joshalicialtjt
In Memoriam
Other than the god awful aiptasia are there any other anemones that can live in lower light situations?
lighting question
- Thread starter joshalicialtjt
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dorm_reefer21
derekpearl
how low?
joshalicialtjt
In Memoriam
3wpg
joshalicialtjt
In Memoriam
i used to do the whole carpet anemone and all that jazz, but probably just looking for a rock anemone or condi or something simple like that.
BIOCUBE UNIT
New member
Well, I had my GBTA stay under PC lighiting (72 watts) in a 29g tank. I later upgraded to the 150 MH, but I cant say for sure that he likes the 150 MH more then the PC that he was under. I think I could have keep it under the PC and he would be doing good to this day.
joshalicialtjt
In Memoriam
ok sounds good i did the whole sps with halide and all that jazz but its just no interest to me anymore. But I think I will more than likely always love anemones so I want to get lighting good enough for something my clowns can host in
You can likely keep a BTA under your current lighting if the anemone is kept within 10 inches of the bulbs, the bulbs are changed out by the 9th or 10th month, there is no acrylic shield between the bulbs and the anemone, and the bulbs are 10,000 K or 6700K. I'm assuming you have PC's. You could have a 1000 gallon aquarium with a 36 watt PC fixture and keep the anemone right under the fixture and still have a perfectly happy anemone. The watt per gallon is deceiving, because it says nothing about the actual amount of light the anemone will be receiving. PC's do not provide much useful light at all below a foot or so. And, actinic light is useless as far as an anemone is concerned. It is only valuable if you like it aesthetically.
joshalicialtjt
In Memoriam
that was incredible information, THANK YOU very much 
Go with BTA's. Dont buy in too much on lighting that people say you need. I have 4x54W T5's(fixture with single reflector) and 2x32W T8(these are overdrivin x2). T5 bulbs are 2 10k white, 1 10k blue and 1 acitnic. T8's are 1 50/50 and 1 6500. I also have glass lids. I've been told I cant do Nem's before, but both my BTA and RBTA have doubled in size since purchase. Both Nems feet are atleast 13" down from glass tops, and lights are 3" up from glass tops. Tank is a 120g thats 60" long x 26" deep. I have no problems with LPS, polyps, and Nems. Just goes to show, you can do some things others would not think is possible. I've got under $200 in lighting, bulbs included. Good luck.
Syno, I tend to agree with you. I think that often times anemones do not have to be kept under extremely high intensity/wattage systems. I do believe that some species require higher intensity than others (H. magnifica vs. E. quadricolor, to illustrate the point), but even in the case of the most demanding species, such as H. magnifica, PC's are just fine as long as then anemone is close to the bulbs and the Kelvin is in the correct range. Though an animal may be capable of adapting to a tank with a 400 watt MH (or whatever) doesn't mean that it is the best choice in terms of energy consumption, heat issues, or even health of the animal. The argument invariably is, "even the brightest lights we have available do not produce any where near the lumens of the sun on a reef." That may be the case, but aquariums are very different ecosystems compared to reefs. Also, some host anemones come from depths and conditions where light can be pretty scarce at times. In aquariums we are providing 10-12 hours of illumination, most likely 365 days a year barring blackouts and ice storms.
