Conditions for A Carpet

[55semireef]

Hey guys. I was just wondering how many watts or what type of light benefits a carpet anemone the best. Is it basically just MH or could VHO and PCs work too? Has anyone kept a carpet under PCs before and if you have how many watts per gallon. I know watts per gallon isn't the best way of determining but I am curious.

Thanks

ps- I don't want arguing. Thanks

 

[phender]

The problem with information about carpet anemones is that people don't realize that the three species of carpets seem to have different lighting requirements. S. gigantea seems to need very intense lighting, which IME means MH lights.
Most of the carpets you see in this forum are Saddle carpets (S. haddoni). I have kept anemones for over 20 years. Until a month ago, I had never owned a MH fixture. I have kept S. haddoni for indefinate periods of time.(Either lighting wasn't involved in their death or they were given away after 5-7 years) These anemones lived under normal fluorescents or PC lighting at a rate of ~ 4-5 watts per gallon. Except in one case, the aquariums were never more than 15 inches deep. The exception was a small brown S. haddoni that lived at the bottom of a 30 gal. tall(24") tank with 4-18 watt NO bulbs. I had it for 5 years without any growth no matter how much I fed it. It died in a de-nitrator malfunction that put so much bacteria in my water, the water actually became thick. (My ocellaris pair survived though)

You have to be careful though. For example, 2-20watt NO bulbs produce fewer lumens and have less penetration than one 40 watt bulb. I assume this is the same with PC bulbs. For example: 4-65 watt PCs would be considered minimum for a 65 gal. tank. 2-24 watt bulbs over a 12 gal tank is the same watts/gal but has fewer lumens per gallon. Therefore it doesn't really meet the minimum requirement anymore.

15 years ago I had a 10 gal reef. I couldn't really keep an anemone in it until I got the lighting up to about 10 watts/gal of NO and PC bulbs.

Hope that made sence

 

[sufunk]

Wow, this doesn't seem odd at all. Just an amazing coincidence i guess. Bluecarpet must have really piqued your interest :lol:

 

[coraldude]

its nice to see some good facts,,, most ppl can not tell the diffrence between the carpets, and dont realize there needs,,

in my opion the most inpotant things with carpets is ,, they ***** ship very poorly, they need perfict water and the right lighting,, mostlikely high lighting ...

coralseas

ps sorry about my poor spelling

 

[55semireef]

Yes there has been lots of confusion in the past about carpets and all it was doing to me was confusing me more.

Is it even possible to keep a carpet under 220 watts of PC in a standard 55 gallon tank?

 

[sufunk]

I assume you are not talking about any carpet but a blue carpet in particular?:lol:

 

[BonsaiNut]

I agree with Phil - my experience mirrors his. I have also been keeping anemones over 20 years and find S. haddonis to be one of the easiest of the clown anemones to keep (possibly even easier than E. quadricolor). They respond well to moderate lighting setups, poorer water quality, and even recover well from extensive damage (I had one wrap around an aquarium heater once and almost burn itself in half - and yet it recovered completely).

However do NOT confuse S. haddoni with S. gigantea, even though they look similar. S. gigantea is conversely one of the hardest (if not THE hardest) clown anemone to keep. I have never been successful with the species with anything less than direct, intense MH lighting, and strong water current with high dissolved oxygen. Other carpet anemones can also be tricky - S. mertensii because of its size, C. adhesivum because it also needs bright lighting and is prone to damage. So be certain of your species before you buy.

I have found that S. haddonis can be kept in the same lighting as soft corals and LPS, and brighter light corallimorphs (floridia species, etc). Generally I see if I am successful with these other critters before I try anemones in a tank - primarily due to the size of the anemone and the toxins they can release if they die (again due to their size). An anemone death in a smaller aquarium (like 50 gallons or less) can wipe a tank.

 

[monkeyreefer]

2 other points to mention- clownfish do not help acclimate an anemonie, i had receievd a blue carpet (approx 8 inches across) and it was doing very well, then i added a pair of percs and the two of them beat it to death. Learn from my mistake, no matter what you read, experience is the key.

 

[55semireef]

Sufunk, I know there was issues with another member recently on this board but the mature thing to do is put them aside and let him learn the hard way.

BonsaiNut, so with all your experience, I was just wondering if 220 watts of PC over my 55 gallon would be good enough for a S. haddonis to live in my tank? I don't want it to just live, but to do well. Like I want it to grow and look good, not just sit there and not grow and barley getting by. You know what I mean?

ps-Sufunk, obviously we are two different people
:lol:

 

[phender]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7396324#post7396324 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 55semireef
......Is it even possible to keep a carpet under 220 watts of PC in a standard 55 gallon tank?

Any carpet, no. A haddoni carpet, yes. In fact that is pretty much what I have used to kept most of my haddoni carpets.

But like I said before, as your tank gets smaller, the watt/gallon ratio has to increase to keep the same levels of light.

 

[55semireef]

I thought if your tank gets bigger the watt/ratio has to increase and when your tank gets small it doesn't? Why am I wrong? I am up for opinion.

 

[sufunk]

ps-Sufunk, obviously we are two different people
:lol: [/B][/QUOTE]
Clearly, you ARE the same person. Anyone who has read the threads on here and the other board can very easily see that. I hope you are having fun doing this though as im sure it wont take long for everyone to figure out what is going on!

 

[55semireef]

Wait a second, I think I get what your saying Phender. Bigger bulbs produce more lumens than smaller ones. So 2 24 watt bulbs of PC have the same wattage as a 48 watt bulb but a 48 watt bulb produces more lumens making it the ideal choice insteat of 2 24 watt bulbs right?

BTW, what are lumens?:lol:

 

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7398538#post7398538 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sufunk
ps-Sufunk, obviously we are two different people
:lol:

Clearly, you ARE the same person. Anyone who has read the threads on here and the other board can very easily see that. I hope you are having fun doing this though as im sure it wont take long for everyone to figure out what is going on! [/B][/QUOTE]

What are you talking about? I was referring when Bluecarpet claimed that you and me were the same person. I am saying that you and me are two different people in reference to Bluecarpet's statement. What are you trying to say?

 

[sufunk]

Im not TRYING to say anything. You know EXACTLY what i am saying. You and blue carpet are the SAME person.

 

[55semireef]

Whatever...I am not trying to start an argument. If you think thats true just go ask a mod. IP addresses don't lie. Tell me this, why did Bluecarpet get banned. Go check, it says moved on. Sufunk, you have not made any comments about my thread that is either positive or something that I could benefit from. Please refrain from posting if there is nothing else to be said.

 

[sufunk]

Then why is bluecarpet's screenname 55semireef on the other board. Also, why are you now so interested in carpets and pc lighting just like bluecarpet has. And, why are you hung up on the mistaken belief of watts per gallon just like bluecarpet was??
Thats alot of coincidences!

 

[55semireef]

Coraldude, so would you advise me not to buy one online if they ship bad. I heard once that if you buy the anemone really unhealthy its going to have a tough chance of making it, is it not?

Sufunk, if you want to talk about stuff thats off topic can you just pm me please?

 

[Fishfreak218]

lolol^^^

 

[sufunk]

Yeah, i didn't think you had an explanation for why Bluecarpet's screenname is 55semireef on the other board. After all this time I thought you would at least have a cover story