Clam Advice - T5's

[xxxbadfishxxx]

well i upgraded my lighting to a tek light 4x24 watt T5 (1 daylight, 1 aquablue, 2 actinic Plus). Tank is a 50 gallon (30X18X20), and this would be my first clam and my tank has been up for 2 years.

I am guessing i should stick to a squamosa, or a dersa, alhthough i like coreca and Maximas, but i here my lighting is not sufficient. Out of the Dersa and Squamosa i like the squamosa, how big do they get? are they a good begginer clam. Whats the best placement?

thanks,

Jeff

 

[ezcompany]

deresas and squamosas will pass 15 inches fast, but are good beginner clams. i would say the deresa will be fine in the bottom, and the squamosa can probably be okay too, but would be happier in the upper half of the tank.
croceas and maximas will do well also, but they would need to be placed in the upper third of the tank as close as possible to the light.

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

Yeah, i thought that the Dersas and Squamosas got big, but i didnt think it was that fast. I imagine once they get that big they really suck calcium out of the tank, would i eventually need a calc reactor? I like Croceas and Maximas better, but i dont want to kill one. How big do they get?

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

also out of the croceas & maximas, which would be a better choice?

 

[Jayreefer]

They both will do fine with t5's. I have the same tank with a 4" squami and a 2" maxima. I do run a 400w MH over the tank.

 

[ezcompany]

croceas are a little easier than maximas, but are also a little more light demanding than maximas. a calc reactor would be ideal, but if you don't have sps you can probably get away with 2 parts solution.