Anenome under PCs?

[JohnnyW]

Ok, have been giving this some thought for quite a while and have found some conflicting opinions on the subject. Most so far have said its probably not a good idea, but I figured I would look and see if anyone has had any good experience with it.

The tank is a 24 gallon aquapod with about 22-25 lbs of LR, a 3 in sand bed, and has been up and running since last summer. Right now the lighting is a 65w PC 10k daylight, a 65w 460nm Atinic, and 2 blue moon LEDs. There is a MJ900 and the stock 150gph pump providing flow. except for a few aptasia and a bunch of the little PITA starfish (the little ones that multiply like crazy), the tank is pretty stable and doing great. It houses a pair of Occeralis clowns, a Bicolor blenny, and a Scarlet Skunk cleaner shrimp. Besides that, there are a bunch of soft corals including: anthelia, zoos, button polyps, mushrooms, a toadstool frag, and a finger leather frag.

Water params stay right about:
Nitrates: 5
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0
Ph: 8.2
Ca: 450
Temp: 78-80

So, the question is, are there any possible host anemones that would thrive under this lighting? I don't want to rush and buy something that will only survive in this tank, so that's why I am posting here.

 

[jer77]

Any hosting anemone will most likely overgrow your tank anyways. This may take many years or a few months depending on the species, but it will happen if you successfully keep an anemone.

Anyways, I keep many types of anemones under pc lighting at about the same W/gal as you have. I have kept a BTA, H. crispa, and S. haddoni under PC lighting. I wouldn't really recommend it for the haddoni's, but for the other two they thrived and even came back from bleaching. So I don't think your lighting will be an issue for most anemones. But I'm sure people have different opinions.

 

[Toddrtrex]

For the most part I agree with you jer77. I would be more concerned about the size of that tank then the lights right now.

The reason I disagree with you a little bit, is that I have two haddoni's under PCs ( one has been under PCs for 5 of its 6 + years with me [had it in my SPS tank {2 * 175 MH} for about a year]. However, I think I may be lucky with mine, I've put the one through hell over the years, and it is doing great.

JMO, I personally don't like any anemone in anything smaller than a standard 29 gallon tank. Yes, I am aware that that is only 5 more gallons, but I am talking a 29 with a sump -- anemones can/will produce a good amount of waste.

HTH

 

[JohnnyW]

If I do end up placing one in the tank, then the tank will be centered around it, whether that means that I remove some of the corals so it has more room or whatever. I am also considering modifying the tank somehow so that a sump is possible with it. Since the anemone would be the most sensitive creature in the tank, everything will be focused around it. Hence the reason that I am asking about the lighting with it.

In my other 24gal pod I have a S. Haddoni under a 75w 10k hqi and the rock and coral placement is placed so that it is most compatible with the anemone. I do know that a 24 is probably nowhere near big enough for this anemone in the long run, but I have a 75 gallon tank setup that I am finishing and getting ready to cycle now, and after it is done and established enough, the haddoni will be moving to that tank so that it will have more room.

In my 29gal with 20gal sump, there are actually 3 btas. One is a bright green (4-5" across) and has not moved since it found a piece of rock that it loves. I tested that by moving the rock to a different area of the tank and the anemone stayed on that rock and has actually done much better since I moved it. Another is a dark green bta (about 3-5" accross)that we just got after one of our local reefer's GBTAs split again. And the other is a small bleached bta (about 1-1.5" across) that we are nursing back to health and watching color come back to it a little at a time.

Point though is that I can move corals around as needed if thats what the anemone wants or needs. Everything with the tanks happens basically with the anemones' needs first as the fish and corals can adapt fairly easily.

 

[JohnnyW]

I appreciate the input though. I will probably wait a while before moving forward with this, because if a BTA doesn't look happy under PCs, I want to ensure that I have a better home for it in one of the other tanks instead of making it suffer or cramming into another tank, and it is definitely not going in the MH aquapod as it would be in too close of proximity with the S. Haddoni until the 75 is established enough to house the carpet.
Thanks again.

 

[traveller7]

Re: Anenome under PCs?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9988250#post9988250 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JohnnyW
Right now the lighting is a 65w PC 10k daylight, a 65w 460nm Atinic, and 2 blue moon LEDs.............So, the question is, are there any possible host anemones that would thrive under this lighting?

Replace the actinic with another 10K daylight and a BTA would be just fine.

I would likely get alternating PC tubes on a 4month replacement cycle, meaning a max of 8months of bulb life expectation. That should keep the lighting consistent as they age, allow you buy bulbs in bulk for better pricing, etc.

 

[JohnnyW]

Re: Re: Anenome under PCs?

Re: Re: Anenome under PCs?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9990330#post9990330 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by traveller7
Replace the actinic with another 10K daylight and a BTA would be just fine.

I would likely get alternating PC tubes on a 4month replacement cycle, meaning a max of 8months of bulb life expectation. That should keep the lighting consistent as they age, allow you buy bulbs in bulk for better pricing, etc.

I had never thought about rotating them like that. Now, with switching out the actinic, what is the reasoning there? I thought that the actinic was just as bright as the 10k daylight, but with a different spectrum?

 

[traveller7]

Re: Re: Re: Anenome under PCs?

Re: Re: Re: Anenome under PCs?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9991393#post9991393 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JohnnyW
I had never thought about rotating them like that. Now, with switching out the actinic, what is the reasoning there? I thought that the actinic was just as bright as the 10k daylight, but with a different spectrum?

Bulb rotation is key with tubes, they degrade fairly quickly and if we are not careful the spike from a bulb change will trigger bleaching in some specimens. Bulb rotation lessens the spike.

IME, Actinic, nice for color, not so great for photosynthesis. Couple that with the bulb single bulb change issues above which just complicate the issues significantly.

 

[dopey_680]

if anemones do not require actinic lighting, how come actinic lighting was named after the family actinia,....anemones?

 

[phender]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10046141#post10046141 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dopey_680
if anemones do not require actinic lighting, how come actinic lighting was named after the family actinia,....anemones?

That is an interesting pull. But I think they may both be named after the same thing rather than one being named after the other. By the way, not all actinia harbor photosynthetic algae.
Here is the Wikipedia definition:
"Actinic light is light which produces an identifiable or measurable change when it interacts with matter.
The term was first commonly used in early photography to distinguish light that would expose a film from light that would not. Non-actinic light could be used in a darkroom without risk of exposing light sensitive films, plates or papers.
Early films, plates and papers were sensitive to the high energy end of the visible spectrum from green to UV. Such light was actinic light. Red light was non-actinic.
In the first half of the 20th century, developments in film technology produced films sensitive to red and yellow light and extended that through to near infra-red light. In photography, actinic light must now be referenced to the photographic material in question.
Actinic is also applied to medical conditions triggered off by exposure, or excessive exposure to light, especially UV light."