nymustang7
Member
I have a standard canopy light,that came with my tank.Are there any anemone's that i can have in my tank with this standard light?
Lighting for a anemone
- Thread starter nymustang7
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nymustang7
Member
Its 2 20 watts bulbs.
shrimpdady
Member
You can have a tube anemone as they are not photosynthetic.
They require a deep sand bed but I do not know how difficult they are to keep.
Any other commonly sold anemone is going to require stronger lighting(anything from pc to metal halide).
My recommendation would be to upgrade lighting and get a bubble tip anemone as they do the best in aquariums.
They do not require metal halides and will do well under PC lighting(wattage will vary depending on the size of your tank and how the rock is stacked).
Be sure to wait at least a year before adding an anemone to your tank.
Also, do alot of research before purchasing one. Don't just go by what you read here.
Good Luck!!!
They require a deep sand bed but I do not know how difficult they are to keep.
Any other commonly sold anemone is going to require stronger lighting(anything from pc to metal halide).
My recommendation would be to upgrade lighting and get a bubble tip anemone as they do the best in aquariums.
They do not require metal halides and will do well under PC lighting(wattage will vary depending on the size of your tank and how the rock is stacked).
Be sure to wait at least a year before adding an anemone to your tank.
Also, do alot of research before purchasing one. Don't just go by what you read here.
Good Luck!!!
nymustang7
Member
What does pc mean?And can I add them to the unit in my canapy now?I really want to keep the look of the tank the same.I dont like those lights that hang over the tank.
lion_crazz
Active Member
PC means power compact lighting. You cannot just add them to your current light fixture, you would need to get a totally new fixture. However, it would only change the appearence of your tank for the better, as it would make the colors look brighter and more real. Also, you would not have to have them hang over the tank. You could sit them on top just as your fixture is now.
drew2005
Active Member
PC is power compact. A combination of a daylight, usually 10,000k and an actinic light(blue). Definitely better than the stock lighting. You can find retrofit kits for under your canopy. BUt if an anemone is what you really want then you cant go wrong with a nice retrofit metal halide kit.
iiinadav
Member
What are the dimensions of your tank? If this is a standard 90 gallon tank, the power compacts won't be sufficient. Metal halide light would be the best light for an anemone your tank. If you do decided to go with PC lights, make sure you have enough rock so the anemone can get as close to the lights as possible. Good luck.
psusocr1
Active Member
post this same question in the clwonfish and anenome section of the board. Some of the suggestions about getting an anenome and what kind to get are somewhat wrong. however youll get more and better opinions over there, THOMAS knows what hes talkign about over there with anenomes. It is said fromw hat ive read you shouldnt keep ANY anenome if you dsot have MH lighting, not evan pc's will work
shrimpdady
Member
I would beg to differ.
A bubble tip anemone will do fine under PC lighting. Other anemones do require metal halide lighting but not these.
Everyone screams metal halide because it is the best lighting you can have but it is NOT required for this anemone.
A bubble tip anemone will do fine under PC lighting. Other anemones do require metal halide lighting but not these.
Everyone screams metal halide because it is the best lighting you can have but it is NOT required for this anemone.
psusocr1
Active Member
if you have had success keepign them undr PC thats fine. I dont pretend to be an expert on aneneome lighting by any means, from the 100 or so posts ive read in the other section on any anenome they prech MH and say they cannot survive under anythign else.. I currently have strong PC and would love to get an anenome for my clownfish but i was advised against it , so any information you could provide would be great that backs your theory up
shrimpdady
Member
For anyone wanting to get a BTA or LTA......
[hr]
What I am about to write is not intended to step on anyones toes or downplay anyones experience in the hobby, so please do not take offense.
The number one thing that really upsets me about advice given in reference to lighting for someone about to go buy a BTA or LTA is that almost everyone tells you that you have to have Metal Halide lighting in order to keep them.
This is completely false.
I have kept a BTA in my 20 Gallon (24" x 12" x 16.5") for 6 months under 130 Watt PC lights and it has thrived.
What needs to be considered when choosing lights is how far below the water surface the anenome will likely be and can it get close enough to the light source to get what it needs.
Before upgrading, I only used 130 Watts of PC lighting in my 55 Gallon(I now have 260 Watts PC lighting) and my BTA in that tank was also doing fantastic because my live rock was stacked high enough that it could get within 6" of the lighting.
My point is that you don't need to go broke buying Metal Halide lighting unless you plan to keep corals with high lighting requirements or clams or other anenomes(such as Sebae or Carpets).
I have even read where someone wrote someone else stating that in order to get a Tube Anenome that they had to have Metal Halide lighting. Tube anenomes are not even photosynthetic, therefore do not require any special type of lighting. They can be kept with standard flourescents!
I know that the intention is to give these fish and inverts the very best home, but I really do believe that we over do it with the lighting.
Once again, I am not trying to make anyone angry or discredit anyone. I just think we need to take into consideration the depth of the tank & how high the rock work is stacked before we tell someone they have to have Metal Halide lighting to keep a BTAor LTA.
This is just my experience........................
Just something else to add.................this is from Joyce Wilkerson, PE - Clownfishes and Anemones.
It is an old article I found when researching BTAs.
Lighting:
The lighting issue is not so clear-cut as I would hope. I think two things muddy the issue. First, lighting preferences may not be the same for all the host anemones. Secondly, the parameter of watts per gallon is not an adequate measurement. More can be read of this in Dana Riddle's book "The Captive Reef". I will offer the raw data by genera and invite comment:
ANEMONES KEPT MORE THAN 2 YEARS &/OR REPRODUCING: Heteractis
Tank size Metal Halide Fluorescent Actinic
160-gal 2-175w MH None 2-110w
75-gallon 1-175w MH 1-30w 50/50 1-30w
60-gallon None 2-110w 50/50 2-110w
55-gallon None 2-40w daylight 2-60w
Stiochodactyla
Tanks size Metal Halide Fluorescent Actinic
120-gal None 3-110w act wt 1-110w
100-gal 2-175w MH None 2-40w
90-gallon 2-175w 5500K None None
70-gallon None 3-40w daylight 3-40w
55-gallon 2-80w MERCURY VAPOR
Entacmaea
Tank size Reproducing Metal Halide Fluorescent Actinic
120-gal No None 3-110 act wt 1-110
110-gal YES None None 4-40w
60-gal No None 1-110 50/50 None
20-gal YES None 3-15w 50/50 None
Note that a BTA(Entacmaea) was kept in a 60 Gallon for 2+ years with only 110 watts of PC lighting.
I also noticed that Thomas posted this same article some time ago.
I posted this a couple of days ago in this forum.
I hope it is helpful.
Never take anyones advice without researching first.
By researching I mean going out and buying or checking out books and reading until your eyes cross.
[hr]
What I am about to write is not intended to step on anyones toes or downplay anyones experience in the hobby, so please do not take offense.
The number one thing that really upsets me about advice given in reference to lighting for someone about to go buy a BTA or LTA is that almost everyone tells you that you have to have Metal Halide lighting in order to keep them.
This is completely false.
I have kept a BTA in my 20 Gallon (24" x 12" x 16.5") for 6 months under 130 Watt PC lights and it has thrived.
What needs to be considered when choosing lights is how far below the water surface the anenome will likely be and can it get close enough to the light source to get what it needs.
Before upgrading, I only used 130 Watts of PC lighting in my 55 Gallon(I now have 260 Watts PC lighting) and my BTA in that tank was also doing fantastic because my live rock was stacked high enough that it could get within 6" of the lighting.
My point is that you don't need to go broke buying Metal Halide lighting unless you plan to keep corals with high lighting requirements or clams or other anenomes(such as Sebae or Carpets).
I have even read where someone wrote someone else stating that in order to get a Tube Anenome that they had to have Metal Halide lighting. Tube anenomes are not even photosynthetic, therefore do not require any special type of lighting. They can be kept with standard flourescents!
I know that the intention is to give these fish and inverts the very best home, but I really do believe that we over do it with the lighting.
Once again, I am not trying to make anyone angry or discredit anyone. I just think we need to take into consideration the depth of the tank & how high the rock work is stacked before we tell someone they have to have Metal Halide lighting to keep a BTAor LTA.
This is just my experience........................
Just something else to add.................this is from Joyce Wilkerson, PE - Clownfishes and Anemones.
It is an old article I found when researching BTAs.
Lighting:
The lighting issue is not so clear-cut as I would hope. I think two things muddy the issue. First, lighting preferences may not be the same for all the host anemones. Secondly, the parameter of watts per gallon is not an adequate measurement. More can be read of this in Dana Riddle's book "The Captive Reef". I will offer the raw data by genera and invite comment:
ANEMONES KEPT MORE THAN 2 YEARS &/OR REPRODUCING: Heteractis
Tank size Metal Halide Fluorescent Actinic
160-gal 2-175w MH None 2-110w
75-gallon 1-175w MH 1-30w 50/50 1-30w
60-gallon None 2-110w 50/50 2-110w
55-gallon None 2-40w daylight 2-60w
Stiochodactyla
Tanks size Metal Halide Fluorescent Actinic
120-gal None 3-110w act wt 1-110w
100-gal 2-175w MH None 2-40w
90-gallon 2-175w 5500K None None
70-gallon None 3-40w daylight 3-40w
55-gallon 2-80w MERCURY VAPOR
Entacmaea
Tank size Reproducing Metal Halide Fluorescent Actinic
120-gal No None 3-110 act wt 1-110
110-gal YES None None 4-40w
60-gal No None 1-110 50/50 None
20-gal YES None 3-15w 50/50 None
Note that a BTA(Entacmaea) was kept in a 60 Gallon for 2+ years with only 110 watts of PC lighting.
I also noticed that Thomas posted this same article some time ago.
I posted this a couple of days ago in this forum.
I hope it is helpful.
Never take anyones advice without researching first.
By researching I mean going out and buying or checking out books and reading until your eyes cross.
iiinadav
Member
Shrimpdady. I agree with your post. I also stated that the rock must be high enough for the anemone to receive adequate light with power compacts. Here's the problem. No matter how high you stack your rock the anemone is going to move where it wants to go. The only way to provide the best lighting conditions possible is to have MH that can penetrate to the lowest depth of your tank. I will admit that I have a RBTA in my 72 gallon bow front with 384watts of power compact lights. Luckily for me, my RBTA found a nice size hole in a rock and it doesn't move. I was able to move the rock to a higher level in my tank. I agree that MH lights are not a requirement for all anemones, but it does provide better lighting conditions than power compacts. I think most hobbyist realize this and recommend the best.
Also, psusocr1 you are referring people to Thomas who has 500 watts of MH and 440 watts of VHO over his tank. Now that’s can be condsidered overdoing it. LOL!
Also, psusocr1 you are referring people to Thomas who has 500 watts of MH and 440 watts of VHO over his tank. Now that’s can be condsidered overdoing it. LOL!
T
thomas712
Guest
Originally Posted by ShrimpDady
I would beg to differ.
A bubble tip anemone will do fine under PC lighting. Other anemones do require metal halide lighting but not these.
Everyone screams metal halide because it is the best lighting you can have but it is NOT required for this anemone.
BTA's can do fine with PC or VHO, depending on tank size and total wattage.
I would beg to differ.
A bubble tip anemone will do fine under PC lighting. Other anemones do require metal halide lighting but not these.
Everyone screams metal halide because it is the best lighting you can have but it is NOT required for this anemone.
BTA's can do fine with PC or VHO, depending on tank size and total wattage.