types of lighting

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chris dahlen

New member
what is the least expensive type of lighting an anemone can live with. i have been told they need the $400.00 metal type, and was also told by a few people they had some with your basic lighting.
Thanks
Chris
 
doesnt have to be a metal halide could use t5with individual reflectors
definetly dont need to spend 400 dollars
but they need intense lighting
 
If by standard lighting you mean Power Compact Fluorescent, there's a good chance that the average aquarist is going to run into problems trying to keep an anemone on these lights. There may be a few exceptions, or the anemone might be okay for a while with them, but usually ends up dieing later.
 
If your using Power Compact Fluorescent's is there a watt/gallon ratio you want to maintain and what type of PC light is needed.

10k, 50/50, Actinic

Many of the Nano tanks these days are coming with the PC lights and people are keeping Anemone in them from what I am seeing but I am wondering if they are all doing the upgrades to lighting of just observing a watt/gallon ration that works.

Example: bc29 comes with 72watt total - 2x 36watt PC's 10k and a Actinic. I upgraded to the 4.36 kit which gives me 144watt total - 4x 36watt PC's with 2x10x, 50/50, and Actinic.

Is this going to be ok for a bc29 tank and hosting an Anemone??
 
The other option for the bc29 tank would be a 70w Aqua Medic 10000K HQI bulb or 20000K available HQI bulb and one 36watt Actinic.

This is less watt/gallon but a HQI which I hear is better. What say you all on these options for lighting a bc29 tank?
 
I'm really not sure that you can get the right intensity of light from a PC fixture...but I guess it has been done.

Don't pay too much attention to wattage...wattage is just the power consumed by a light, it doesn't really have a ton to do with how much light it puts out. I mean yeah, a 65w PC will put out more than a 36w PC, but one 70w MH HQI could be more light than all three of those PC bulbs combined.
 
This depends greatly on what species of anemone you have.

I farm RBTA and GBTA under NO 40W 5000K shop lights. They don't color up as nicely as they would under a higher wattage and Kelvin bulb, but they will double their size in about two months. They also color back up very nicely after 1-2 weeks under higher Kelvin buls. Of course this is only in about 12" of water. If you tried to use NO lights in deeper water, the anemones would be crawling up the glass for more light.

To the other extreme, we can't even provide enough light in an aquarium for anemones such as the Magnificent/Riterri anemone.

There are too many variables to make a blanket statement regarding what light an anemone can "live" under.

You need to research the particular species requirements for lighting and all other parameters before purchasing them.
 
Thank you.

What is a NO 40W 5000K shop light?

Whats the best site to use when doing research. I am interested in carpets.

Thanks again.
 
Ask around right here. Carpet anemones are considered to be some of the more difficult anemones to keep in the aquarium, so make sure you do your homework before purchasing any.

Normal Output 40 Watt shop light at 5000 degrees kelvin, is what that means, by the way.

I'm pretty convinced that if you use NO lights at all, you're killing off the zooxanthellae and gaining size only by supplemental feeding, which is definitely not as healthy for the anemone as feeding it with the proper lighting.
 
Your best bet would be a 150w halide setup, which for the nanos is significantly less than $400. Maybe $200-$300 depending on brand. If you buy the 150w halide early on, you won't be in the constant rat race for lighting performance, as you'll already have the best available. buy once, and buy right.
 
The NO lights work perfect for RBTA and GBTA anemones. They are not lacking in xooxanthellae at all. All of my anemones under NO lighting are a nice dark brown color. If they were lacking zoox. they would be transparent or very light brown.

I am not advocating NO lights for display use, but bubble tips can definately live and be healthy under them.
 
Interesting. Thank you for the info. Since the best I can do with the factory look will be a 70w Aqua Medic do I want to go with a 10000K HQI bulb or 20000K HQI bulb? That will leave me with one 36w PC which I will run Actinic in I guess or would a 50/50 be better for that one?
 
It really does depend on the type of anenome. I have a 20" deep tank with 195 watts of PC lighting and my two BTA (1 green, 1 rose) are doing great. My rose was bleached really bad when I bought it and ran to hide under the rockwork. At one point I thought it was a goner. In the past couple months it has now moved to the top of the highest rock and reaches up at the lights like a radar dish. When I placed my GBTA in the tank it moved about halfway down the rockwork and half the time it is bubbled really nice and the other half its tentacles are long and flowing in the current. My GBTA has grown so much it is starting to take over the tank. :eek1:
 
When you say you have 195watts of PC lighting which types of lights do you have and how close to the water are they?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9054058#post9054058 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by o2zen
When you say you have 195watts of PC lighting which types of lights do you have and how close to the water are they?
Click to expand...

Coralife retrofit kits. They are around 3" from the water surface, maybe less. It is quite a shallow canopy, pretty standard I think for a non-halide setup.

1 65W actinic: on at 6am off at 6pm
1 65W 10,000K: on at 7am off at 5pm
1 65W 50/50: on at 10am off at 2pm

I also have a 6500K 20W home depot flourescent on my fuge during the day, but that doesn't really count for this.

I wouldn't recommend this for most anemone, just BTA seem to have a far lower lighting requirement. My tank isn't that deep 20" (18" above the sand) and my lights are very close to the surface. The anemone are also not all the way at the bottom of the tank. A LTA usually wants to be in the substrate (and higher lighting wants, IMHO) so I wouldn't even think about attempting one under these conditions.

If your at all curious as to how well a BTA can do without Halides check out Anemone's tank: Anemone Tank
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9053550#post9053550 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Duddly01
It really does depend on the type of anenome. I have a 20" deep tank with 195 watts of PC lighting and my two BTA (1 green, 1 rose) are doing great. My rose was bleached really bad when I bought it and ran to hide under the rockwork. At one point I thought it was a goner. In the past couple months it has now moved to the top of the highest rock and reaches up at the lights like a radar dish. When I placed my GBTA in the tank it moved about halfway down the rockwork and half the time it is bubbled really nice and the other half its tentacles are long and flowing in the current. My GBTA has grown so much it is starting to take over the tank. :eek1:
Click to expand...
it is reaching for the light you say why would it need to do this ?????
unless powercompacts are not good enough ahhh now i get it
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9057871#post9057871 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
it is reaching for the light you say why would it need to do this ?????
unless powercompacts are not good enough ahhh now i get it
Click to expand...

Let me clarify. It is not extending itself, no more than 1" at least. It is bubbled up and turns its base, like a dish towards the lights. At night it lays more flat on the rock. I believe it is feeding, but it is not stressing to do so. It has colored up and grown greatly sense I purchased it in a very sad state. Whenever I feed them shrimp once a week they gobble them up in seconds and open right back up. With that said, the smaller one that does this is within 10-12" of the lights where it is more intense.

You can successfully keep a BTA under PC or VHO lighting. I certainly believe Anemone's tank has certainly proven that.
 
the tank i have is a 55 gal. with the single normal flourescent light . which types of anemones would be best and do they make lights that would fit into the 48" light fixture? also, as for fish all we have at the moment is 1 clown, regal tang (had to do the nemo thing for our sons) 1 cleaner shrimp and 1 arrow crab, who took car of a very large bristle worm, which there are still more of.
 
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