Ready to get a clam

[ryan80]

I have a 46 gallon bowfront that has been running for about 10 months. Parameters are good and started testing for and dosing calcium, magnesium and alkalinity for my SPS a little while ago. Have been running 4x39 T5s on there, but getting a Sunpod with 2x150 MH 14K on Friday. I think that I might have room to leave 2x39 watts of T5 on there too, but don't think that I really need it as the MH gives me over 6.5 watts per gallon. Would the clam really benefit from actinics in the T5?
My LFS has a really nice deep blue 4-5" Crocea on sale which I was going to pick up on Saturday. It has good coloring and reacts well--they have him under a 400w MH. I was planning on putting him on a rock and starting him on the sandbed till he attached and then moving him up closer to he lights. Is that a good way to go? How should I acclimate him to both the water and the lights? I will be acclimating my tank to the new lights at the same time, so should I work it up from 4 hours a day to 8-9 hours over a week or so?
I know that these clams are considered harder to keep, but is that just because so many people try and keep them with insufficient lighting, or should I really start with another species? I really want some nice color and don't want anything that is going to really outgrow my tank quickly. Thanks in advance.

 

[nycbob]

2x150w mh is enough. if u can keep sps, then a clam shouldnt be a problem. crocea is considered hard bc it demands the most light and is more sensitive to water quality. if uit under 400w mh at the lfs, then u dont need to light acclimated. but doing it ur way doesnt hurt either if ur purpose is for it to attach to a rock. the bigger croceas dont always attach to rocks anyway. my smaller one actually buried itself into a rock, and my full grown one just sits there.