Clams Lighting - 8/19/03 Hello there, <Hello from California> WWM makes sourcing for information on Marine creatures so much easier for me.  Great site! <Thank you kindly> I've read through the FAQs on Clams, but I haven't been able to find out how much lighting I would need if using T5s. <not familiar with TSs. Enlighten me, please> I was wondering roughly how much light I would need to keep lets say, T. Maxima and T. Derasa in the upper 1/3 of a 3 x 2 x 2 tank? <I assume this measurement is in feet? That would make this roughly 90 gallons> I am currently using 2 x 39W Aquablues from ATI which is 60% actinic and 40% white...<Not nearly enough, but again I am not familiar with your lighting scheme here> I know this is grossly insufficient if I base it on the watts per gallon rule, <Not all about watts per gallon> so I would like to supplement the lighting. <Are you able to get your hands on halides or equivalent? This seems to be the light of choice for Maximas and Derasa clam keeping.> Question is how much more do I have to supplement, and which type of lighting would be more relevant for clams?  10000k or Actinic? <Brighter of the two but I would try to keep both. They both service different parts of photosynthesis to a degree. Read about lighting invertebrates, not necessarily only about clams. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marlgtganthony.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marcanopies.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/lighting/faqs1.htm (these are good starts).  Also, I have a friend in the clam business... Barry Neigut. Check out his site at www.clamsdirect.com He is a great resource for information (kinda got his start here). Sign up for his forums, send him email, call him even. He is a super guy and very helpful. Tell him "WetWebMedia sent ya!" -Paul out!!> Thanx!  Zhuomin (Singapore)

Feeling Clammy (Lighting For Tridacnids) I am in search of a little help, and even with various research materials... books, word-a-mouth, and your website, I still feel clueless. <That's perfectly all right...I feel that way on a regular basis! Scott F. here today!> I have a 13 month old "established" reef in a 50 gallon. Quite a few fish, quite a few corals... all has been going well. But I recently stumbled upon a Maxima clam that I thought was gorgeous. Being a "smart" reefer, I wanted to research before an impulse buy. I currently have a Coralife lunar Aqualight double linear PC fixture, altogether 260 watts. Would this be sufficient for a Maxima clam, or any other clam for that matter?. I think they are neat to watch pulse, but I definitely wouldn't think it would be neat to watch one die due to my insufficient lighting. Thanks for all the help <Well, I think it's great that you've done your homework! Lighting can be a subjective issue among reefer, but there are some basic concepts regarding lighting and clams. In my humble opinion, intensity is extremely important with these animals for long-term success. Sure, they can be kept under PC lighting, and have been kept successfully this way by many hobbyists. However, careful attention must be paid to the proximity of the animal to the light source. In other words, if you are using light intensities that are lower, you'd need to place the animal higher up on your "reef" structure to get maximum intensity. Another thought is that you would be well advised to compensate for lower lighting by increasing nutrition, in the case of those species which feed. In the end, I think the best long-term strategy would be to employ metal halide lighting, as it provides the most "bang for the buck", IMO. Hope this helps! Regards, Scott F.> 

Tridacnid Lighting and Small Water Volumes  Hello, I love your site and how detailed it is. <Hello and thank you.> I am planning on putting a 24 gallon cube tank in my office. I was hoping to add maybe one or two light intensive animals a bubble tip anemone or a lower light clam. <Well as I'm sure you know maintaining either in such a small water volume is going to be a difficult task. I would leave out the anemone as most will grow to large for this tank as well as harm/sting other sessile invertebrates like your proposed clam. As far as lower light clams, all that fall into that category (that are readily available), T. squamosa, T. derasa, T. hippopus all get well over 12' in length.> When they get bigger I was planning to move them to my larger 55gal <Ok that would work.> but in the mean time I'm trying to determine what is my best lighting course of action. Stock the cube comes with 32w daylight and 32w actinic PCs, obviously this will need upgrading. My current choices are between adding an additional 64w of daylight PCs or a 70w HQI probably at 14,000k. Are either of these choices acceptable for these critters growth? <Either will be acceptable for juv. Clams of the species listed however a few other concerns should be adjusted. Both of these lighting systems will significantly increase the heat on the system and thus the evaporation. So daily or automatic top-off should be a priority. Tridacnids also need a very stable environment so bi-weekly water changes to combat dropping calcium levels and raising nutrient levels are a must.> The PC is the cheap option the MH significantly more and I don't know that a 70w fixture is strong enough anyway. Any thoughts? <70 watts of MH is strong enough and the bulb life is significantly longer but they will add even more heat than the PC's'¦.in short you can make either work but it will take discipline.> Derek <Adam J.> Washington, DC <SoCal.> 

Tridacna Crocea in a Nano  10/12/07 Hi guys, love the site. I'm planning a 29 gallon Oceanic BioCube for my new bedroom and I was thinking about adding a Tridacna Crocea clam. I know the light in the tank is not enough for this clam. But because the size and beauty of this clam I want one. I have found this site that customizes BioCube and could add 2 more 36 power compacts. This would give the system 144w and just under 5 watts per gallon. If I keep the crocea close enough to the top will it live happily? Thanks. <This lighting should work out... but I do have concerns re keeping your water quality up and stable here. Have you read much re the captive care of Tridacnids? Bob Fenner>

Yet another T5 lighting question 6/27/08 Good evening WWM crew. <Hi Jo Anne, Pufferpunk/Jeni here with you tonight.> I wrote a few days ago about my two maxima clams. Just a quick recap: We have had them for approximately 6 weeks. They seem to gape slightly after the lights have been on for about one hour. The tank is 125g Acrylic tank. (60X24X18 if I remember correctly) We currently have 4 80w T5, 2-10 or 11K AquaBlue and 2-Actinic plus. The brand of light is Giesemann. A. Nixon felt the problem was our lighting. Being they were under T5's at the store and from reading about the clams, I learned that although MH is preferred but T5's can work. I believe WWM's recommendation is 4w/gallon of light, which we fall short of. I want to remedy the situation and give these clams a fighting chance. Our tank was originally a FO tank, so it is in a cabinet with a matching wooden hood. My husband decided he wanted a reef tank and we've slowly made changes. I have since become what he calls obsessed with this tank. I am not sure how I could modify this for MH lights economically. I also am not sure I how I can jam at the least 500w of T5's as this would be the minimum to meet the 4w/gallon rule, without starting all over with lighting. (And possibly being served divorce papers) Any ideas? Also I read in Dana Riddle's book that T5's actually have higher PAR than MH. Is that true? If that is the case is can 500w of MH be compared to 500w T5 or PC for that matter. <It is my experience that T5s are just as good as MH. I am a big fan of T5s & keep clams & SPS under them. I do think you need more of them though. You need at least 1 Daylight bulb. I would think with a DIY kit, you should be able to fit several more bulbs under that canopy than 4. I have 6 bulbs over my 90g & probably room for 1 more. Be sure though that each bulb has an individual reflector above it.> One more quick question, I read that keeping the cover over the top of the aquarium also can decrease lighting. I would pull them but I do have a blue tang. I read they can be jumpy. I want to do what is best for my charges. <If you're speaking of a glass cover, then yes, remove it--the canopy should prevent your fish from jumping. Not only will it diffuse the light but it will cause your tank to overheat. You can screen in the open back of your canopy if you wish with nylon screening, although I haven't heard of tangs being common jumpers. Don't forget to dose calcium for the clams. ~PP> Thank you for your time, Jo Anne