192 Watt PC too much for a 30 long?

[SlavicSavage]

Just wondering if a 36" 2X96W PC over a 30 long would be too much light. I know i want to keep a pair of maroons, a carpet of some kind, and some clams. I would also love to try and find a healthy goniopora (sp?) specimen to put in there as well but other then that i have no idea what else i might want. Because the tank is so shallow, and because i will have a DSB so there is sand for the clams and carpet could 192 watts be too much light for the inhabitants at such a shallow depth and also could algea will be a major problem even with RO water?

[zooqi]

That is not bad light and it should be fine.

[Python73]

That is more than enough light, but not too much. I have a similat amount of PC over my shallow 50g.

Some advice though...

Skip the carpet, assuming you mean "anemone." They get real big, too big for a thirty if they live at all, which takes a bit of skill in a 30g.

Otherwise have fun.

S !

[piercho]

It is plenty of light.

The Stichodactyla (pacific host capet anemones) genus all grow very large, bigger than your tank's footprint. I keep a M. doorensis anemone with a pair of maroon clowns, myself. That anemone takes up about 18" X 18" of floor space, and it's smaller than any of the carpets. You might want to read Dr Ron Shimek's "Host Sea Anemone Secrets" booklet before you take on a host anemone. It's only about $10 and has some essential information about keeping host anemones.

Goniopora coral are regarded to be a very difficult coral to keep alive. I see a lot of them go through our LFS, regardless. Most of those have been dyed a yellow color to make them more attractive. You might want read Eric Borneman's "Aquarium Corals". It's a relatively inexpensive book, well illustrated, and has good info on each common genus of coral and the relative difficulty of keeping them.

[SlavicSavage]

Where can i pickup that booklet? And what is the smallest tank I could do a carpet in and are there any host anemones for maroons that would be doable in a 30?

[SlavicSavage]

Another quick question, will that be enough light to keep clams?

[SlavicSavage]

Bump

[piercho]

Where can i pickup that booklet?

Anemone Booklet

what is the smallest tank I could do a carpet in

I've never kept a carpet. IMU they all can get large, if fed enough to reach mature size. I'd speculate that a 40G breeder (36 X 18 X 16 deep) would be adequit, but I really don't know. The 40G has no center brace so it could accomodate a single center-mounted MH lamp, if you desired. You might find a single 150W, 175W, or 250W MH fixture to be less expensive than a 2 X 96W PC fixture. FWIW, I don't find my anemone to be that demanding for light. Fairly high water flow and good water quality (low dissolved organic matter, stable pH) are what seem to keep it expanded and feeding best.

are there any host anemones for maroons that would be doable in a 30?

I'd recommend an E. quad (BTA: bulb-tipped anemone). I've seen many Maroon clowns hosted in E. quads in the aquarium. Other advantages of E. quads:
You can get them tank propogated, so you are not removing an anemone from the wild.
They can split in your own tank.
They are a smaller host anemone.
They attach in rock crevices, instead of needing a deep layer of sand like some anemones.
They host the greatest variety of anemonefish in the wild.
They are reputed to be more durable in captivity than other host anemones.

You might also consider trying an easier to keep surrogate host for your clowns. Potential surrogate hosts include Rhodactus (hairy) mushrooms and toadstool leather corals.

will that be enough light to keep clams?

This depends on the lamp spectra you chose, the efficiency of the lamp reflector, and the distance of the clam to the lamp. For white lamps in good reflectors, if the clam is within 12" of the PC lamp, I think you'd have enough light. Blueish lamps have less irradience per watt than white lamps, so you would need to keep the clam closer. I've kept clams for short periods under PC, within 8" of the lamp, and they didn't fade or bleach. In my display tank they are under 250W Iwasaki lamps. White MH lamps are what are generally recommended for keeping Tridacna. Have you read Daniel Knops "Giant Clams", or searched for any of Knop's Internet clam articles? "Giant Clams" gives very detailed recommendations for illuminating a clam tank. IMO it is essential reading before attempting to keep a Tridacna.

[Covenant]

I've never kept tridacna spp. or any sort of host anemone, but I do have a 33 G tank set up with 2x96W pc. Here's my experience with them:

The most light-demanding corals that grew noticeably and kept a bright colour were a pink birdsnest and a pink pocillopora placed within 6" of the lights. None of the acros or the porites I've tried have suvived long enough (due to reasons probably related to the many tank moves I've made, rather than insufficient light) for me to tell, but one acro frag turned from brown to purple, again 6" from the lights, before it passed on.

The pc's aren't as intense as some other light sources (MH specifically), and I doubt they penetrate as deep. How deep is your tank? On the bottom of mine (no substrate), in a 18" deep tank, mushrooms, frogspawn, and caulastrea do extremely well. I hope this helps you to know what will possibly thrive under such a lighting regime.

ps. I don't know what your experience is with salt water, and I certainly don't have the experience and qualifications for any discouragment, but consider carefully your livestock selection... I think both the inverts you've mentioned are difficult to keep healthy.

[SlavicSavage]

I have a lot of knowledge of species needs and experience in taking care of the maintinence on marine tanks due to my experience working in a LFS. However in the LFS we had 2 people on the floor at all times, one for marine and one for fresh. I always did the fresh water planted stuff because that is what i have the most personel experience with. The 30 is 16 inches deep without the DSB so anything in the tank will be no more then 11 or so inches deep. The light i have is the corralife 2x96 watt PC with a 10k and an actinic bulb in it. if i needed to i have another 36 inch regular florescent fixture that will fit on top of the tank giving me an additional 30 watts. If i decided to do that what bulb setup would you reccomend? 96 watt 10k 96 watt 50/50 and an actinic florescent? By the way the piece of Goniopora i have my eye on has been doing extremely well in the reef tanks at my old LFS for over 4 months now which is the specimen i would purchase.

[Ocean Image]

It certainly is not too much. I have a 30 long with (2) 175w 10K AB's and (1) 55W PC actinic 03. Just keep in mind heat issues as you increase total watts or switch to MH's. Personally, I wouldn't keep clams under anything but MH's. Good luck.