Clams under t5s?

cmjreef · Jan 9, 2011

How bout 6x54w t5s on a 60x34x12 zero edge tank? Its really shallow, so I figure this should work. Any thoughts? How high would you mount the light system?

skinz78 · Jan 9, 2011

What brand of fixture? Does it have individual reflectors?

Ether or I think you will be fine with adding clams. Just keep an eye on them for bleaching.

I would say you could go up to 12" off the water with the light fixture.

ronnie · Jan 9, 2011

I have a derasa on the sand bed of my 25" tall 120, and the fixture is 10" above the top of the aquarium. I'm running an 8 bulb tek fixture with 4 overdriven bulbs.

Stray32 · Jan 9, 2011

i have had a crocea on my sand bed in a 75 gallon for 2+ years. I have a Nova Extreme 6x T5 fixture.

Ian · Jan 9, 2011

maximas do fine for me under t5s...

GnarleyMarley · Jan 9, 2011

I have maximas, dersas, and corceas all in the sandbed of my standard 90gal under a 8 bulb sunblaze fixture, with all ATI bulbs and all of the have been doing great. BTW I've had the all b/w 6 months to 1.5yrs.

Bubbles_B · Jan 9, 2011

:nerd:I agree with Ian. They do perfectly fine under T5's. Shoot....I have them under 4-39W T5's in my 40 gallon prop tank :xd:

skinz78 · Jan 9, 2011

Yep I have always kept mine under T5's as long as I had good reflectors the have always been fine.

Alpha Aquaculture · Jan 9, 2011

I have a clam in 8" of water with a 6x54w ATI PM 24"above the water. I measure 110 par at the clam. The farm raised maxima is doing great! Just make sure you get your ca, alk, and mg right!

returnofsid · Jan 10, 2011

I've kept clams, under T5HO (Tek5 fixtures) for over 4 years, on the sand bed of 3 tanks. I currently have a T. derasa, T. crocea, T. maxima and T. squamosa on the bottom of a 27" deep tank, and a T. crocea about half way up. This is a 200 Deep Dimension, lit by a 6 and 4 bulb Tek5, for a total of 10X54 watts of T5HO. All clams are doing just great.

cmjreef · Jan 13, 2011

Good to know. I will be putting all kinds of clams in this tank and have never really kept them under anything but halides. What and how often do you all feed? Im assuming adult clams should do fine with little feeding; photosynthesis should take care of most of it. Does anyone think feeding adult clams w/ DTs, etc. has any major benefit when it comes to coloration or health?

skinz78 · Jan 13, 2011

I don't feed my clams a thing except light and fish poop. There is no scientific proof that feeding helps clams.

drainbamage · Jan 13, 2011

I have a crocea in a 22" tall tank, light is a teklight 4 bulb overdriven, sits about 6" above water surface. clam has done great for over a year so far. I tried some baby maxima's a year ago and all three died within a day of each other-haven't tried maxima's since, and given they were tiny (maybe 1" wide) it could have been that, but I'd be willing to give them another shot. I attribute their deaths more to the tank being a ULN system as much as anything.

clarky2120 · Jan 16, 2011

As long as your running good bulbs and a good fixture I don't see any problem. What kind of clam?

Octospek · Feb 4, 2011

this is good to know i was wondering about this as well

m and m · Feb 4, 2011

The lighitn fixture can come from the roof or make a metal brace, on the clam question yes it will do just fine.

aalvarado87 · Feb 4, 2011

i think the clue to keeping high light stuff under t5's is the reflectors correct? Of course having good bulbs plays a factor but i believe top notch reflectors are the key because you need those reflectors to push as much light back into the tank. I have seen many guys be pretty successful with t5's and are keeping everything.

drainbamage · Feb 4, 2011

aalvarado87 said:
i think the clue to keeping high light stuff under t5's is the reflectors correct? Of course having good bulbs plays a factor but i believe top notch reflectors are the key because you need those reflectors to push as much light back into the tank. I have seen many guys be pretty successful with t5's and are keeping everything.

I'd actually disagree with this based upon my armchair research.

I've tested three fixtures against each other- all were 24" and used near identical bulbs (all geismann brand, all within 3 months of age.)
Tested:
4 bulb Current "Nova Extreme Pro" which features individual reflectors, but not an overdriven ballast (I REEEAAAALLLY hate the name on this thing, just sounds like a cheesy infomercial product- It's not just a Nova, it's also extreme! and if you call right now you'll get a free upgrade to the Pro version! CALL NOW!")
2 bulb hagen "Glo-Light" non-individual reflectors, but an overdriven ballast (I knowi t's only a 2 bulb, but please see results. In testing I used a single 2 bulb, not 2-2bulb fixtures)
4 bulb Teklight Individual reflectors, and very overdriven ballast (same ballast used for their overdriven 48" lamps I believe)

Now I know this isn't scientific, and I'm not offering it as such-but it is some empirical evidence that has helped me choose the right light fixture for my purposes.

In order of overall "brightness" the ranking was Teklight > (brighter than) Glo-Light >Nova Extreme Pro
- This was done purely by visual comparison and not conducted with a PAR meter. Lights were all tested on the same tank, a 22" tall cube. I compared overall brightness, and didn't really try and compare detailed areas such as at the bottom of the tank, in a shaded area, etc.

In order of animal reaction to the brightness, the results were the same. LPS's and Z's all open up the most when under the nova pro, while color on SPS's all appeared best under the teklights. Additionally, animals reacted fastest to reopening polyps when under the Nova Extreme.

* So yea, not extreme science, but I would definitley suggest the power of the ballasts is of much more importance than the reflectors. The individual reflector idea is something that makes sense for manufacturers to suggest, as for companies like current, it's much cheaper to provide the individual reflectors than it is to upgrade their electrical components.

And here's pic of the clam under the teklights, it has since been moved to the right side of the tank which is shaded, still looks to be just as happy and has opened his mantle further, though his colors are not as spectacular as they appeared when under the fuller light, but I also attribute this to the viewing angle.
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BlazinNano · Feb 4, 2011

I have a corcea about mid way up my tank and a derasa on the sand under T5s. They look great.

Houston · Feb 10, 2011

You can get away with low light as long as you keep feeding them, if not their color will fade. That's my understanding. I never feed my clams but I have strong light.