[jcarroll81]

i bought a coralife pc light from a LFS which is 192 watts total (96w 10k & 96w accentic)....w/ a 55 gallon tank he told me that its enough light. 3.49watts gallon

HOWEVER, I JUST NOW realized that clams need 10k lighting and i only have one of those bulbs @ 96watts which is 1.75 watts gallon...... NE ONE know if this is enough light?

[crazygator]

generally i would say no. but if the clam can be placed high and the lights lowered you only need to figure the amount of water above the clam. not a great practice but its a good way to meet the middle ground when housing a variety of corals that require a difference of lighting.

[Krazy]

In no way is that enough light for a clam...

I know that isnt what you'd like to hear, but for the life of these creatures, I'm glad you asked first, even being up high as it could be in the tank, I suggest to not get the clam, it'd be a costly and sad loss...

[crazygator]

he's right i would not take the chance. it would live but not thrive. my previous statement still holds true but it's not a matter if it will live but rather if it will live well. i don't like p.c. for this reason there are stii some who say p.c. is fine if placed rigght and they may be correct but more times than not they just cause a world of hurt. even t-5's (even though they are the rage in europe) don't do enough for a tank alone. i ran p.c. when i first started and had a clam but after i switched to metal halides after not quite a year the clam took off and is a nice center piece to my tank. the choise is yours though.

[jcarroll81]

i guess i should change my question.... ive had the clam for about 1 1/2 weeks doing fine but does a clam use only 10k lighting or both 10k and accentic lighting .?

Just a little frustrated since even though its the norm for the LFS to lie to you i was told that my new pc light of 196w would be enough for any corals in my tank. 230 dollars vs the same light with MH lighting for an extra 200 bucks.(upgrade from my icecap lighting of 3 30w bulbs.)

I have a DAS tank (old) dutch aquarium systems which has a lid 4 in from water surface level and since i put my 196w pc lights in i cant put my lids on the tank cuz it get so freakin hot. so MH is def not something i want for this tank to keep lid on tank. AND I DON'T WANT TO BUY A CHILLER.

im getting a 23g cube tank in 3 weeks w/ mh lighting 10k and accentic. but would rather keep the clam in my current tank plus once i receive my cube tank it will be about a month to cycle.

I GUESS IM LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO GIVE ME THE ANSWER THAT I WANT .... my 196w lighting is enough for just about nething i put in my tank and the clam will live off of the 10K LIGHTING AND ACCENTIC LIGHTING to do just fine.

[jcarroll81]

ne 1 know what spectrum the accentic is in?

[jcarroll81]

MH lighting hasn't always been around so im sure that power compact lighting is sufficient?

[pbukow]

They will live but not thrive. Soft corals will do good under this light, but stay away from SPS(small polyped stoney) corals and other light-hungry animals.

I've heard really great things about t5 btw. They put out 10x as much par as power compact and with "individual parabolic reflectors" on these bulbs, i would definately feel confident on placing almost anything in a tank with these bulbs on them.

Its "Actinic" lighting and the spectrum is usually measured in nanometers not degrees Kelvin ranging from 420-480nm. the higher range i'm told looks more purple than blue so i've heard. Go for bulbs that say Actinic 03 or something of that nature as long as 03 is on there its fine.