[nicholash]

We just recently got a pink tip Condy anemone and just recently bought some marine-glo flouresent lights that have a blue glow... they are 15w a piece would this be okay for my anemone?? also do i need a light at night for them? if so what would be best ?

[sarha]

most anenomes require piles of light if not all anenomes. they also like plenty of water movement how big is your tank and i am leaning towards the answer no unless its a 10 gallon tank or so

[nicholash]

I have a 55 gal.... just bought 2 more bulbs yesterday for coral and inverts.. hope these 4 bulbs will do !!

[Taras1]

Does that total 60 watts for your tank? As inaccurate as it is about 3-5 watts per gallon is one rule to use for lighting.

[nicholash]

that makes 65 watts.. there are 2 blue and 2 sun lights... what about lights at night ??

[Taras1]

IMO, your still short by about 90 watts. Look into some VHO or T-5 lighting even if your going to go into some soft corals and polyps. They have photosynthetic algae within them that need light to provide food for the animal, just like many anemone.

A good light cycle would be your actinic (blue) lights on for about 12-13 hours per day with the daylight on for 10-11 hours. Start the daylight set 1 hour after the actinics start and shut them off about 1 hour before the actinics go off.

They make "lunar" led lights to simulate moonlight. Those turn on after the actinic go off and turn off before the actinics go on.

You can get various timers to time your lights. Next to a good skimmer/filter system, lighting is crucial to maintaining invertebrates. Don't skimp.

[nicholash]

We have a red tree spounge that said to be keep in low lighting.. and right now we only have 40 watts over it.. it is starting to form some algae on it.. is there anyway we can clean it off of it??? also can you be more sepcific on the lighting for the anemone do i have to have VHO or can i reach proper lighting with more flouresant lights? my last question is about a colored colony polyp coral that i have placed in my nano tank, i have already discovered it to be sick and is depositing white spots and a white crusty like surface.. should i be changing my water out every other day and try to bring it back or should i call it dead and get it out of my tank???

[Taras1]

The tree sponge really threw me. I've never had sponges, but my reading about them says algae on them are bad news. Sponges are something I know very little about. I have no idea how you balance light with sponges and anemone. Hard to say about the coral, but it sounds like it's dying. How much light have you been giving it.

[kwilliamskw]

I can't help you with the sponges, but I have done alot of research on anemones. Condys are the easiest to keep and do not require high lighting, and as far as at night, no. Keep in mind if you want to host a clownfish, a condy will not suffice. I have a tomato clown with a bubble tip anemone and they do great. My lighting is a 260 watt compact flourescent. 2 65 watt 12000k and 2 65 watt 03 actinic bulbs with 4 lunar lights for my 55 gallon tank. It has been a great light! On your algae, what kind is it? Green, brown, hair, or coralline?

[pogodzib]

The problem with NO fluorescent lighting is that is doesn't have enough power to punch through water to the depth of the corals sitting in the bottom half of the tank. If you are going to try to use NO flo lighting, try to keep your corals as high in the tank as you can. FYI - I do know some people that have had some luck keeping mushrooms and zoos under NO lighting. Spot feeding corals help alot when keeping corals under low light. Just make sure that you do plenty of water changes so your water quality stays good. Also, the lower the k-value, the better the light will penetrate the water. A low k-value bulb will look more yellow whereas a high k bulb will look more blue. Since you have 4 bulbs, use 2 low k (daylight/6500k) bulbs to get the corals the light (lums) that they need and 2 higher k (10000k+) bulbs to give the tank the nice bluish color that everyone likes in a saltwater tank and the corals the light that they need in the higher color spectum as well.

Regarding the red tree sponge. Almost all sponges are filter feeding organisms and they need very little light to survive. The red tree sponge is one of them. Aiming a powerhead at it should provide enough current that should keep algae from forming on it. If algae does form on it, use a powerhead to try to blow the algae off of it. The added flow from the powerhead will also help the sponge get the nutrients that it needs. You should also spot feed the sponge as well. Most sponges are very difficult to keep, which is why most people do not keep them in their tanks.

[lflaherty]

Current is most definitely your problem with the sponge. They do have symbiotic photosynthetic bacterial associations, so they will need decent light or they will lose pigmentation, but not having enough flow over the sponge is what is allowing algae to recruit to it. Like pogo said, aim a powerhead at it, but you may want to turn off the powerhead during your feeding or it may be for naught. Good luck.

[jimw369]

This thread is well over a year old

I wonder if they have a tank anymore?

[lflaherty]

hey, sometimes you don't look at the date...

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by lflaherty

hey, sometimes you don't look at the date...

Im just pokin fun

Good to see you here Lanny!