squamosa under PC

[blueboy]

would a squamosa clam be happy with 4x96W PC lighting? I have been given conflicting thoughts on this, so I thought i would appeal to the experienced among us

[Reef69]

yeah, I have a squamose under PCs, but its like 4 inches away from the light..

[Bigreefer]

I had my squamosa under 2 96W PC but found that the PC bulbs intensity drops off after 4-6 months. That's when I added MH.

Jason

[Tim Marvin]

How big is the squamosa? Small ones filter feed and will be fine. Larger ones use light and will need to be placed closer to the top. Also, the brighter the colorings the more light intensity they need.

[Andrew]

I have 2 ultra maximas (2 1/2" or so) under 4*96 pcs about 8 inches from the lights, that have been doing well, growing,etc, for 6 months+

I do not run any pc bulbs over 8 months though, as the intensity really drops off, especially the actinics. My tank is a 40 gallon, the top being almost completely covered by bulbs. I also feed tahitian blend algal paste twice a week.

My lighting schedule:
2 actinics on at 10 am, off at 10 pm
1 10k on at 12noon, off at 4 pm
1 10k on at 2 pm, off at 6 pm

this way, i get a gradual build up of light intensity to a two hour peak (2-4pm) when all four are on, then gradual decrease. Everybody seems to be happy, and sps are growing well, sometimes 1/4 inch per month or more (is this good for pc?).


HTH

Andrew

[adamRS80]

I had a squamosa under 3 65 watt PCs in and it was about 20" away from the light. It did fine for a long time, until I replaced with metal halide. As long as it's not too deep you should be fine, just know that it would be better of with more powerful lighting.

[blueboy]

thanks for all the responses guys. to answer tims ? i don't have a particular clam in mind just yet, i was just trying to find out if this was a possibility for my tank. my girlfreind really likes them and you know whatever i can do to keep the other half happy! it would be going in my 120g, which is 24" deep, so it sounds like i would do best to place it up on the rocks, and to start with a small one, and to possibly invest in some new bulbs before the new addition. does this sound like a good assesment? oh, and where is a good place to get one locally? i've seen them at AquaDome, but i would prefer not to put anything from those grubby looking tanks into my hard earned reef.

[Tim Marvin]

A derasa, from aquadome will do fine. They are very hardy and can stand some very extreme conditions. Clams actually like the water a little dirty and they filter out phosphates, ammonia, and nitrates. Some clam farms actually add amonnia to the system. If you are worried, take a tooth brush and scrub down the shell before you add it to your tank.

[blueboy]

thanks tim good suggestion