bonesnapper
Member
Which is easier to keep? My lighting is a Coralife 96 watt with a 50/50 bulb. The depth of my tank is 1.5 feet.
Sebae or BTA?????
- Thread starter bonesnapper
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lexluethar
Active Member
BTA, Sebae i think is probably the second easiest - but everyone i've spoken to on this forum and in my LFS says BTA are probably the easiest ones to keep.
bonesnapper
Member
Ok, thanks. Have you had any experiece with these two anemones?
bonesnapper
Member
My friend had a Sebae under 65 watts, and it lived for 2 years. The depth of his tank was 1'.
lexluethar
Active Member
I personally have a BTA - generally speaking if you have quality PAR and good reflectors a watts per gallon ratio of 4-6 watts per gallon. I don't know what type of lights you have, but if this setup is with your 26 gallon tank you on the VERY low end of this general rule. Just because an anemone has survived in a system doesn't mean it is healthy. Is your friend anemone white, almost see through? If so it is bleached and unhealthy. This doesn't mean it is doomed, just means that spot feedings are a must.
If possible i would upgrade your lighting, BTA are some of the LESS light needy anemones, but they still need a lot of light (alone with the assumed prestine water quality). Perhaps Dark or someone can chime in and tell you more specifics about your light setup. I think i've at least started you off in the right direction.
If possible i would upgrade your lighting, BTA are some of the LESS light needy anemones, but they still need a lot of light (alone with the assumed prestine water quality). Perhaps Dark or someone can chime in and tell you more specifics about your light setup. I think i've at least started you off in the right direction.
bonesnapper
Member
Originally Posted by BoneSnapper
Which is easier to keep? My lighting is a Coralife 96 watt with a 50/50 bulb. The depth of my tank is 1.5 feet.
I posted the what light I have.
Which is easier to keep? My lighting is a Coralife 96 watt with a 50/50 bulb. The depth of my tank is 1.5 feet.
I posted the what light I have.
xeniaman
Member
I have a bta in my 240, the tank at the lfs had it under 260 watt pc's and the anemone was about 3 inches in diameter. A week after I put it in my tank under the halides it is about 8 inches in diameter. I do know that bta's are the most hardy of anemonia and can adapt to alot of tank conditions. If you HAVE to have an anemone the bta is the way to go, I would feed it meaty foods 3 times a week to supplement for lack of light.
bonesnapper
Member
I might be getting a new tank because my tank is now leaking. It comes with some T5 lighting, I don't know how many watts though.
o2ngk
Member
The simple rule is every 1 gallon needs 4 watt so if you buy a 50 gallon tank then you need about 200 watt light of PC/T5/T6,MH, regarless the deep because unless you have your tank custom built it is most likely very generic size out there .. a bit more wattage is fine .. also consider what else do you plan to have in your tank in the future so buy the correct light in accord to your long term goal.
As far as BTA or Sebae, Sebae is nicer, but BTA is easier to keep. Good luck.
As far as BTA or Sebae, Sebae is nicer, but BTA is easier to keep. Good luck.
wangotango
Active Member
Originally Posted by o2ngk
The simple rule is every 1 gallon needs 4 watt so if you buy a 50 gallon tank then you need about 200 watt light of PC/T5/T6,MH, regarless the deep because unless you have your tank custom built it is most likely very generic size out there .. a bit more wattage is fine .. also consider what else do you plan to have in your tank in the future so buy the correct light in accord to your long term goal.
As far as BTA or Sebae, Sebae is nicer, but BTA is easier to keep. Good luck.
WPG is obsolete, it has everything to do with the type of lighting and the depth of the tank. 400w of PC will not give you the same penetration as a 400w halide.
Personally, I would not keep an anemone under anything other than halide or T5, but that's just me.
-Justin
The simple rule is every 1 gallon needs 4 watt so if you buy a 50 gallon tank then you need about 200 watt light of PC/T5/T6,MH, regarless the deep because unless you have your tank custom built it is most likely very generic size out there .. a bit more wattage is fine .. also consider what else do you plan to have in your tank in the future so buy the correct light in accord to your long term goal.
As far as BTA or Sebae, Sebae is nicer, but BTA is easier to keep. Good luck.
WPG is obsolete, it has everything to do with the type of lighting and the depth of the tank. 400w of PC will not give you the same penetration as a 400w halide.
Personally, I would not keep an anemone under anything other than halide or T5, but that's just me.
-Justin
bronco300
Active Member
Originally Posted by WangoTango
WPG is obsolete, it has everything to do with the type of lighting and the depth of the tank. 400w of PC will not give you the same penetration as a 400w halide.
Personally, I would not keep an anemone under anything other than halide or T5, but that's just me.
-Justin
agreed
WPG is obsolete, it has everything to do with the type of lighting and the depth of the tank. 400w of PC will not give you the same penetration as a 400w halide.
Personally, I would not keep an anemone under anything other than halide or T5, but that's just me.
-Justin
agreed
bonesnapper
Member
Thanks everyone.
o2ngk
Member
Originally Posted by WangoTango
WPG is obsolete, it has everything to do with the type of lighting and the depth of the tank. 400w of PC will not give you the same penetration as a 400w halide.
Personally, I would not keep an anemone under anything other than halide or T5, but that's just me.
-Justin
I think the confusion here is the mistaken idea about wattage and light power/spectrum (K) .. the wattage is simply the power require from the electricity stand point .. the measurement of light penetration is not wattage .. so you can have MH with 400 watt or T5 with 400 watt = same usage on your electricity, that's all .. but MH has a higher power/spectrum of light compare to T5/PC .. now I am not going to learn a technical formula for this, but if you up to it then go a head.
WPG is obsolete, it has everything to do with the type of lighting and the depth of the tank. 400w of PC will not give you the same penetration as a 400w halide.
Personally, I would not keep an anemone under anything other than halide or T5, but that's just me.
-Justin
I think the confusion here is the mistaken idea about wattage and light power/spectrum (K) .. the wattage is simply the power require from the electricity stand point .. the measurement of light penetration is not wattage .. so you can have MH with 400 watt or T5 with 400 watt = same usage on your electricity, that's all .. but MH has a higher power/spectrum of light compare to T5/PC .. now I am not going to learn a technical formula for this, but if you up to it then go a head.
snipe
Active Member
all things aside I kept a BTA in a 55 but I also had 120watt pc light I wouldnt keep it under less than two bulbs of pc light though in a small tank ya might be pushed to a t5 light kit or a mh light only thing small enough to fit over a small tank and still give the light needed.
wangotango
Active Member
Originally Posted by o2ngk
I think the confusion here is the mistaken idea about wattage and light power/spectrum (K) .. the wattage is simply the power require from the electricity stand point .. the measurement of light penetration is not wattage .. so you can have MH with 400 watt or T5 with 400 watt = same usage on your electricity, that's all .. but MH has a higher power/spectrum of light compare to T5/PC .. now I am not going to learn a technical formula for this, but if you up to it then go a head.
There is no formula. Spectrum is only the color of the bulb which has nothing to do with wattage or how much light is produced. You're right, penetration is not measured in watts, it's measured as PAR, but a 400w halide will give you more PAR than a comparable 250w, which is why there are guidelines to follow if you're using them for your tank; 175 up to 20" 250w up to 24" and 400w over that.
Like I said before, WPG is obsolete. You said that it does not matter what type of lighting you use if you have at least 4wpg. This is not true. A four bulb (individually reflected) T5 setup will produce more PAR than a dual 150w halide setup. On a 55 the T5 would give you about 3.9wpg, the halides would give you about 5, but the PAR is higher with the T5, and you're getting it with fewer watts. You can put all the PC bulbs you can fit and you still wouldn't get the same results.
-Justin
I think the confusion here is the mistaken idea about wattage and light power/spectrum (K) .. the wattage is simply the power require from the electricity stand point .. the measurement of light penetration is not wattage .. so you can have MH with 400 watt or T5 with 400 watt = same usage on your electricity, that's all .. but MH has a higher power/spectrum of light compare to T5/PC .. now I am not going to learn a technical formula for this, but if you up to it then go a head.
There is no formula. Spectrum is only the color of the bulb which has nothing to do with wattage or how much light is produced. You're right, penetration is not measured in watts, it's measured as PAR, but a 400w halide will give you more PAR than a comparable 250w, which is why there are guidelines to follow if you're using them for your tank; 175 up to 20" 250w up to 24" and 400w over that.
Like I said before, WPG is obsolete. You said that it does not matter what type of lighting you use if you have at least 4wpg. This is not true. A four bulb (individually reflected) T5 setup will produce more PAR than a dual 150w halide setup. On a 55 the T5 would give you about 3.9wpg, the halides would give you about 5, but the PAR is higher with the T5, and you're getting it with fewer watts. You can put all the PC bulbs you can fit and you still wouldn't get the same results.
-Justin
perfectdark
Active Member
Originally Posted by WangoTango
There is no formula. Spectrum is only the color of the bulb which has nothing to do with wattage or how much light is produced. You're right, penetration is not measured in watts, it's measured as PAR, but a 400w halide will give you more PAR than a comparable 250w, which is why there are guidelines to follow if you're using them for your tank; 175 up to 20" 250w up to 24" and 400w over that.
Like I said before, WPG is obsolete. You said that it does not matter what type of lighting you use if you have at least 4wpg. This is not true. A four bulb (individually reflected) T5 setup will produce more PAR than a dual 150w halide setup. On a 55 the T5 would give you about 3.9wpg, the halides would give you about 5, but the PAR is higher with the T5, and you're getting it with fewer watts. You can put all the PC bulbs you can fit and you still wouldn't get the same results.
-Justin
Agreed...
If the penetrating output of the buld is sub par (no pun intended) 50 lamps will not make it penetrate any more. The bulb is not efficient enough to penetrate the water, and there is a lot of wasted energy. CF lighting has the least amount of lumens per watt available, thus reducing its PAR value. Lacking the proper reflectors due to bulb size, also prohibits this type of lighting from being more efficient.
There is no formula. Spectrum is only the color of the bulb which has nothing to do with wattage or how much light is produced. You're right, penetration is not measured in watts, it's measured as PAR, but a 400w halide will give you more PAR than a comparable 250w, which is why there are guidelines to follow if you're using them for your tank; 175 up to 20" 250w up to 24" and 400w over that.
Like I said before, WPG is obsolete. You said that it does not matter what type of lighting you use if you have at least 4wpg. This is not true. A four bulb (individually reflected) T5 setup will produce more PAR than a dual 150w halide setup. On a 55 the T5 would give you about 3.9wpg, the halides would give you about 5, but the PAR is higher with the T5, and you're getting it with fewer watts. You can put all the PC bulbs you can fit and you still wouldn't get the same results.
-Justin
Agreed...
If the penetrating output of the buld is sub par (no pun intended) 50 lamps will not make it penetrate any more. The bulb is not efficient enough to penetrate the water, and there is a lot of wasted energy. CF lighting has the least amount of lumens per watt available, thus reducing its PAR value. Lacking the proper reflectors due to bulb size, also prohibits this type of lighting from being more efficient.
perfectdark
Active Member
Originally Posted by BoneSnapper
My friend had a Sebae under 65 watts, and it lived for 2 years. The depth of his tank was 1'.
IMO this is the other part of the equation often over looked. Depth of your tank can make the difference in being able to keep a BTA happy under PC Lighting or having it die.
Most tanks are not 12" tall that is considered a shallow tank. Having a high watt PC Light set up IMO can work for a tank this shallow. Because it does not have to penetrate as far as an 18 to 24" high tank. 4 to 6 inches may not sound like a lot and with HO t-5 lighting or MH it may not make much of a difference but with bulbs as inefficient as CF even and inch can impact the intensity of them. I too have seen BTA's kept for years in SHALLOW tanks with high wattage PC lighting.
My friend had a Sebae under 65 watts, and it lived for 2 years. The depth of his tank was 1'.
IMO this is the other part of the equation often over looked. Depth of your tank can make the difference in being able to keep a BTA happy under PC Lighting or having it die.
Most tanks are not 12" tall that is considered a shallow tank. Having a high watt PC Light set up IMO can work for a tank this shallow. Because it does not have to penetrate as far as an 18 to 24" high tank. 4 to 6 inches may not sound like a lot and with HO t-5 lighting or MH it may not make much of a difference but with bulbs as inefficient as CF even and inch can impact the intensity of them. I too have seen BTA's kept for years in SHALLOW tanks with high wattage PC lighting.