Can I get a clam?
- Thread starter daayda3
- Start date
Lights aside (and I'd certainly not do them under anything other than MHs or good t5s with reflectors, especailly crocea and maximas) but I'd also wait for your tank to mature and make sure your ca, mg and alk are all balanced in optimal numbers.
I agree with Grins. I waited til I got MHs and you need to make sure your tank is mature enough for them. They are great additions, but you need to be patient until it the tank is ready to support them. And don't be tempted if you find a small crocea at your LFS - they may be small but they need stong lighting. Calcium, magnesium and alkalinity if they aren't balanced before the clam will be a struggle to keep up with once you get one.
WPG is really outdated and doesnt work because it depends on what type of lighting you have, the par value and how well that penetrates are more important. With T-5's on individual reflectors 216 watts is much better than 260 watts of PC's and with the wright ballast and reflectors 96 watts of T-5's can compete with up to 175 watts of MH but the T-5's need to be over driven with the IC ballast to do this.
That one clam doesn't know or care how many gallons of water it is sitting in. All it cares about is how much light is directly over it and providing it with the roughly 90% of food source that the light provides via the zooxanthellae in it's mantle. The other 10% comes from filter feeding nutrients from the water.
Without strong lighting, the clam may survive for a while but will not thrive.
Without strong lighting, the clam may survive for a while but will not thrive.