Lighting Requirements for Tridacnids

[hahnmeister]

Clams arent as picky as some people make them out to be.

The rule of thumb was always "needs lots of light" because they are usually kept in tanks with halides, yes. But often, they are on the sand anyways, and years ago when that standpoint was developed, sure, it took alot of watts to get the light needed.

Now we have better reflectors, more efficient bulbs (and in many bluer colors), and better ballasts. Yet we still think they need alot.

Okay, so I have been doing PAR readings of clams for a while now in fellow reefers tanks. I found that a vast majority of maximas and croceas are in only 100-130 MicroMol/m2/s intensity light, and doing awesome.

Can they take more? Of course. But do they need it?... no. Sure, they were kept in tanks with high-intensity, but that doesnt mean they are kept themselves in that high intensity light. They are often in the sand. Considering how crappy reflectors were 6-10 years ago in this hobby, I would imagine it would take alot of light to get that 100-130 down on the sand. Now though... its easy. T5s can easily do that.