "moderate," but you should be hitting over the 100's for animals that are highly light-dependent.

 

I can't comment much on MHs, as I've never worked with them. But you're probably looking at around 175W minimum. Remember that MH bulbs have to be suspended higher over the water because they have a narrower area of illuminance. Closer to the water is okay, and will get you better intensity directly under the bulb, but you have to treat the edges of the tank as low-light zones.