Anyone keeping Tridacnas under Power Compacts???

[Phillips]

Is anyone successfully keeping Tridacnas under PC lights?

I've had 2 maximas, 1 derasa & 1 squamosa under PC's for several months in my 75 gal. tank. All were doing well and were under MH when I bought each of them. When I tried to place them on the live rock at home they all jumped down a bit till they found light levels to their liking. At first I had them under 2-96 watt 10,000K's & 2-96 watt "actinic" PC's, and now they've been acclimated to 3-96 watt 10,000K & 1 "Actinic" PC's.

Perhaps they had been a little light deprived for awhile when I acquired them and the PC's were a little too bright at first??

Because I've found I just can't count on the quality of the PC's I order (some 96 watt bulbs of the same color temp are brighter than others, or they break too easily in shipment), I've ordered a new dual 250 watt HQI DE pendant for my tank, so I'm asking this question more out of curiousity than anything else. Hopefully they'll be even happier clams once they start acclimating the their new MH suns!

 

[jim norris]

Yes,
I keep some of my clams under pcs and they do very well. But I also feed them Dts (alot). But my big clams 4 inches and up are kept under 400 watt MHs.
Jim

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u-old]

hi, phillip's

hi, phillip's

yes, you can successfully have them in tank's with just pc's. i have a 8,inch derasa from tonga and a 5,inch super crocea thats blue on the mantles also in a tank with just power compacts! they love it and both are doing very good. had them both for about a year now thriving.

 

[ron4675]

Deresa

Deresa

I have a 6" blue edge deresa under PC. So far So good, but I haven't had it in the tank long enough for me to give my 100% seal of approval like I do with SPS.
I did have a max in my tank for over a year then I lost it overnight, but I don't think it had to do with lighting.
As long as my deresa does good, than a max is next!

 

[Corpus Callosum]

I have a 36 watt 50/50 PC on my 10 gallon, in the future would I be able to add a tiny clam (maybe near the top of tank?), or is that just too little light and I would need more than double that?

just wondering , im not planning on getting one.

 

[ClamLover]

It is extremely difficult to keep clams alive for the long term with PCs.

PCs need replacement and are not cheap, IMO MH gives more lumens/watt ratio and is cheaper.

If you are serious to have healthy and living clams, as the Knopp book says, go for MH. In that book, the 1st point mentioned about keeping clams in an aquarium is ... Illumination.

Nothing more important than Illumination for clams because it is their source of food. Clams may depend on reserve energy, so they may still look good for the 1st few months, but eventually die off... clams may try to adapt to poorer lightning before that.

We are responsible for these animals. Sorry, but I just need to share this IMO.

 

[ron4675]

Clamlover?

Clamlover?

Hi,
I just wanted to check on a few things that don't vibe with me. You state pc's need replacement and aren't cheap. MH need to be replaced as well and more often than pc and for the price of one mh bulb you can get 2-3 pc 55w lamps? Also let me know how mh is cheaper. If you can get a mh setup and keep replacing the bulbs year after year let me know where your buying them at cause I want in!

Also IMHO it really depends on the type of clam purchased and on the age. As it has been stated on this board numerous times, a small clam of any type is primarily a filter feeder as it grows it then depends more heavily on lighting.
MH is only ONE option needed and again it depends on the type of clam. Although I have read posts here where people keep max.'s under pc. I don't have any max's, yet, but plan to in the future.
just my .02

 

[INNOVATOR]

Hey Ron, couldn't have said it any better myself!

 

[jim norris]

IMO --- I LIKE BOTH ON MOST OF MY YOUNGER CLAMS I USE PCS ON MY OLDER CLAMS I USE MHS. MY YOUNGER CLAMS ARE PLACED APRROX. 8 INCHES UNDER 65 WATT PCS. MY OLDER CLAMS ARE PLACE ANYWHERE FROM 30 INCHES TO 10 INCHES UNDER MHS.
JIM

 

[ClamLover]

Hi,

Supposing we take 2 types of bulbs PC and MH and we compare their output (measured in units of Lumen), the MH will produce more Lumens compared to the PC. Let say you have a 250Waat Iwasaki and a number of PCs combined to a 250Waat, both bulbs may have the same input (i.e. 250Waats) but their output (i.e. Lumens) is much different.

As agreed, juvenile clams are filter feeders, and adult clams rely predominantly on light as their food source (or rather, a source of energy to manufacture food).

IMO, T. croceas need MH, but we can get away with other sources of illumination for other species of Tridacnidae.

A reverse point to note on 'light intensity' (verbatim from the Knopp book):
"On the other hand, light protection mechanisms seem to be better developed in the small and sun-seeking T. crocea. "Central bleaching", a phenomenon described in the chapter on clam diseases and attributed to sudden high intensity of ultra violet was only found in larger species like T. squamosa or T. gigas, but never in the small T. crocea. That means that, concerning light intensity, no matter if natural or artificial, the larger species of clams must be handled with greater care than the small T. crocea. Up to now this is all conjecture without prove but the observations point to an interspecific difference in adaptability to light intensity."

 

[The_Iceberg]

"MH need to be replaced as well and more often than pc and for the price of one mh bulb you can get 2-3 pc 55w lamps? Also let me know how mh is cheaper. If you can get a mh setup and keep replacing the bulbs year after year let me know where your buying them at cause I want in!"

- Let's also keep in mind the higher price of MH with regard to that little bill you get every month from the electric company. Let's be honest here, PCs are cheaper all the way around, initial cost, replacement, and energy consumption. But I agree that there are many things you can't keep with PCs, I would have to say Maximas are one, although I agree that Derasa and Squamosa could be kept under PCs and do just fine.