Lighting for clams
 

Hey everyone,

I have been recently looking into getting a clam for my reef tank. I am a little worried about lighting, I currently have a 33 gallon and it has 2 HO T5's and 2 50 LED pendants (equivelent to 60 watts). Do you think that this would be enough light or do I need more?

Yeah either get a bigger light or you will have to get him higher to the surface. If you go with the latter, make sure hes secure because he will die within a few hours if upside down.

What kind of clam?

I am not totally sure yet, I am hoping to upgrade to a 47 gallon tank really soon. So I am hoping that helps the size issue but so far I have seen a number of tanks with Crocea Clams ( Tridacna Crocea) and I would be hoping to put something like that in my tank.

Personally I would wait until you get your next tank. And when you do, make sure you get the lighting that would suite things like clams or SPS.

I don't think you have enough light, and to mount the clam higher would be a pain, especially as it grows. Clams are expensive, so I personally would wait.

Thanks Everyone,

I think I will wait untill I get both my 250 bulb LED panels up and running on my next tank before I get any!

Ya, best to wait, the croceas are more light demanding than others.

I agree.. Wait until you do your upgrade and get the new tank stable... Then go clam shopping!

actually thats not true.........croceas and maximas are found deeper on the reef than clams like derasas and hippos, which are found shallower, so derasas and hippos and squams may actually require more light than croceas and maximas:wink:

Respectfully, I would disagree. Not through any experience of my own, but simply because I read something different.

I found this to be a really cool article on clams. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-10/jf/index.php

But in relation to the light demands of species of clams, the article states "Croceas live at shallower depths than other Tridacna species, where they receive intense light; so they require more light than the other species when kept in aquaria."

Having owned many types of clams, and keeping them all under 400w, I can't really argue with any first hand experience, although hobby lore has reported my statement to be true in many articles. I've also known people that could keep derasas or squamosas under lights that would cause the croceas to fade away.
Not scientific, and yes, the last maximas I swam with were 30ft+ below the surface, but generally people report maximas and croceas as requiring more light..