Anemone Lighting?

[rbaby]

Hi guys,
I have a 12 gallon Eclipse...and I just bought this 50/50 13W (12k/7.1k) light...I was just told that this wasn't enough to keep an anemone really healthy--
What light do you guys recommend for my system? The containment restricts me to 7 inch 2-pin but I will gladly rid of the containment and go for a longer one...so the longest I can go for a 50/50 is about 14 maybe 17"...what light can I buy that is intense enough so that my anemone is healthy? Thanks!

 

[viper_930]

You can't fit enough PC lights onto that small of tank to get an anemone. And MH lights would melt the plastic of the canopy. Also IMHO, anemones should not be kept in such small tanks unless by expert expert people because the water parameters will change very often more than in bigger tanks. This is because there is less water volume in smaller tanks so a bit of change would be more major than in bigger tanks.

 

[viper_930]

Just remembered something. This guy put in 2x55 watts of PC lights. You will need to get ballasts, sockets, and bulbs if you want to do this. A tin foil reflector will do fine. I would recomend getting 65 watt bulbs instead of 55 watts though. This should be enough for a bubble-tip anemone, but you will need to feed it 2-3 times each week, and don't slack off. 2x65 watts ins't a lot at all for an anemone.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/128513/110-watt-retro-into-eclipse-12
And how long has your tank been setup? Should be 6+ months for the water to stabalize.

 

[thomas712]

I would prefer not to see anyone place an anemone in something so small as a 12 gallon tank, there just isn't room for any error.
No 13 watts just won't even wake an anemone up, you would have to times it by 20 to come close to having proper wattage for the low light anemones.
Viper has some merit to his idea and it might be possible, but I can't stress enough that a larger system should be in place before trying an anemone.
Thomas

 

[rbaby]

Should I look into soft corals then? My clowns just look so lost and ever since my old anemone was taken away (it was getting sick in the old tank--brought it back to the LFS to be donated)...he's been very stressed out about it so I want to find him another host. Any help would be great! Thanks!

 

[viper_930]

You can try some hairy mushrooms. They are known to host some clowns in aquariums.

 

[fishman9]

How come some people keep anemones with less than 5wpg and other people have 8wpg of pc lighting and it's a no no?? i keep getting conflicting answers from different people. What is the correct wpg to keep an anemone???

 

[viper_930]

You shouldn't really go by watts per gallon rule for anything. It can vary with size of tank, depth, type of bulb, and so on.

 

[fishman9]

so what would be the best thing to go by???

 

[viper_930]

Tell us your tank size and your current lighting and we can give you suggestions.
It is kind'a hard to explain how find if you have enough lighting. I don't know how to word it, but you will learn it after some experience and research.

 

[fishman9]

i have a 20g high with 130w of pc lighting, i'm not really intrested in anemone for that tank but for my 125 when i set it up. i just wanted to know the rule of thumb on owning own. Thanks for your quick responses so far, this board has helped me a lot!

 

[viper_930]

One a big tank like that, you should really go with MH, maybe 2 or 3x250 watt double-ended bulbs with some PC or VHO actinics. You'll also need to wait about 6 months after the cycle has completed to let the water parameters stabalize more. Anemones need VERY stable water conditions.

 

[fishman9]

sweet, i started with the 20g to gain some experience and some more knowledge about the hobby. this site and people like you have really help. thanks again!!!!!