Would love to hear some thoughts on lighting for carpet anemones, gigs, haddoni, mertensii. I'm currently running a 8 bulb 24 watt ATI fixture in my carpet cube but I've noticed many users run MH for their carpet tanks. I could change easily and cost effective since I work at a Horitculture distributor however I believe T5's should be more then enough. Any thoughts?
Carpet anemone lighting
- Thread starter akida
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CoralsAddiction
Active member
I have always used LED lights and most decently built lights are enough. I've seen a hobbyist's tank that has a shorter version of your light fixture over his 50 gallon cube. His RBTA and SPS corals are doing ok but not much growth.
ponokareefer
New member
My gigantea goes against the grain and doesn't like bright light. Typically they like a lot of light though. What I've found to be very important with my gigantea is flow though. You will want a lot.
anemoneguy
Member
i agree with the flow for gigantia anemones. i have 2 orpheks over my 200 dd tank and my gig is on a rock at the very top but never stayed, always moved around the top of the rock until i bought a tunze powerhead just for him. its a small powerhead but does a great job and also you can adjust flow and pulse similar to my mp 40, but after adding it the gig never moved again and has planted down real good. in my prevous tank it was under a 250 watt radium with good flow and never moved from the place i originaly put it. my ritteri is on the other side of the tank also on a rock at the very top with good flow, but the gig gets more and seems to want flow more than the ritteri. the ritteri seems to soak up all the light it can get.i made the rock structures in an effort to keep the nems from moving around and when i changed tanks the ritteri was put on the bottom and moved up to the top of the rock and has stayed. i also have a hadoni that doesnt like much flow or too much light and hes on the bottom. i was a big skeptic on led lighting, but im glad to say now im very happy. i also love how they come on and off gradually and the fact of not getting hardly any heat from them is nice.also they do grow mys sps plus gives them a nice color.
I have one in my frag tank under an ocean revive arctic 120w led mounted pretty high above a 40 gal breader. He's been under that light for about 8 months. Carpet should look real nice under t5 just make sure you use quality bulbs like ati PS giesemann aquascience etc. Having good bulbs makes it worth the extra electric cost.
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I've used LED's and the growth can't compare to T5's, not even close to be honest with you but that is in regards to corals. I was thinking of switching over to MH, probably the 250w Reefbrite Hybrid fixture. I lowered my T5 a bit and my nems did not like it one bit so I think they're getting good enough light. Flow on the other hand has to be addressed. I need more flow in certain areas for the and I'm getting a Jebao pump soon so I can point in their direction. Unfortunately my purple gig moved on her rock and is jammed pack in between my glass and another her rock. Now I have to move the rock somehow and add 2 more rocks so she has some disc support (Taylor). We'll see how it goes I finally purchase a HEALTHY non rescue gig this weekend. It's my last anemone and should complete my idea of a carpet cube. It's small and a nice beautiful green, I should mention not bleached either like the other one I purchased. So what do you guys think is my best option for a carpet anemone cube as far as lighting goes? Should I make the switch to MH and sell my T5's? I spent nearly $700 on the fixture and bulbs 2 months ago.
BonsaiNut
Premium Member
I just erased my post
There are advantages and disadvantages of each. One thing to consider is that a 6 x 39 watt T5 fixture tops out right below where 250 watt DE HE bulbs are (in terms of lighting intensity). This is generally adequate for many/most reef keeping needs. If you move to a 400 watt MH... there isn't a t5 fixture in the world that will deliver the same intensity.
So at 8 x 24 watts you might be comparable to a 175 watt MH(?) Like I said... you might be ok if your gigantea is within 12" of the fixture. But in a deeper tank (say 24")? No way.
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I have a 24" tank (4" sandbed) so I'm going to switch to MH at some point. I actually felt like my gigs needed the fixture raised a bit but I'm probably wrong. I'm going with the reefbrite hybrid but what wattage do you think I should go with, 250 or 400? I'm thinking a 250 would be adequate?
D-Nak
Active member
Unlike SPS which color shift or simply don't like LEDs, all of my nems do fine under them. I use both Kessils and Radions and all of my giganteas and magnificas are happy. Unless you're willing to deal with the heat and extra cost of running a halide, LEDs are fine. I have standard Radions on my 24" deep tank with three gigs. If you want to give your nems more light, then a Radion Pro will work.
If you've ever watched videos or seen photos of gigs in the wild, many are in extremely shallow water. They can probably handle any amount of light that we give them.
If you've ever watched videos or seen photos of gigs in the wild, many are in extremely shallow water. They can probably handle any amount of light that we give them.
CoralsAddiction
Active member
+1
anemoneguy
Member
i cant speak to color shift on sps because all of mine have always been under my orpheks and i have to say they are very nicely colored. im really suprised i like these lights this much. i have always had mh. i tried t5's in the past and went back to mh. with my new tank i decided to go big and try led's and me and my corals seem happy. my anemones are my focal point and i was concerned at first, but not anymore.
shred5
Premium Member
The gig I saved has been under t-5 for years now. It was completely bleached when I got it. As you can see it sits at the bottom.. People way underestimate t-5 lighting. First of all it is a solid light and and not point source and lights evenly all sides of a coral. The light also doesn't drop from left to right.. Yea the bulb due produce a little less light at the ends.
CoralsAddiction
Active member
It depends on the bulbs really. I wouldn't say T5s are bad or insufficient when they have good and strong bulbs. The fixture I saw with 8 bulbs 24W each didn't have intense lighting. But those with 39W and 54W can grow some serious SPS and support anemones. My only issue with T5s is heat, cost of bulbs and lack of controllability unless you are buying an uber expensive T5/LED hybrid.
CoralsAddiction
Active member
The gig I saved has been under t-5 for years now. It was completely bleached when I got it. As you can see it sits at the bottom.. People way underestimate t-5 lighting. First of all it is a solid light and and not point source and lights evenly all sides of a coral. The light also doesn't drop from left to right.. Yea the bulb due produce a little less light at the ends.
Good looking nem and clowns.
D-Nak
Active member
Circling back to the original question regarding an anemone tank, I think any light -- be it LED, T5, or halide -- is fine as you have enough light and it's the right spectum. I don't think T5, for example, has any advantage over other lighting types.
When I had a lot of SPS in my tank, I used T5s to supplement my Radions and I think the SPS benefitted. But when I pulled the SPS out and made it priomarily an anemone tank, I stopped using the T5s. My point is that for anemones, this type of mixed lighting approach isn't necessary.
When I had a lot of SPS in my tank, I used T5s to supplement my Radions and I think the SPS benefitted. But when I pulled the SPS out and made it priomarily an anemone tank, I stopped using the T5s. My point is that for anemones, this type of mixed lighting approach isn't necessary.
clorox
New member
I have 3 Kessils hanging above my 24"x24" gig tank. 1 x 360N, 1 x 160WE and a 160 Amazon Sun.
I set up 3 primarily because at some point I had 4 gigs in the tank, now I only keep 2 large ones.
I keep the Tuna blues at about 70% peak at highest intensity, whereas I keep the Amazon Sun at not more than 30% intensity at peak @9000K.
I find that my gigs really like the 9000k spectrum and open up even more, not really necessary in a 24" square tank
Soon they will be moving into my new 60" x 36" gig tank and they'll be finally able to stretch and grow....can't wait!:dance:
I set up 3 primarily because at some point I had 4 gigs in the tank, now I only keep 2 large ones.
I keep the Tuna blues at about 70% peak at highest intensity, whereas I keep the Amazon Sun at not more than 30% intensity at peak @9000K.
I find that my gigs really like the 9000k spectrum and open up even more, not really necessary in a 24" square tank
Soon they will be moving into my new 60" x 36" gig tank and they'll be finally able to stretch and grow....can't wait!:dance:
BonsaiNut
Premium Member
Did you check out the link I posted? The reason why I posted it was because I wanted to make sure that people understood there was some science behind my comment. I am not "underestimating" T5 HO fluorescent bulbs. I just understand what they can and cannot do.
T8 HO or VHO flourescent bulbs could never come close to the efficiency of Metal Halides. T5 HO flourescent bulbs are about the same.
Of course the state of the art LED's are already at the same level, and will be bypassing them both soon. While flourescent and metal halide tech is nearing the end of its life-cycle, LED's are just ramping up. Double the efficiency, and half the cost, and in a few year people will be asking... what's a flourescent bulb?
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