Power Compacts for a 12 gallon?

[nam2212]

A friend just gave me an Eclipse 12 gallon acrylic tank. The hood has power compact lights in it and I was wondering what kind of bulbs I would need to keep an anemone. I will probably just start out with a BTA. It will be months before I put it in, but could someone tell me exactly what kind of lighting I will need. I don't know a lot about lighting so I will need to know what kind of bulb, watts,....etc. Thanks a lot.

 

[supafreak]

enenime

everyone told me that i needed a mh lighting system to keep my enenime, but at this point i'd already had him in the tank, so thought we'll see. Well one year later he is bigger, and doing great, eating well, and the only lighting I have is *gasp* basic marine flourscent lights, one white, and one blue. I don't know if this is an exception, but he is deffinetly still alive and doing well!
My advice to everyone.....advice is wonderful.....but experience is priceless!

 

[nodoubt471]

anemones can appear to be doing well for a long period of time when in fact they are comsuming their own flesh due to lack of zootanthelle production. not saying this is definitly the case, just saying it might be. i had one anemone back when i didnt know better with regular lighting, and he appeared to be doing fine until about 3 months down the road he died.

it is reccommended that you have MH lighting for most anemones, you couldprobably get away with PC with a BTA, they are less demanding than most. i would suggest around 8 watts/gallon with the tank you have described and PC lighting.

i would also reccommend that you wait at least a year to add the anemone, they need an extremely stable environment.

are you planning on having a clown that the anemone will host? an anemone shrimp? just interested in your plans.

if i were you i would pick up either fenner's book on reef invertebrates or go to your LFS or LBS (local book store) and check out joyce wilkerson's book "clownfish" and read the section on anemones.

thats my experience.

 

[nam2212]

I read somewhere that a BTA would do just fine under flourescent lights. Yes, I am planning on putting a clown in at the same time as the anemone. Another question, will VHO lights fit in a regular flourescent fixture? I also have a 30 gallon reef tank that has flourescents in it. I was just wondering if I needed to modify anything to get VHO flourescents. Thanks.

 

[theatrus]

You'll need a new ballast to drive VHO bulbs. In flourescents, the ballast is the thing thats actually lighting up the bulb, and they're tailored to light up certain types of bulbs.
There are places which sell VHO retrofit kits (only needs some basic electrical skill, like hooking up wires).

 

[nodoubt471]

i personally would not risk putting an anemone under flourescent or VHO. our goal is to have our tank inhabitants flourish, not barely hang on. anemone's lifespans range in the 100's of years, lets try to recreate an environment in captivity that will lend itself to such longevity.

hellolights.com has cheap DIY retrofits, check it out.