Is 4hrs of MH each day enough for clams ?

[cuong]

I have a 2" maxima clam under 2x250w 10k and 2x110w vho actinic.

I keep mh on for 4 hrs and 6hrs for the actinic. Is it going to be enough for my clam and some sps corals ?


thank you

 

[Zoalander]

Why do you have such a short photoperiod? You should go 12 hours actinics and 8 hours of MH. 4 hours of MH for clams is way too little and not enough for many other corals. Don't forget that most places these corals are collected from see 14-17 hours of sun.

 

[cuong]

I read in here that a lot of reefers run only 4-5 hrs of intense mh in their reef tank to colour up their sps corals with no adverse effect. I'm just not too sure about clams.

 

[Ti]

I do 4hrs with clams.
They still grow.

 

[XeniaMania]

that's like eating 1 meal a day... IMO

 

[johnvu713]

i'd go at least 6 hrs of MH and occasionaly DT to supplement.

 

[cuong]

Any other inputs ?

thanks.

 

[Ramble On Rose]

Im runing a 5 hour photoperiod with my MH and I have 2 corceas both getting good growth.

 

[isseym328]

I think placement of the clams also have to do with it. If you put the clam a few inches directly under your lighting then I'm sure 4 hours is enough. My clams are not directly under my MH because I have a lot of sps so I give them 7-8 hours of lighting a day to make up for the indirect exposure.

 

[The steven liu]

I don't have a MH myself but I've heard many people do two segments of 3 or 4 hours of lighting with a couple hours of just t-5 or powercompact in between to let the light (and the room) cool down a bit.

 

[Meloco14]

My halides are on 9 hours a day, no other lighting. Your clams and sps would definitely benefit from a longer photoperiod, but will probably still survive with your current photoperiod. If I may ask, why do you only have your halides on for 4-5 hours? Do you have heat issues when they are on longer? IMO your clams and sps would do better with longer lighting, but if you have a good reason why you can't have a longer photoperiod then yes, your clams/corals will survive, but may not prosper to their full potential. HTH

 

[cuong]

Yes heat will be my primary concern, secondary is the hydro cost of running the light longer than it is neccessary. I want my clam &corals to grow and thrive not just surviving that's why i asked to get inputs from the majority of reefers who have had clams.

Thanks for your inputs.

 

[bagedtaco]

5hrs is fine. in my clam tank i ran it 6hrs with 22 clams a mix of crocea and maxima's with no issue. i did run the actinic vho's for 12hrs.

i'd just up the vho lighting and feed dt's every other day and it will grow like a champ. make sure your Ca, Mg, and iodine are at the right levels and you'll have no issues.

i'm currently running my mh lights for 5hrs with 14hrs of actinic vho's and my coral growth and coloration is fantastic. ooo and the clams are doing great too.