Magnifica Lighting

[Reefvette]

Ok heres my dilemma i want to get a for my akinydos pair.

It will be in a 30 gallon breeder with lots of movement and just the mag and clowns.

I wanted to know on a tank that is 12.5 inchs high 18 deep and 36 long if a 5 or 6 bulb T-5 mounted on top of the tank will be enought light for a Purple base Mag.

I also have the choice of a a 150 watt DE with two 65 watt actinics.

Also its either the aquatinics tx5 or tek lights 6 bulb.

just lookin for some helpful advice.

 

[Ron Popeil]

well if i had the choice, id probably go with the 150 halide, and place it in the center, directly above the anemone. with the actinics, it should look like a nice set up and work pretty well, as long as the water movement is good.

 

[Reefvette]

T-5

T-5

t-5 lights are around the same in Wattage as well.

I didnt know if the t-5s would be enough

 

[chewie]

Mr. Popeil has about as good advice as anyone else, but if you're going for a species dedicated tank, why not give the H. Mag as much light as possible.

I'd say go for a 400w in a Lumenarc reflector.

H. Mags like LOTS of light too.

Please make sure to anemone-proof all intake screens.

They WILL walk all over the tank until they find the right spot.

 

[Reefvette]

RBTA

RBTA

I have my 12inch RBTA under a 150 MH now.

I have chance to get a purple base mag around 6 inches for free.

I was hoping that i could keep the mag healthy and get rid of the RBTA.

 

[bencozzy]

id say flow is more important for a healthy mag then lighting.

if you have a good flow set up either the 150w setup you have now(right over the anemone) or a 250w would work. thing about mags is they like to have a point source light(spot) over them hints why flourescents just wont cut it.

 

[delphinus]

You're better off going with halides for H. mag than T5's.

It's not a question of whether T5's produce enough intensity - because they likely do. It's more a question of you need a hotspot of lighting to help encourage the anemone to stay in one spot. If the H. mag "believes" it is in a spot where it has the most light, it will stay put. Otherwise, it may want to wander - they have a terrible wanderlust. Two things they are looking for: to be as high as possible, and to be in the brightest spot possible. So, if by moving out of the "spotlight", the anemone would be moving away from bright light, it will want to stay in that spot.

A note about wanting to find the highest spot as well. If the anemone can touch any hard surface that is higher than where it's attached to, it will want to wander in that direction (since it is looking to be as high as possible). This includes other rock structures or the tank glass itself.

So, I'm afraid I kind of question whether that tank size will do for you long-term. To give you an idea how big they can get, for a while I had my H. mag in a 90g and it could easily touch the front and back glass (which were 18" apart). My current species setup for this anemone is 30" cube, which for my specimen was the absolute minimum I felt I could get away with without risk of it finding a tank wall. Even so, on a bright sunny day it comes pretty close to brushing up against the glass if it leans a little.

And be careful about the argument "well I can get it a bigger tank when it gets bigger". When I bought mine it was about 4", maybe 5". It was about 18" within 6 weeks. When they are happy they can grow pretty darn fast! So just be careful about that..

 

[apayne]

I would be wary about having the bta and mag in the same tank, there might be some chemical war fair. My mag took out my haddoni by chemical war fair.

Good luck.
Aaron

 

[JamesJR]

I wouldn't chance a Mag and bta in the same tank if it is 30 gallons. I would personally go with MHs, at least 250s but the 400 luminarcs would really be awesome. Make sure you give it lots of current and make a nice pile right in the center directly under the halide as the magnifica will want to be perched up high under the light.
Good luck.

 

[Slakker]

I would keep the BTA and leave the magnifica to someone with a more suitable setup.

 

[E.J. Coral]

No contest, get the halides.

Also, if this is an estsblished 6" healthy magnifica, then take it .... healthy magnifica are nearly impossible to find! This may be your last opportunity for a LONG time.

Ditch the BTA, they are a dime a dozen and potentially dangerous via chemical warfare....