Re: Lighting for bubble tip anemone, short tank..are LFS wrong?
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7911372#post7911372 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by courtneyclv
Two of my LFS have said that the lighting I have is good for an anemone. Two coralife 50/50's 60 watt total. They both said that becaues my tank is only 14 inches tall and long, that is good.
Now...I would think they would WANT me to upgrade my lighting because I would be spending at least $200 or more? (and anemones are around $40)
Is this not correct???
I've noticed that your sig line says that your tank is a 78 long, yet you've only given us two measurements for its dimensions of 14x14. So if the height is 14 inches and the depth is 14 inches, what is the width of your tank?
At 14x14x?, that ?i s what, around 48 inches or so?
If you indeed have a 78 gallon tank, and only 16 lbs of liverock and it's only 5 weeks old, you've got a lot of growing and patience to do with this tank before it's ready to hold an anemone.
If I've misread your sig line and your tank is a 14x14 cube, then it's far too small for an anemone to live in. Maybe try something smaller with an anemone look like a frogspawn or hammer coral if that's the case.
Going with the assumption that it is indeed a 78 gallon tank, here's some tips, just my .02.
Your tank needs to mature. Give it at least 5 more months before introducing an anemone.
Your tank needs more liverock. Aim for a pound per gallon, as your liverock with act as a filter to keep your reef healthy and stable and keep your anemone alive.
Your tank needs more lighting. Aim for at least 4 watts per gallon since the tank is shallow. Spend this 5 months of waiting doing some research into the lighting requirements of the anemone that you want and then upgrade your lighting as your tank matures. BTA's and LTA's can thrive under powerful enough powercompact lighting (with your tank at least a 4x65 setup) but carpets and other anemones will require some metal halide lighting, especially the ones that live at the bottom of the tank like carpet anemones.
I'm not trying to bash your LFS here, but no LFS that I visit regularly would ever recomend an anemone to a tank that is only 5 weeks old. I spend a lot of money in my LFS's on food and supplements, but there are some things that I would only buy in an emergency from them like pumps and lighting. Most of the Durable Hard Goods can be purchased online for far cheaper and my LFS guys understand that. But if I was in an emergency situation, I know where I would turn for a pump at 12 noon on a Sunday.
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