after seeing sooo many replies to this thread I thought you wouldnt need my input, but for the health of your animals you need it too! Ok. first, your clam may be doing ok now , but in a few months when the zoanthellae start to turn color to a drab color the lighting will be why. you may be able to keep this clam for a little while but if you want it to THRIVE then you really do need the mh. its not the total watts as much as the par(light intensity) mh bulbs dont distribute light in a long segment like vho or pc. they are a more point source type light and that is what is BEST for clams. trust me mh is the way to go. I have many pics of my 5 clams that all measure at least 6 inches. these are very big clams so I and the others speak from experience. I have kept clams for almost 7 years now. I started with no flourensence, and my first clam didnt do very well I was advised to go mh, but thought nah i can do it with vho. tried it and they did live. I thought HA! I know better. they were brilliant colors when I got them. after a year I noticed my greens and blues were slowly turning brownish. after talking to many aquariests again they convinced me to try mh. I will never go back. the colors have come back and intensified and they are looking more like the clams I have seen in the wild. I have seen clams in the wild and they live in very brightly lit waters. so with saying all that you "can" just keep clams in mid light but they will not thrive and will not resemble what they should. you could "live" off protien shakes and water but you wouldnt be very healthy would you? so if you want to just "keep" clams then by all means use whatever light you wish. I you want to keep "thriving" clams then upgrade to mh. also on a side note what if any are you doing to maintain ph, alk, cal?? what are the numbers? in my tank I run a dual chamber cal reactor that is 30 inches tallx 6 in diameter. and i fill it every 3 months. I go thru alot of carbonate. hth dave ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Dillard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2001 8:06 PM Subject: Re: PLEASE READ!
> I am afraid you are totally missing the point. I am not telling you your > lights are inadequate because I am a horrible person, I am telling you in > order for you to improve upon your situation. No matter what you say or > think, your lighting is inadequate, ask anyone who keeps clams or has done a > good deal of research on them. In fact I encourage you to post at this > site: > http://reefcentral.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?s=c359c3cc8f19f2553aef28af > 35313941&forumid=41. I also encourage you NOT to leave the list, you can > learn more here then at any lfs. I have often felt the way you are right > now, I remember when I bought my seaclone skimmer. I told everyone how > great it was, luckily I found reefcentral.com and reefland.com, and found > out what a piece of crap it was before I opened it up. I am not trying to > insult you and ruin your life. Myself, Shane, Srgtkoons, and Neptune have > all given you sound advice, if you choose to ignore it then go ahead, we > cannot stop you. But when I hear you say that you are not going to let my > words get to you it makes me wonder why you are even asking questions. I > am sorry to "burst your bubble" but I know for a fact where clams live in > the wild and I know for a fact they are getting hundreds if not thousands of > watts of light in the wild. Even though you are 18 you seem to only like > the advice that you want to hear, I bet if I told you that your tank was an > awesome setup for clams then you would praise my advice too. You really are > mixed up though, maybe someone else can get through to you. Really though > if you love your tank as much as you say you do, consider a MH retro kit, > you could probably do it for under $100. > > > IMO/E > Andrew > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2001 9:39 PM > Subject: PLEASE READ! > > > > Well, I appreciate the help that I have received, thanks! But the thing > that > > bothers me, is that I am positive on the efficiency of my Lighting, and > have > > been...I have had me tank up for about two years, and have done many > > research, and asked many questions, thanks to the interenet. My question > > about the maxima clam were, where should I place it and if there are any > > EXTRA advice on T. maximas, not whether or not my lighting is good enough > or > > should I return, it! I have had 1 maxima clam alread established in the > tank > > for about 4 months he is about 2 1/2" and is doing great! I have great > pride > > in my tank, and have used my sweat and blood putting is together so I may > > enjoy it! I have it in my room and I would trade me TV and stereo to > leave > > the tank in my room! I am only 18 years old and I love and appreciate > this > > hobby....and I would waste my hard earn, barely enough money, to purchase > > these wonderful creatures (which isn't cheap) that relaxes and keeps me > > entertain! Shoot when I started my tank I would even save my lunch money, > to > > invest it in my tank, and it paid off beautifully! I admit I have made > > mistakes with fishes, but I learned! And as being only 18, I have big > > ambitions to start a bigger tank, after the Air Force, but when I hear > > negitive things it make me think, should I really spend so much on my > Loving > > Marine hobby or just us it on my car! Maybe Andrew tried to give his true > > opinion, but to have a tank that you have so much pride in, and want to do > > more to make it beautiful and spend alot of money on these expensive > corals, > > How can you appreciate some ones words telling you to return things, or to > > "give it away" and that your tank isn't good enough, (when I know it is, > in > > My experience, which counts the most, then some ones word)....I don't know > > but to me him tell me to return it and my lighting isn't good enough, is > like > > saying that im an idot wasting my time and money, well, Im not gonna let > his > > words get to me, and I have too much love for my tank and this hobby, but > I > > appreciate those who helped, but I am leaving the mailing list because I > > joined for help not criticism,thanks for everyones (Marco and SrgtKoons) > > help! and good luck with your tanks! > > ________________________________________ > > > > LEAVING THE LIST > > ================ > > To stop receiving messages you will need to send a message to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a command to remove you from the list. > The list manager controls who belongs to the list. > > > > For example: > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > > From: John Doe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: <not needed> > > > > UNSUBSCRIBE > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > ________________________________________ > > LEAVING THE LIST > ================ > To stop receiving messages you will need to send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a command to remove you from the list. The list manager controls who belongs to the list. > > For example: > -------------------------------------------------------------- > From: John Doe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: <not needed> > > UNSUBSCRIBE > -------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________ LEAVING THE LIST ================ To stop receiving messages you will need to send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a command to remove you from the list. The list manager controls who belongs to the list. For example: -------------------------------------------------------------- From: John Doe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: <not needed> UNSUBSCRIBE --------------------------------------------------------------
