Clams in a 55

[angelfishlover]

whats the minimum lighting for clams in a 55 reef?

[kfisc]

depends on the depth- but if you can afford it, go for a 250w halide- good luck-

[angelfishlover]

Can I go 220 PC?

[angelfishlover]

a 55 is 48X13X20

[kfisc]

well, i wouldn't, but that's not to say it isn't done- imho, a 220 pc set up just isn't enough light, even for lower-light tolerating species-

[angelfishlover]

okay, 250 MH it is.

[Peabody]

Smart move. I'd say 175w is the minimum and 250 is ideal. PCs just don't cut it often.

[Ti]

yup I'd recommend the 250.

[angelfishlover]

can I do 2 175 watt?

[Don_Gnomio]

hi nick...lol

how did i noe that u were gonna join here?
lol

yea u can go for the 2X175's

-Victor

[Peabody]

You will need 2 of anything. The bulbs only cover a 2 foot spread.
2x250w is ideal. 1x175 would be ok, but clams would need to be higher up in the tank.

[angelfishlover]

I will probably get 2-175, but I will try to invest in 2-250. Victor, how did I know you would try to make me feel like an idiot. lol

[Peabody]

The price difference between 175s and 250s is almost nothing. You should have no problem.

[Mr.Lizard]

I'm currently running 2 110w 46 1/2 " VHOs (one 10k and one 50/50 with an Ice Cap 660) plus a single 40w NO actinic (all bulbs URI) over my 55g reef (250 total watts) on a slightly longer 'daytime' (14 hours/day main, +/- for dusk and dawn with the NO) and I currently keep several varieties/colors of pocillapora, hynophora, brains, and three clams- one each derasa, gigas, and gold maxima. (see pics in my gallery) They are all growing and thriving!

[Jdubb]

Originally posted by Mr.Lizard
I'm currently running 2 110w 46 1/2 " VHOs (one 10k and one 50/50 with an Ice Cap 660) plus a single 40w NO actinic (all bulbs URI) over my 55g reef (250 total watts) on a slightly longer 'daytime' (14 hours/day main, +/- for dusk and dawn with the NO) and I currently keep several varieties/colors of pocillapora, hynophora, brains, and three clams- one each derasa, gigas, and gold maxima. (see pics in my gallery) They are all growing and thriving!

Do you have any full tank photos with the clams and sps in view? Im just wondering because the photos of your clams, look like they came from barry's@clamsdirect. How deep is your 55g?

I would definetly recommend MH if you plan on getting SPS or clams. I own a 55g tall(36"L), and use a single 250w de. My clams really stretch out their mantle under the extra lights.

My 5" Maxima

[Mr.Lizard]

Yup- Those are Barry photos. My derasa is a little brighter than the ones in the pic and has @ 1/4" of new shell. Barry's camera works a lot better for taking close pics than my cheapo does. (Vivitar ViviCam 3705- 3.3 megapixel ) I'll get some....

[Mr.Lizard]

PS- Tank is a standard 55g- 21" high including frame. (glass- not RR)48" long, 13" front to back.

[Mr.Lizard]

Yee- Haa! Havin' fun now! Had my brother's wedding in Albuquerque- car accident on the way back- and yet I managed to get some crummy pics of the clams- The 'shrooms are @ tennis ball size or slightly larger for scale-

Gold Maxima near the upper right corner, and derasa in lower center below-

[JENnKerry]

Originally posted by angelfishlover
whats the minimum lighting for clams in a 55 reef?

I've kept my Derasa in a 55 for almost a year. Kept under 260 watt PCs. No problems and has also shown some substantial amount of new growth.

[cristhiam]

Nice gigas Mr.Lizard, how big is it? I have one for about 4 weeks and I can see they grow fast about 1/8" of new shell!! I have a Crocea and a maxima. I'm using an Icecap 660 and overdriving 40W NO bulbs and 1 110W actinic. check out my gallery

[Mr.Lizard]

The gigas moved itself near the glass last night, so getting it to hold still for a measurement was easy! LOL The cute little guy's barely over 3". Not in the tank quite 4 weeks yet- starting to show growth.

[cristhiam]

Mine is about the same size, I had to put a shell under to keep him from moving and flipping , he recovered from a plate sting it looked pretty bad when that happened but now is 100% recovered!

[Mr.Lizard]

Looks like we have similar lighting schemes- I have 2 110w VHOs (1 10k, 1 50/50) on an IceCap 660 w/IceCap timer, and a 40w actinic NO (all bulbs URI brand) which does the dusk/dawn thing. 'Fuge/sump with alternate daylight cycle. See my gallery for pics- easier seen than explained! There's a chamber with chaeto, and one with LR/feather caulerpa/mangroves with independent light on both. (basically another bioball/sump unit) Now you see why I call it the reef from hell !! LOL That and the tons of small frags growing out- also sort of visible in the lower pic earlier in this thread.
I tried the shell thing, but kinda gave up since I thought it might be more detrimental to the gigas to keep putting it back instead of letting it do its own 'thing'.
Bad news: since the above pics were taken, my galaxea colony (you can see the edge of it to the far right in the lower pic I posted in this thread) crashed totally except for one polyp, and the gold maxima died a week later....bummer....
Good news: Both other clams going great still !