anemone lighting

Chef Reef

Chef Reef

In Memoriam
what is the minimum lighting i need for Sebae or condy anemone? all that will be in my tank is the anemone and 2 clowns. im making them there own tank and hopefully one day breed them. (far distant future :P ) i currently have the condy just to test the water situation and make sure that it will be fine in the tank before i buy the more expenssive Sebae.. after which the condy will be added to my tank.. the tank with just the clowns in it wil be anywhere from a 10 to 30 gal tank. will a Sebae be fine in that small of a tank? no sps's or lps's will be added and just those two fish. maybe some snails but thats about it..
 
30g breeder with a sump for added volume maybe.

for lighting youll be looking at MH 250w'ers or more maybe.

i havent kept sebeas myself.
 
for just an anemone? the guy at the LFS told me i would just need some T5's.. is it nessisary to have a sump? cant you just do all hang on stuff? or is it only for the volume? and how important is that volume?
 
also if i do not try to breed them, what is the minimum stuff i need? i'll have a skimmer, a koralias 3 and a MJ, some T5's and thats prolly it for equipiment.. will this be ok?
 
a 4 bulb T5 setup done rite(individual reflectors) will work.. you could do all the hang on stuff, but a sump is just a better idea.. a heater and a possible wandering anemone is not a good thing. a sump will hide heaters, skimmer.. the increased water volume provides more stability for the anemone as well..just my opinion.
 
i said mh because its more available and usually is still cheaper then t-5s, but a 4 bulb individual t-5 HO would work.

i said sump for the above mentioned reasons a wandering anemone is not good with the equipment in tank. its better to hold off and get the right things first then rush in make a big mistake then have to pay to correct it.
 
You will be just fine with all T5s. I know several people who run T5s only and have great success with not only anemones but SPS corals. On a tank that small I think you would probably be just fine with 3 T5s. T5s really do put a lot of light out and have a lot less trouble penetrating the water. As far as the cost goes with T5s they are much cheaper and use less energy. A MH bulb is going to cost about 80-90 bucks to replace and a T5 is only about 25-30. Also, with T5s you can put a range of bulbs to get the color you want, with a MH bulb you only have the one bulb temp. I know if I were to buy a new light, it would not be the MH/T5 combo, it would be only T5. Good luck with whatever you decide! :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10857043#post10857043 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jeeperrs
You will be just fine with all T5s. I know several people who run T5s only and have great success with not only anemones but SPS corals. On a tank that small I think you would probably be just fine with 3 T5s. T5s really do put a lot of light out and have a lot less trouble penetrating the water. As far as the cost goes with T5s they are much cheaper and use less energy. A MH bulb is going to cost about 80-90 bucks to replace and a T5 is only about 25-30. Also, with T5s you can put a range of bulbs to get the color you want, with a MH bulb you only have the one bulb temp. I know if I were to buy a new light, it would not be the MH/T5 combo, it would be only T5. Good luck with whatever you decide! :)
Click to expand...

you replace 3-4 T5 bulbs as opposed to 1 MH bulb though.
 
does the watt's matter all that much becuase most of the T5's i see are pretty low in watt's all the 36inch ones are around 45 watts, i found one in the 90's but for like 4x the price... bassically is there one that you all could point me in the direction to? the guy at the LFS is trying to get me on these coralife ones... but iv heard bad things about them... but since my tank is not that deep will it work cause of the penitration?

also i have a sump i just need to get an overflow box for this tank.. i have one on my other tanks.. :P
 
Honestly, I think a 30 is too small for a Seabe, they get HUGE. I had one for a couple of years ( lost it during a power outage ) in my 75, it took up 1/3 of the tank.
 
ok im adding a few things.. how much watt's will i need for a 16 inch depth. im going to go with a BTA instead i think. nothing huge to start ill let it grow out.. is a BTA better for this then a sebea?
 
yes much better.

get a clone if you can from another hobbist.

for a bta i think you could do the T-5s or get a way with a 175w MH.
 
3-4 bulbs. they sell retro fit kits of the icecap on marinedepot with everything but bulbs in 2-4 bulb configurations. that would probably be the easiest set up to get plus it will over drive the bulbs. oh youll want to get some fans to cool the lights.

my philosophy is to put as much light over the tank as i can, with in reason figuring in cost setup electricity compared to benefit to the animals.
 
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