lights for soft corals

[buckeye]

The tank that I am in the process of setting up is a 29gal. It will have a canopy, and I am planning on having live rock, anemonies, and clowns in it. Are flourescents and actinics good enough? What about watts? Would I need 2 of each (one 15in of each on each side of canopy)?

Thanks!
​

 

[Rcpilot]

I have a 30g tank. It measures 24" wide x 24" tall x 12" front to back.

I am currently using a Power Compact (PC) Fluorescent light. It has a 65 watt daylight and a 65 watt actinic. 130w total. It's enough for mushrooms, zoas and polyps.

I wouldn't DREAM of killing an anenome under these lights. That would be cruel.

I have ordered a nice T5 unit w/ 6 bulbs @ 24w each. I've read that T5 compared to PC is like 2:1, so maybe my 144w T5 will be like having 288w of PC?

Everything I read says that you need a MINIMUM of T5 lightsa for an anenome. That's the bare minimum and you'll probably have to keep it up high in the tank, close to the lights.

Most people say that you really should have a metal halide (MH) light for anenomes. Apparently, a lot of the anenomes that we like in our fish tanks live in shallow waters and are exposed to some extreemely bright sunlight on a daily basis. If they were deepwatyer anenomes, it would be different because the water filters the suns rays. But, since most of these anenomes seam to live in less than 30' of water--the light they have evolved to live with is extremely bright.

A lot of anenomes have a type of algae (zooanthelle ? ) inside their bodies. The anenome gets it's energy from that algae inside it's body. Algae needs intense lighting to grow and thrive.

I've read that anenomes which do not have enough light will do all kinds of stuff to try and get enough light to survive. They will spread out to make a larger "footprint" for light to be absorbed. They will move around the tank to try and find brighter lighting--not good--they sting other corals and inverts.

You really shouldn't even be thinking about an anenome unless you really are an expert and have a very stable tank thats well established.

Read this FAQ about anenomes:
http://www.carlosreef.com/AnemoneFAQ.pdf

I bought an Ocellaris clown recently. I got kids--what can I say? Well, I fancy myself pretty knowledgeable about fishies and my tank is really stable. But, after reading that article--I ain't gettin' one. Not worth the risk to the rest of my reef. I probably have somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000--$1200 in my little 30g tank. $300+ of that is just invertebrates. No way I'll risk all that $$$ just to have an anenome for "Nemo"

Nemo can just hide in the rocks or host in a mushroom colony. :lol:

 

[Rcpilot]

If you're looking for a hard number:

I'd do at least 100w of T5 and that's probably not even enough.

Better would be about 150w of T5 or maybe 100w of T5 and 150--250w of MH.

I'd just forget about the anenomes until you've been successful for a year or more. Anenomes are NOT easy to care for and if they die in your tank--you can kiss the rest of the tank G'Bye. If you happen to catch it within a few hours and manage to suck out the corpse, your tank might survive. But, if a dead aneneme sits in your tank for several hours or all day -- your tank is toast.

 

[Bifferwine]

I agree with RC. You need a minimum of 8 watts per gallon to successfully keep an anemone. And when they get sick or die, they can wipe out your entire tank in a matter of hours.

I had an anemone for a long time, but then it died (a combination of a chemical I used in my tank and it was sucked up into a powerhead, which always seems to happen to anemones). I don't think I will ever have one again. They are too hard to keep alive, they sting everything else in the tank, and they're just not worth the risk.

Definitely hold off on the anemone until your tank has been running for at least 10 months and can get at least 250 watts of lights on there.

 

[bjohanson1234]

I have a 29 Gal, It is 30"L x 12"W x 20"H.

I have this light. 24" Fixture 96 Watts.

T-5 Aquarium Lighting: Nova Extreme T-5 Fixtures w/Lunar Lights

I searched and searched but could not find a 30" t5 fixture. I had to make some mounting braces. I used a Dremel tool to cut 1 1/2 PVC pipe to fit across the tank and to set the legs of the fixture in.

With the canopy on, you dont notice the PVC brackets.

Brian

 

[reeffreak]

4 or 5 rows of T5(HO) with individual reflectors will allow you to be unlimited including the anemone you mentioned.

Very clever Brian.

 

[bjohanson1234]

4 or 5 rows of T5(HO) with individual reflectors will allow you to be unlimited including the anemone you mentioned.

Very clever Brian.

Thanks. I didnt want the unfinished look of a fixture hanging over the edge with the 36". Plus it wouldnt fit under the canopy. I spent about 2 weeks going to the hardware store just looking at different materials to use to make the brackets.

Brian