Lighting my RBTA

[flanders]

Just installed a RBTA and he is starting to look ok. But I hear conflicting information on lighting him. I bought him with the understanding that my 3.5 watts per gallon should be ok.

I have 250 watts of PC lighting 50/50 blue and 10k

The anemone is currently 4 inches from the light source

I can upgrade to http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/me ... rOrbit.htm

(the 48” version)

but I would rather hold off if a can till October for financial reasons

 

[Jolieve]

Rose BTAs really need metal halides to thrive. The green btas seem to do all right under pc's, but IMO, it's not a good idea to keep anemones under anything less than halides.

Your rbta.. *might* live under the pc's, but I wouldn't expect to see it grow quickly and I would plan on having to feed it to keep it healthy, probably on the magnitude of every two or three days at minimum.

J.

 

[Reefer_man]

I have a RBTA under the same lighting in a 60 gallon reef. I placed him near the center of the rockwork in hopes that he would like the lighting. He has moved slightly lower but is thriving well. I am feeding him silversides every 3 days or so. He also captures some pieces of formula one when I feed the rest of my fish. It has only been a week, but he was the size of a baseball in the LFS's tank and now he is bigger than a softball when fully opened. I know everyone says "only under halides" but he seems very happy at the moment. Hopefully it will stay that way. Are you feeding your RBTA? if so what are you feeding?

 

[flanders]

just put him in 2 days ago and havent fed him anthing other then some brine shrimp i put in the tank for the fish.

i can get him some silversides tonite.

 

[WRASSER]

Under PC 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Reefer Man, In one sentence you state that it is thriving. Then you say you've only had it a week. How do you know it's thriving? I bought one the size of a baseball and when I got it home, it was 12" and not even fully expanded.

Flanders you were told in the first thread where you asked about this, that you didn't have enough light. And it's been mentioned in more threads than I'm willing to link to, that anenomes need stronger lighting.

Wrasser, your's is up on the glass and looking slightly pale. BTA's aren't pale, they have very rich and vivarant colors and they like to have their foot in the branches of corals, in crevises or in holes.


As an aside.
I've got a bta of unknown color that was given to me to use for the build off. It's bleached and it's pretty much just a foot with an oral disk on top. It didn't even have any tenticles. It came from a tank with pc lighting. I've had it corraled in a fish breeder for about a month now, under 250w mh. It's starting to color just a tad and now has a couple tenticles starting to reappear. That has happened because of light, poor lighting = poor health, good lighting = a better chance at survival and thriving.

 

[cjsrch]

Rose BTAs really need metal halides to thrive. The green btas seem to do all right under pc's, but IMO, it's not a good idea to keep anemones under anything less than halides.

Your rbta.. *might* live under the pc's, but I wouldn't expect to see it grow quickly and I would plan on having to feed it to keep it healthy, probably on the magnitude of every two or three days at minimum.

J.

BS wtf is this BS need mh no
mh is not needed. vho will do perfectly for these. they run cooler and put out the samww light. i know this will be argued but there is no reason to. mh only look brighter becasue they are a small point source. same with pc they only look brighter.

now who ever arguse this with me needs to have there acount on hold while they do some research.

one reason the myth that mh are needed is that people with pc or vho are trying to save money and end up not doing as much maintance as people with mh who invest alot of cash. and take care of it as they shold.

i cant belive the ignorance the internet allows to spread.

weall love garf right. well they favor vho could it be the y actualy did research.

many epople claim research but really only are going to sales sites. i worked a a lfs and they pushed mh like crazy why be cause it cost more. what did everyone sue on there tanks at home? pc or vho


also vho need replacing every 2 years and can be dimmed.

( forgive typeing in on lap top and its wierd positioned)

 

[cjsrch]

mh is king and vho is queen and we all know the queen is always the ruler

 

[Jolieve]

I'm not pushing mh because it costs more. I'm pushing mh, because I believe that Rose Bubble Tip Anemones are more demanding in terms of light conditions than the standard green BTA. I have seen anemones that have been "thriving" under pc's or less and these animals bleach quickly, close up and never look healthy, even with regular supplemental feedings.

I do believe that you can keep other anemones under VHO, but certainly not under power compacts in the long term.

J.

 

[cjsrch]

what about the newkid on the block. t5

oh heres somthing many people dont know. t is thediamiter. t1 1/8 inch t2 2/8 inch t8 1 inch (8/8th inch) t12 12/8th inch.

did you read what i said about the vho people. and pc people.. pc are usualy tightwads or newbs along with the vho. then they upgrade to mh as they learn more. if you guys switched back to vho ( thoe htat use mh) i gurentee that you will be happy

 

[Jolieve]

You'd be wrong. My crocea clam and my sps corals would die for lack of light.

J.

 

[cjsrch]

PROVE IT!

 

[Jolieve]

http://www.reefcorner.com/Manual/sps_coloration.htm

Go do your own google search and read more for yourself.. and pull your head out of the stone age.

J.

 

[cjsrch]

why the ffffheck are you so rude? stone age. nothing about vho is stone age. knotice how florecents are always getting better while mh are at a stand still t5 is awsome and grows sps better tehn any mh tank i have seen, ( vho t5 that is)

 

[cjsrch]

btw lets not fill this fourm with this stuff as we are getting now where ( start a new thread )

 

[flanders]

Flanders you were told in the first thread where you asked about this, that you didn't have enough light. And it's been mentioned in more threads than I'm willing to link to, that anenomes need stronger lighting.

yea i dont meen to spam the boards with the same question.. but as you can see you get many diffrent answers... and im hoping to grab a few more opinions before i make my final lighting choice....

thanks for your help

 

[ChrisRD]

why the ffffheck are you so rude?

Well, when you start saying things like...

BS wtf is this BS need mh no
mh is not needed.

...it doesn't promote civil conversation. Having differing opinions is fine, but keep in mind that we're all here to try to help each other out - this is supposed to be fun and educational. Let's try to keep it that way. :wink:

As for the debate about fluorescent vs. halide lighting... ...I agree that VHO, PC, T-5, are fine for reef lighting in many cases. Being diffused light sources, however, they will never be able to achieve the irradiance levels or penetration into deeper tanks that some of the higher wattage halide systems can. It's really not an opinion - it's simple physics. The heat/efficiency misconceptions you have stated above regarding fluorescents vs. halides are common ones and if you do a search on the board here those topics have come up repeatedly - you'll find some detailed explanations.

There are few absolutes in this hobby and many, many variables, so almost any point can be argued, but there are many experienced hobbyists who will tell you that any anemone will do better under halides. These are people who have used both VHO and MH and speak from years of experience. The same advice is generally given for certain species of coral, Tridacna clams, etc. Experienced hobbyists are not the only people you'll find making those recommendations - many quality vendors, authors, etc. will as well. It's not a conspiracy by lighting manufacturers or LFSs to sell expensive lighting - MH is popular for a reason.

 

[WRASSER]

LOL that is the camrea not the BLTA, she is as pink as can be. These anemones are famous for climbing, I have over 4.5 watts of PC in my 55, my maroones are laying eggs and everyone is happy :wink:

 

[ChrisRD]

These anemones are famous for climbing

Especially when they're looking for more light. :wink:

 

[WRASSER]

LOL, possibly, but doubtful since it walk there the first NIGHT i put it in the tank. If 5 watts per gallon 8) isnt enough on a 55 gal. tank, then i am really lost 8)