T-5 Tek Lights And Clams

[ernordstrom]

I want to get a clam but I want to ensure my lighting is adequate, I have a T-5HO TEK LIGHT 24W X 4 setup, tank is 8 inches tall. What kind of clams can I keep with this setup? Am I only limited to Deresa's or Squamosa? Has anyone had any problems keeping other clams with a similar setup? Thanks for the help.

 

[Opcn]

T-5's are pretty powerful, infact, the general oppinion seems to be shifting in favor of T-5's over MH for intensity, are we talking about the 37 gallon oceanic here?

 

[ernordstrom]

yep

 

[Ti]

the 24 are a bit low compared to the punch of the 39w and 54W.
Worse comes to worse, keep it up on the rocks.

 

[ernordstrom]

Sorry I don't agree with you Ti , the only reason the 39w are more wattage is because of the bulb length 36" vice 24" not the intensity of the bulb itself. In other words the 39w will light 36" 18" deep just as well as 24w 24" 18" deep. Make sense ? Anyways what kind of clams can I keep? and would it be okay to keep em on the sand, with a piece of rock beneath them for them to adhere? Are their any T-5 users with a comparable setup to mine keeping anything other than Deresa or Squamosa species. My wife really wants to get a clam but I want to make sure I am not going to kill it and I don't want it to just live in my tank I want it to be happy...need some info please... thanks !!

 

[ernordstrom]

tank is 18" tall by the way, first post was a typo

 

[Ti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6707680#post6707680 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ernordstrom
Sorry I don't agree with you Ti , the only reason the 39w are more wattage is because of the bulb length 36" vice 24" not the intensity of the bulb itself. In other words the 39w will light 36" 18" deep just as well as 24w 24" 18" deep. Make sense ? Anyways what kind of clams can I keep? and would it be okay to keep em on the sand, with a piece of rock beneath them for them to adhere? Are their any T-5 users with a comparable setup to mine keeping anything other than Deresa or Squamosa species. My wife really wants to get a clam but I want to make sure I am not going to kill it and I don't want it to just live in my tank I want it to be happy...need some info please... thanks !!

Whether you agree with me or not
Check Grim reefers par meter data with the T5 on his T5 thread.
His results will verify what I have said.
There is a par difference between the wattages.
Deresa and squamosa will be fine, for corcea and max, you might have to put them on the rocks.

 

[Opcn]

I've got a buddy with a 37 and we are having apain lighting it, its a good tank for FW breeding but horrible for marine IMHO, Derasas or squamosas are your only tridacna options really, the 30" long tank doesn't lend itself well to non MH-lighting, any way you can fit a few more bulbs into your setup? 4 doesnt seem to me that it would be enought, althought you're up around 100 watts at that depth you loose alot out the sides of the tank, and squamosas and derasas can hate living on the rocks, they are sand clams.

 

[ernordstrom]

if you took that 39w light and covered up all but a foot of the bulb and did the same with a 24w light you will get the same par reading. the only reason it is 39w is because of the length, does this make sense ? Anyways I am not going to try and convince you but I do appreciate the info guys. I was going to start out with a deresa or a squamosa anyways but I just wanted to know what I was limited to. In case my wife sees something she wants at the LFS.... thanks all and if you have any more insight please feel free....

 

[Ti]

I guess you didn't look at grimreefers par data and how he did his readings.
Either way, like I was saying worse comes to worse you would have to move it up the rocks.
I never told you it wasn't possible for yo uto have a clam.

 

[roons]

i have 8 bulb 54w, i had to move my 2 croceas up from 18" below light to about 12" to stop them from bleaching.................

 

[ernordstrom]

Ti,
I looked throught the T-5 post and couldn't find anything specific about the par readings at all. Anyways I am thinking of just getting a Deresa today at my LFS. They said they have a couple in, thanks.

 

[tangey]

Ernordstrom,
IMO you don't have enough light to house a clam. You might be ale to get away with a deresa or maybe a squamossa. But are you planning on housing these for life? I would bet your clam doesn't make it past a year. If i does live it won't grow. So either way you look at it the clam won't be happy. But good luck. Who knows maybe you will get a good one that doesn't like tons of light like most clams do. Good luck and keep us posted on how its doing

 

[Rothie]

Ti-
Do you have a link to this thread?

Check Grim reefers par meter data with the T5 on his T5 thread.

 

[Ti]

ernordstrom: There is more than 1 T5 thread by the grimreefer.
It's buried in the site archives by now, gotta search it up.
as usual the search isn't workng at the moment.

 

[Opcn]

if you covered all but twelve inches of the 24 and all but twelve inches of the 39 you would get the same intensities, however in the middle you are still getting some light off of those four extra inches on each end that will help you meet your clams needs.

 

[ernordstrom]

Opcn,
I am not sure what you mean but my Tek lights fit over my tank just fine. I was using the covering all but 12 inches as an example to measure comparable par values from either a 24 w T-5 bulb or a 39w t-5 bulb. Not that I am using just 12 inches of my lighting...Anyways I got my clam and he seems happy thus far. I went to my LFS and got a squamosa for $29 and it actually turned out to be a gigas. He is about 4" right now . He looks like this one....for $29 I think I got a good deal.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?ddid=5410&siteid=20

 

[tangey]

good luck

 

[ernordstrom]

Thanks tangey. Here is a pick of the new clam...I'll keep everyone posted on how he is doing and growth...if any.


<img src="http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/68152IMG_0460.jpg"

 

[critterkeeper]

So, you bought a clam that can grow almost a half inch a month, can reach 4 feet in length and weight 750 pounds, and you put it in a 37 gallon tank...