Totally confused.......

[mjmpinsky]

From articles and other forum sections, I have been told to not get into trying to keep anemones in my tank unless I have A LOT of 420nm actinic light. (ie: hundreds of watts)
However, the fish stores only have a single light running across the top of multiple tanks and all their anemones seem healthy and happy (most are hosting an anemone fish - two even were hosting small damsels).
This is the first time I am atempting to have a tank with anything other than fish and an occassional crab/snail.
Would 1 or 2 actinic flourescents or blue emitting LEDs be sufficient to keep anmeones alive (and happy)?
Would a Hatian/Atlantic anemone be a good "starter"?
Have had SW fish on/off for years but I am a total neophyte as far as keeping a reef tank is concerned.
(Also, please limit the abreviations as us neos have no idea what they mean). Thanks for the help/opinions.

 

[beth]

You can not keep anemones using NO lighting, and really should only use MH and/or a good many VHOs.
Your LFS is counting on customers coming in and buying those anemones before they starve to death, and that is the only reason they have them under inadequate lighting. Its irresponsible if you ask me.

 

[bang guy]

Hi MJ!
First, I agree with Beth. Even if you had the lights required I would still advise against a hosting Anemone until you gain a lot more experience with keeping your tank healthy.
Second, here's a link to common acronyms for the hobby. Whithout knowing this list very little advice is going to make sense to you. Just print it out and set it next to your monitor for reference and you'll have it memorized in no time. ---> Marine Aquarium Acronyms
Third, 420nm light isn't necessary. Any visible light will do just so there's a lot of it. Hatian are the least light demanding but I still advise waiting until you understand more of your aquariums environmental fluctuations and how to control them.
Bang

 

[thomas712]

Well I agree that they are not as demanding as some of the other anemones but they still require higher lighting than what you are suggesting now. There are too many different lighting choices to give you a general rule, and everyones experience seems to be different. Personally when talking about anemones then you are mainly talking about a reef tank, and reef lighting will differ from Fish only lighting. You will need enough for the liverock and other corals that you may get down the road, and anemones being photosynthetic animals they really have to have the proper lighting. There is no real chart to say that here is exactly the lighting you need for this type of anemone. If you have poor lighting then perhaps you can suppliment some of what the anemone needs with more frequent feedings, but one has to be careful as not to over pollute the water doing so with these feedings.
I have an anemone tank with BTA's. The dream setup would be a metal hallide/VHO combo for me. I consider my lighting still a bit week even when the bulbs are new. If you can afford the MH or MH/VHO then I would try to go that way.
But for the anemone that you are talking about VHO should do you well, I would recommend a 4 bulb set, nothing less than 380 watts, 440 would be better depending on depth of tank, and amount of live rock that the anemone can climb on to get to more lighting if it feels it needs it.
Continue to look up posts and internet research on the desired anemone and get all the opinions you can before purchasing. You should have plenty of time for the tank to mature anyway.
Thomas