just to show you

[circesmagic]

i bought anemonies from lfs ,but got feeling after a while he was looking to pad,we went to 3 nearby lfs today for light opinions for the anemonies....the guy that sold them to me said my coralife 50/50 would be ok....the second store said 3 mh clip ons were ok and third said need at least 6 clipons for my 220 gallon....when you are new to the hobby how do you find the truth...they say this about everything i buy...i was doing whatever 2 stores say samething i go with that advice....im new,but always wanted to do it right....its getting frustrating...same thing with the fish...one guy say acculumate for 30 min one says for 1hour 30 the other said 3-4 hours..i do not want to hurt the fish in anyway im a cat and dog ruscue person so i know the responsibilites....i try reading but even they contradict....ty totally confused and frustrated

 

[scsinet]

The way you find out the truth is by asking people who aren't trying to sell you something.
That's the general answer. To speak on anemones specifically, LFSs are NOTORIOUS for selling short on the lighting when selling anemones, or telling you that the lights you have are fine when they aren't. Lighting systems are usually insanely expensive in LFSs, so they'd rather tell you your current lighting is okay or sell you a less expensive system, figuring that you're more likely to take the plunge if the pricetag isn't too high...

If you have a 220 gallon tank, that's I believe an 8 foot tank. You can use T5 or halide. Personally I'm a halide fan, and would use (3) 400w halide fixtures over the tank. You can probably get away with 250w lamps, but I wouldn't try that.
You could also use (2) 48" T5 fixtures, with either 8 lamps each.

 

[circesmagic]

but you r right...im still learning...cant know everything right away thats why i asked here,....sometimes i feel im getting hosed....

 

[wattsupdoc]

Unfortunatly you are sometimes getting hosed. Belonging to and using these boards has been tremendousle helpful to me. After a while of learning from here, you begin to recognize which shops are better to deal with. Some of the LFS just hire people to feed, sell ansd maintain their stocks. A lot of these employees dont have much real knowledge as they're just there to make a check. Some do really enjoy they're job, but just arent informed enough. There are tons of wive's tales, and mistruths out there, and they have heard these and believe them. There are some shops who do really know their stuff though. Look for those. Unfortunatly, they can be hard to recognize to the newbee. Point and case, while recently in the one good LFS we have here. Two guys came in and stated that they needed some fish to cycle their tank. One of the employess tried very diplomatically to inform them that they didnt need to do it with fish. A shrimp would be fine. They didnt believe him, even though I snuck in the quite response "even flake food will do". Then the owner came over and said, "I'll be glad to sell you some fish that you dont really want, may die from the cycle, and will be almost impossible to catch later, or you can drop in a piece of raw shrimp and do the job". They left, (fishless) not believing it, just having to have a fish. I'm sure the owner himself gets frustarted at that kind of stuff, it may cost him theyre business, but concretes mine.
This is a tough hobby, you have a great resource right here onSWF.com. Ask before, just like you are now, and it'll go sooooo much better for you. Keep in mind though, that even here, there are opinions that dont allways agree. Just read the opinions, try to understand where they come from and why, and make a conclusion based on what better fits to you and your situatiion.
I have a 8x 39 watt T5ho on my 65 tall(36 long, 18 wide, 24 deep) and my clam and SPS are doing great. you 220 would do good with 2 of those, and you wont have the heat issue halides will have....
See, Scsi and I have different opinions, rerarch more then you decide.

 

[dragonzim]

Definitely ask here before you buy anything like that. The folks on this board have no vested interest other than seeing a fellow hobbiest succeed and enjoy the hobby. Most LFS are only in it for the money and will lie to you and sell you things you dont need just to get your money.

 

[perfectdark]

Another good resource to look at is, well... the internet. You can search for just about anything and amazingly you will find information about what your looking for. Now to weed through it all and see what is opinion and what is fact. What is based on someones experiences and what is actually going to work for your specific application. I read alot and take everything with a grain of salt when it comes to opinions. However my quest for research has lead me to discover that there is alot of published information out there by scientists and hobbiest who have years and years in this hobby. Their writings are based on studies, science and experimentation, this is where I find most of my information that I can bank on.

 

[donald]

I agree with doc, t-5's get my vote. They don't put out near the heat of PC's or MH's.