PC + clam = good?

[rbenz]

Would 220 watts of compact fluorescent lighting be enough for a 55 gal. tank? Sorry if this is a newb question.

 

[firechild]

PC + clam = murder

Of all the hundreds of clams I have seen in the wild, all but a few Tridacna gigas have been in the top 5-6m. This equates to light intensity levels exceeding any lighting except MH. Under lower light (VHO and PC) the edge of the mantle begins to bleach and this is not easy to overcome like partial bleaching of corals.

 

[Legion]

thats about 4 WPG,,,I have seen Derasas and Squamosas do not only well but thrive under intense v.h.o. lighting, but as stated above never seen IME good p.c. results especially with that low of wattage. Halides and v.h.o. here above my 75 (not fond of p.c. myself)



P.s.-even the v.h.o. only setups that ive seen them thrive in were upwards of 6-7 WPG

 

[rbenz]

How many watts should i be looking for?

 

[Legion]

It really depends on what type of clam you are planning on getting,any ideas?

 

[firechild]

Watts per gallon means absolutely nothing.
A point source (MH or MV) has intense light that penetrates deeper into the water. Linear sources (any type of fluorescent lighting) produces light over a greater area and therefore low intensity at any point in the water.

 

[RonN]

Have had some clam under PC for 3 years and growth and color appear to be very good. Clams in about 15" from the lights.

 

[rbenz]

firechild,
So watts don't matter as long as its MH?

Legion,
I want to be set for all types of clams maxima, squamosa, etc.

RonN,
How many watts is your PC and what types of clams do you have?

 

[Legion]

Watts per gallon means absolutely nothing

Im not going to argue with you about this because I agree and dont at the same time.



The point is rbenz IME & IMHO you do not have enough(and more importantly the right kind) of lighting for Maximas, Croceas, Derasas, etc....More power to anyone who is able to do so under p.c. lighting, but personally I just would not do it. I have seen plenty of thriving Derasas & Squamosas under intense v.h.o. but thats about it. Halides are expensive and out of reach for many sadly. Theses lightning systems however are the best for keeping clams healthy. IMO-im a bit biased though I have Halides

 

[rbenz]

So how many watts of MH would you folks recommend for a 55 gal. newb reef tank?

Would MH alone be okay or do i need to combine it with pc, vho or regular fluorescent?

 

[Josh125]

Hi,

Haha, welcome to the wonderful world of lighting! If you are going with clams, get as much MH light as you can fit over the tank, you can't have enough!

For a 55, I would probably go with a dual 250HQI setup. There are a couple of really nice setups that come with actinics...but they are pricey ( aquaspace ). The actinic would really only serve as dusk/dawn as the MH will drown it out for sure.

HTH

 

[Legion]

I will tell you what I have on my 75 gallon. 2-175 watt 10k halides and 2-110 watt v.h.o. actinics theres 2-55 watt actinic p.c.'s up there as well but I prefer the v.h.o.'s for actinic, so have considered replacing the p.c.'s with another 110 v.h.o., been running this light system for over 2 years now with no problems at all. Something similar to this would be good for your tank as well. Theres really alot of different bulb(watt) & (kelvin) combos out there to decide on(and everyone has a opinion on which ones the best). Some are much more expensive than others though as you will see.

 

[rbenz]

Have you folks heard of the expression money is no object? Well that does NOT apply to my situation. Unfortunately.

 

[holeinone1972]

rbenz, as you can see, everyone has an opinion. Clams may be kept under power compact light. Metal halides are better, but pc will be ok. Now I would suggest more than 220 watts of pc. Maybe another 100 watts of pc and I would think you would bo ok. I have kept both Maxima's and Crocea's under pc. I did have 400 watts of pc, and the clams were placed very high. I think you would be find for a Squamosa though. I would still place in rockork in upper half of tank. Feeding DT's phytoplankton would be a good idea also. Best of luck, Rob

 

[firechild]

u could quite easily get away with 2x150W DE MH and keep croceas and/or maximas in the upper half of the tank (but try to keep them directly under the bulbs). If you went for 250W then you could keep any clams you wanted.

 

[gregt]

I would agree that 220watts of PC over a 55 is not quite enough, but MH's are not required. I have an extremely healthy clam that has shown excellent growth and perfect health for about a year and a half under VHO lighting.

 

[rbenz]

gregt,
How many watts of VHO do you have and what size is your tank?

 

[Legion]

rbenz,

IMHO if I was going to go with strictly v.h.o. which I said before can be done, I would go with about 440watts. That would be plenty for a Derasa or squamosa, Possibly a crocea or Maxima(If up near the surface.

 

[gregt]

rbenz,

For most of it's life, I've had the clam about 3" from the surface of the water under 420watts in a 180 gallon tank.
<CENTER><TABLE> <TR> <TD COLSPAN = 4><CENTER><IMG SRC=http://www.saltyzoo.com/180/sz020421_1304_69-cpcba-640.jpg></CENTER></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD COLSPAN = 4><B>SZ020421_1304_69-cpcba</B></TD> </TR> </TABLE><TABLE CELLSPACING=20><TR> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180&name=sz020421_1304_69-cpcba-320>320x240 (16.0K)</A></TD> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180&name=sz020421_1304_69-cpcba-640>640x480 (43.0K)</A></TD> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180&name=sz020421_1304_69-cpcba-800>800x600 (81.0K)</A></TD> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180&name=sz020421_1304_69-cpcba> (162.0K)</A></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <BR> <TABLE><TR><td align=center><a TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?urlStr=/180><img SRC=http://www.saltyzoo.com/buttons/home.gif border=0></a></td> </tr></TABLE></CENTER>
<CENTER><TABLE> <TR> <TD COLSPAN = 4><CENTER><IMG SRC=http://www.saltyzoo.com/180/sz020422_2106_77-cpcba-640.jpg></CENTER></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD COLSPAN = 4><B>SZ020422_2106_77-cpcba</B> - clam</TD> </TR> </TABLE><TABLE CELLSPACING=20><TR> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180&name=sz020422_2106_77-cpcba-320>320x240 (16.0K)</A></TD> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180&name=sz020422_2106_77-cpcba-640>640x480 (52.0K)</A></TD> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180&name=sz020422_2106_77-cpcba-800>800x600 (103.0K)</A></TD> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180&name=sz020422_2106_77-cpcba> (441.0K)</A></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <BR> <TABLE><TR><td align=center><a TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180&name=SZ020421_1304_69-cpcba-640><img SRC=http://www.saltyzoo.com/buttons/left.gif border=0></a></td> <td align=center><a TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?urlStr=/180><img SRC=http://www.saltyzoo.com/buttons/home.gif border=0></a></td> </tr></TABLE></CENTER>

It is currently on the sandbed (about 19" from surface) under 560watts of light. Here's what it looks like on the sandbed:
<CENTER><TABLE> <TR> <TD COLSPAN = 3><CENTER><IMG SRC=http://www.saltyzoo.com/180/critters/020910/gt020911_0753_05-cp-am-512.jpg></CENTER></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD COLSPAN = 3><B>GT020911_0753_05-cp-am</B> - Happy as a Clam</TD> </TR> </TABLE><TABLE CELLSPACING=20><TR> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180/critters/020910&name=gt020911_0753_05-cp-am-1024>1024x768 (125.0K)</A></TD> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180/critters/020910&name=gt020911_0753_05-cp-am-512> (43.0K)</A></TD> <TD><A TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180/critters/020910&name=gt020911_0753_05-cp-am> (374.0K)</A></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <BR> <TABLE><TR><td align=center><a TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180/critters/020910&name=GT020910_1906_07-cp-am-512><img SRC=http://www.saltyzoo.com/buttons/left.gif border=0></a></td> <td align=center><a TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?urlStr=/180/critters/020910><img SRC=http://www.saltyzoo.com/buttons/home.gif border=0></a></td> <td align=center><a TARGET=_blank HREF=http://www.saltyzoo.com/Photo.jsp?urlStr=/180/critters/020910&name=GT020911_0752_01-cp-am-512><img SRC=http://www.saltyzoo.com/buttons/right.gif border=0></a></td> </tr></TABLE></CENTER>

When I upgraded my lighting the clam was actually irritated by the extra light and was moving around until I moved him to the sandbed. He hasn't moved an inch since and is still doing very well.

Ok, that all said, let me add that an important key was how high in the tank I kept the clam. Also, I don't think more light would be a bad thing. Every clam is different and not all will do so well as this one has under relatively low lighting.

 

[Legion]

Bravo Greg,

Thats a beauty, you can see the new growth on it.Very very nice!!!:thumbsup: