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FAQs on Anemones and Lighting, Design & Fixtures
Related Articles:
Anemones,
Bubble Tip Anemones, LTAs,
Cnidarians, Colored/Dyed Anemones, Acclimating
Symbiotic Reef Invertebrates to Captive Lighting,
Coldwater Anemones, Marine
Light, & Lighting,
Related FAQs:
Anemone Lighting 1, Anemone
Lighting 2, Anemone Lighting 3,
Anemone Lighting 4, & FAQs on
Anemone Lighting: Science/Application,
Lamps/Bulbs, Duration, Quality and
Intensity, Trouble/Fixing,
Makes/Models/Manufacturers,
& FAQs on: Anemone
Systems 1, Anemone Systems 2,
Anemone Systems 3, &
Anemones, Anemones 2,
Caribbean Anemones,
LTAs, Condylactis,
Aiptasia Anemones, Anemones and
Clownfishes,
Anemone Reproduction,
Anemone Identification, Anemone
Compatibility,
Anemone Selection,
Anemone Health,
Anemone Behavior,
Anemone Placement, Anemone
Feeding, |
Mmm, the usual choices... el sol, all sorts of flavours of
fluorescents... metal halides/HQIs if your system is deep enough,
the anemone species in question can use this much light... There is
also photoadaptation and auxiliary feeding to take into account |
Anemone lighting 8/23/09
Hi everybody,
I've got a quick question, I'm starting a 55 gallon salt tank and I
wanted to know if MH or 4 t5 bulbs ( in a light fixture) would be better
for a bubble tip anemone. I only ask because I keep getting conflicting
info.
<Either could work, though I would opt for a 6-8 bulb fixture going with
T5s if a BTA is what you are set on keeping.>
If I go t5 what should the bulb ratio be? (white to blue)
<Personally I like three 10000K bulbs to one actinic. Some run 2 to 1
for a bluer look.>
thanks
Aaron
<Welcome, Scott V.>
Lighting for Anemone 8/6/09
Hello,
Sure like this place as you all have been a great help.
<Hello Jeff, thank you.>
I am working on a new 120 gal reef aquarium (48x24x24). I would very
much like to keep an Entacmaea quadricolor (bubble tip) or Stichodactyla
haddoni (green carpet). I know there are a lot of factors that go into
keeping these wonderful animals healthy. I was planning on the following
lighting system: (2) XM 250 watt metal halide 10000K SE bulbs with an
Icecap 250W electronic ballast.
<My personal fave. MH bulb.>
According to Sanjay Joshi each of these bulbs will produce 115 PPFD and
11543 CCT with Icecap ballast. I also plan on putting each bulb within a
Lumenarc III Mini Reflector. Do you think this would take care of the
lighting needs for either of these anemones?
<Oh yes.>
I like both of these anemones. I have to say the green carpet is my
favorite but will not attempt to keep if my lighting is not adequate.
<Your lighting will be fine, but I would still stick to the BTA. It is a
far better choice for many a reason. See:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm
and the linked files above.>
Thanks for the help.
Jeff
<Welcome, Scott V.>
Re: lighting for anemone 8/15/09
Thanks Scott for the help.
<Welcome, sorry for the extremely slow reply here.>
Will follow your advice and go with the BTA. It is not my favorite, like
the green carpet best, but the BTA is still a very nice anemone.
<And a far better choice.>
I do have a question about my lighting. I will not be using a chiller
(wife veto) but will be using six 120mm Syth-S-Flex SFF21D cooling fans.
The air movement from each fan is 33.5CFM with a noise level of only 8.7
dBa per
fan.
<Wow, quiet for the air moved.>
Two of these fans will be placed on the left side of the canopy blowing
air across the reflector. Two more fans will be in the middle of the
canopy blowing air in the same direction. The final two fans will be in
the line with the other fans on the right side of the canopy blowing air
out of the tank. I am thinking the noise level should be low and with
six fans the air movement should be enough to keep everything cool. This
is my hope.
Do you agree?
<I think it is as good a shot as you can have with fans.>
Also with using the six fans, and (2) 250 watt MH bulbs within the
LumenArc III Mini reflector, how many inches above the water should the
bulbs be?
<You can raise these quite a bit and have a good spread. I would aim for
9-12" above the water myself. This too will aid in keeping the water
cooler.>
Want to be close enough to get the max out of the bulbs but high enough
not to make everything too hot.
Thanks so much for the great help.
Jeff
<Welcome, Scott V.>
Re: lighting for anemone
8/17/09
Thanks again Scott,
<Happy to assist.>
I have been doing some research on the Lumenmax Elite. They are about
the same size as the LumenArc III Mini but seem to do a better job. Do
you know about these reflectors?
<Yes, have recently seen a few in action, nice reflectors.>
My tank will be 24 inches high and 24 inches tall. Can I raise them even
higher than the Mini as the light reaches a deeper depth with the
Elites? If so how much higher?
<You could in theory, but the 9-12" mentioned before will be plenty high
enough to keep heat transfer to a minimum.>
Thanks again,
Jeff
<Welcome, Scott V.>
Lighting & Anemones
Hey Bob,
Sweet site. Couple questions:
have a 20 long fine filtration-circulation-water quality etc. Have
in it two Ocellaris and one flame hawk, live rock/sand, and two
sebae (I think) anemones. These were given to me free. I only have a
fluorescent light on the tank, have had the anemones for
approximately a month and feed them silversides once-twice a week.
This is too little lighting everyone says, I know it is, but they
seem to be flourishing. Any theories on why and what I should do or
what kind of light I should get, and if so where is the cheapest I
can get it. Poor college student here :)
Thank you for your time
Jamie >>
<Don't know that I would agree with the "too little
lighting" for your and other species of anemones commonly kept
statement... Have seen MANY situations in the wild where actinarians
were in low light settings... and, um, doing fine. So you can
understand why photosynthesis may not be such a large or consistent
food/source requirement for these "flower animals"... instead, maybe
frozen silversides are a preferred input.... But, I would save up
and add another fluorescent strip light to your array... or look
around in the larger "hardware" stores for a compact fluorescent
retrofit that you could/can easily supplant your current regular
output with...
Bob FennerRe: Lighting & Anemones
One
more thing...when you say another strip light, you mean a normal
fluorescent?? Would that make a difference?
Again thanks for your
time,
Jamie
>>
At the very least, one more normal output
fluorescent... something with a CRI of 92 or higher and a
temperature of 5,000 K or higher... and mark the inception date on
your lamps to remind you when to switch them out/replace them...
every six months or so on a 12h daylight cycle.
Bob Fenner |
Anemone
<<Greetings from JasonC, giving Bob time to prepare
his turkey>>
> Hi, bob. The pet sore here is offering me a maroon
anemone. Can I keep these with my lighting?? 2 x 20 W Trichromatic.
Thanks, Bernd
> <<off the cuff and without knowing anything else
about your tank, I would say no, that is not enough light to keep an
anemone. If you are intent on keeping anemones, you will want to
look into a power-compact [PC] form of lighting and try to step it
up a notch. There is a step beyond this [metal-halide], but the
price, heat, and power consumption are considerably more than PC
lighting.
> As an aside to the anemone itself, I am not familiar
with a "maroon anemone" although there is of course the Maroon clown
[anemone fish] - is this truly an anemone that is maroon colored or
do the folks at the store have a more scientific name for it? There
is a problem with some stores/suppliers that will sell anemones that
have been dyed so that they are all kinds of fun colors. These
colors don't last and they're not really good for the anemone
either. If this is the path you want to head down, do take the time
and educate yourself - it will enhance your experience in the long
run. If you haven't already, give this URL a read:
>
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemones.htm
> Cheers - J -->>
Re: anemone
Hi and thanks for the quick reply. Happy
Thanksgiving to everybody! I don't know what the maroon anemone
looks like. I will find out more when the owner of the pet store
comes. Thanks. Bernd
<<JasonC again, saying: fair enough - a good
place to start. Cheers - J-->> |
Lighting
Anemones
Thank you so much for your help!!
<I am not sure to
who you are referring, but I will definitely forward the compliment. Bob
is out of days for the next few days and Anthony Calfo and I, Steven
Pro, are pitching in and helping to answer the daily questions.>
I
have one more question... in your opinion, do you think for a 55 gallon
that two 30 watt 10000k lights and one 30 watt actinic light would be
enough for a bubble tip anemone and our other two anemones (don't know
what kind they are, not bubbles, small one is lavender and larger is
white with bluish/purplish rouged tips, also two greenish/sorta brownish
sand anemones)?
<Probably not>
All we have is a 36 in long hood
and we added the one light... yep I didn't read about how important lots
of lighting is before we got the anemones. We have room to add one more
light to our current hood. I've seen what I would really like to get: a
set up for two metal halides and two florescent (well one would be
actinic the other regular daylight 10000 k 40 watt type) but don't have
$350 for it :(. I have no corals and don't plan to get any until we
upgrade to a larger system...
with better lighting)
<Actually,
most people find host anemones to be far more difficult than most
corals.>
I want to add a rose bubble tip anemone for the pair of
maroon clowns I want to get someday. Yes btw I do feed the anemones...
usually a piece or two of shrimp that has been soaked in Zoe vitamin
supplement every other day or so. And a piece for the purple spotted
anemone shrimp! Another question on the lighting, is there a way to buy
something from Loews or Home Depot to be able to mount metal halides in
the middle (one on each side of the middle) of our existing hood instead
of buying another fluorescent light mounting system?
<I have seen
people do this sort of thing, but these are not designed for high
humidity environments. It would be best to buy something specifically
built for the aquarium trade.>
Would I need to install a fan as well?
Thank you SO much!!! Again!!
<Take a look at this page,
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bubbletipanemones.htm> Condy anemone
<Anthony Calfo, in your service>
What are the lighting requirements
for a Condy anemone?
<depends on where it was collected, but can be
categorized as moderate to high light>
I bought one yesterday and
currently have a 50 watt bulb on my 125....
<indeed... it would
shrivel and die within months>
BUT, I have 4 Coralife ballasts to put
on my tank if that will help it.
<if they are standard fluorescent
bulbs (40watt?) it will still be too weak for the depth of a 125 gallon
tank. Such lights do not penetrate deep enough. The necessary lights to
keep this anemone will cost 100X the price of the anemone...hehe. Do
need to research before you buy animals, my friend>
He found a spot
near a rock not long after I introduced him into the tank. Would the
Custom Sea Life PC's work, too?
<now we are talking, goombah!>
I
also bought some live phytoplankton for him to eat as well........
<fine zooplankton as much or more please>
Any info would be great, as
I am having a hard time finding info on this anemone.
<not the
hardiest in captivity but popular because they are inexpensive. Best
regards, Anthony>
Thanks,
Kim BTA and MH
I wrote
about my BTA going to the back of my tank. You suggested too little
light. I currently have 3 watts per gallon in my 120 by compacts. I want
to upgrade. I was reading about MH giving off UV rays. Is this a
significant hazard to me?
<No, not really with any commercial model
and proper installation.>
What is the difference between MH grow
lights (fixture) and one I would but from a fish store.
<Some are
very similar, but many industrial units cannot light the aquarium
lamps.>
Doesn't the spectrum come from the bulb?
<Yes>
What do
I need to look for when buying a fixture?
<Sanjay Joshi has done some
comparative studies on fixtures. He has some of his older works on his
webpage. There is a link from WWM. Also, if you have not already read
it, there are some excellent works from hobbyists on the WWM page, too.>
Thanks again! -Becky
<You are welcome. -Steven Pro> Anemone
needs for lighting (and vice versa)
Hello,
I have a FOWLR 55
gal tank that has been set up for about 8 weeks now. All of its
inhabitants are doing great (one yellow tang, one Chromis, one striped
damsel, one flame angel a chocolate chip star and assorted hermit crabs
and emerald crabs. Since I do not have corals I do not have fancy
lighting; there are only three 15 watt fluorescent tubes, one of which
is actinic blue. Do you think that's enough light to have an anemone?
<I am sorry to say, you are not even close, more like 220 watts for a
55.>
If so, which kinds of anemones have the most modest lighting
needs?
<E. quadricolor has the lowest light requirements, but even
they need significantly more light than you currently have. Plus your
chocolate chip starfish is a potential predator of anemones.>
Thanks!
Ana M. Saavedra
<You are welcome. -Steven Pro> A Good Friend
To His Anemone!
Hi, You were correct in your comments about real
sunlight. I thought the anemone was responding positively to attention
from the clownfish, but actually it is the sunlight that makes it happy.
I know this because the clownfish are now in this anemone full time, but
it is when the sun shines on the anemone that it expands and looks it's
best.
<Yep- light is extremely important in anemone husbandry! That
Bob Fenner is one smart guy, huh?>
On days when there is no sun, it
does not look as good. My question is this, I know that most home
aquariums are not the ideal environment for a Heteractis anemone, so I
am doing the best I can for my one including feeding supplements, I just
want to check if I am doing the right thing. Every few feedings I soak
its food in Reef Plus to give it some extra nutrients. Is this a good
idea?
<Not a bad idea to enrich foods for most captive animals>
Also, are there any other supplements that could benefit it?
<Just
the "supplementation" that you will get by engaging in regular water
changes...>
Also, as it responds to sunlight, I am assuming that my
normal lighting may not be enough. If this is the case, are there any
supplements that could help make up for this?
<Just good feeding and
clean water conditions>
Having asked all this, I should just say
that the anemone is currently looking good and has a good rich color,
and has actually improved since I bought it, but I just want to do the
best I can. Cheers
<Sounds like you already are! Keep up the
good work! Regards, Scott F>
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