keeping a clam under this lighting
- Thread starter raven898
- Start date
reef-man_d-man
Premium Member
6 watts is plenty the idea with clams however is that they need alotta PAR, I would say if you have them high in the tank they should be fine.
reef-man_d-man
Premium Member
photo synthetic radiation from the lights
You would be fine with a squamosa, hippopus, or derasa clam. Croceas and maximas are VERY risky. Every one I've seen under PC lighting has died, even when other clams and corals thrive alongside them. I wouldn't chance it with them. Derasas can be spectacular...get one of them 
par is how much light will penetrate the water. wattage per gallon isnt a really good way of calculating if it is enough for your tank or not...its the par value that really counts...For example look at LED lights...they give off a lot of light but doesnt penetrate the water that well...so if you have pc light keep the clam as close to the light as you can
PAR has nothing to do with penetration...that a point source vs. a spread source. Actually, LEDs penetrate the water very well since they are a point source (ever see a single LED moonlight illuminate a tank at light..there's surprising visible light!), they just have poor PAR
PAR is photosynthetically available radiation, or, how much light the animals we keep can use. For example, a 400w Iwasaki MH bulb will put out many times more PAR than 400 watts of similar spectrum PC bulbs. That coupled with the point source spectrum means that MUCH more PAR (what the animals care about) get's through the depths of our tanks with lights like MH. Clams crave it!
PAR is photosynthetically available radiation, or, how much light the animals we keep can use. For example, a 400w Iwasaki MH bulb will put out many times more PAR than 400 watts of similar spectrum PC bulbs. That coupled with the point source spectrum means that MUCH more PAR (what the animals care about) get's through the depths of our tanks with lights like MH. Clams crave it!