purpletang26
New member
can anyone tell me why clams are losing their color, i have alot of light and they are all open but color is fading. Anybody Know
water permiters are normal
water permiters are normal
my clams are losing their color
- Thread starter purpletang26
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clowninaround74
New member
i know some people say that you dont need it but try adding some phyto to the tank. It might help them get some extra nutrients and get their colors back.
purpletang26
New member
well i feed dts phto on wed and feed oster eggs on sat. the clams are on the sand bed and they are crocias. i have (4) 36inch units
each unit has (2) 400w 20k with (2) 96w blue. leave the metal halides on only 6hrs a day and the blue stays on 9.5 hrs. my parms are normal, ph 8.1-8.3 temp stays around 78-80 do 50gallon water chages every 2 weeks and have a ton of carbon in the sump.
each unit has (2) 400w 20k with (2) 96w blue. leave the metal halides on only 6hrs a day and the blue stays on 9.5 hrs. my parms are normal, ph 8.1-8.3 temp stays around 78-80 do 50gallon water chages every 2 weeks and have a ton of carbon in the sump.
a4twenty
Premium Member
clams get their color from the hosted zooxanthellae algae found in their mantle. if the clam is not receiving enough light to support the zoox they will begin to lose it and the clam will slowly starve to death.
20k bulbs have about 1/2 the PAR of a 10K bulb at startup and lose their PAR at a much faster rate. it is recommended to replace 20K bulbs every 6 months while 10K bulbs last up to a year with a much greater initial and ending PAR. the ability of these lights to penetrate at depth is quite bad and the crocea clam requires the most light of all the clams commonly kept in this hobby. your photperiod is to short also, the clams are getting next to nothing from the 96w blues and only 6 hours of sub PAR blue light.
some things to try:
1) move the clams up higher in the tank.
2) increase your photo period ( i use 10 hrs for my halides )
3) consider changing your lights to 10K ( or maybe even 14K )
4) increase the phyto dosing ( this may help the clams recover but cannot replace good strong light )
HTH
20k bulbs have about 1/2 the PAR of a 10K bulb at startup and lose their PAR at a much faster rate. it is recommended to replace 20K bulbs every 6 months while 10K bulbs last up to a year with a much greater initial and ending PAR. the ability of these lights to penetrate at depth is quite bad and the crocea clam requires the most light of all the clams commonly kept in this hobby. your photperiod is to short also, the clams are getting next to nothing from the 96w blues and only 6 hours of sub PAR blue light.
some things to try:
1) move the clams up higher in the tank.
2) increase your photo period ( i use 10 hrs for my halides )
3) consider changing your lights to 10K ( or maybe even 14K )
4) increase the phyto dosing ( this may help the clams recover but cannot replace good strong light )
HTH
14k will still give you a nice slight blue and i have been able to keep my clams for 1 year with the 14k hamiltons before they need changing, althought i think i should change them at 9-10 months, but if there losing color it might be getting to be to late if something isn't done soon
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