20 long tank lighting

hey guys i currently have a 20 long tank it has 2 65w cfs on it sitting right on top of the glass cover i have. i was thinking of getting a anemone sometime in the future and i wanted to know it you think it would be able to keep one alive. my tank has a 3 inch deep sand bed and lots of live rock stacked. i need some advise on this thanks.

 

Well, some people have had luck keeping anemones under CFS, others will say you shouldn't or can't keep an anemone healthy under them. I think you may be able to. I have a 20 long as a sump and they aren't very tall and with the rock it should have a choice of where it wants to settle down. I would however select which one you get carefully, some are more sensitive and harder to keep than others.

 

thanks for the reply ive been looking around and bee getting the same thing its a yes /no kinda thing i did a little looking around and found out that i can still return me light and i found a 24in with 2-65w and 1-150 hqi for a good price but i have a space restriction on how high i can put it above me tank because my roof slopes so i would only be able to get it about 3 inches above the tank would this be too much light for the fish .

 

i usually wouldn't agree to anemone care with compact flourscents, but do you the 6wpg and very shallow tank i think can get one.
you see the thing about CF is the penetration depth with is quite low around 10 inches, but your anemone will be with in that range(atleast the top will even if its on the sand.) i think it will be fine, go ahead give it a shot if your tank is mature enough(i recommend atleast 6months, many people recommend a full year of maturity).

on a side not you sand bed is kinda deep, i would probably remove some sand and get it down to 1-2 inches so it won't be so hard to keep clean

 

Sostoudt brings up a good point too, your tank needs to be mature enough to be able to provide the stability an anemone needs. As he said, I would say at least 6 months up and running.

 

Whew.....six months is pushing it IMO. I would upwards of a year. I really lucked out in my choice of anemone....I chose a condy barely a month into my tank being up. I had no idea what I was doing. I did no research. But, by the time I knew any better, several months had passed and it was looking fantastic.....and under PCs at that. Like I said, I lucked out bigtime. Eventually, it found the intake of my powerhead and I needed to euthanize it because there was so much damage. I was lucky in that it did not die in my tank. Would have been disasterous.

So now, my tank is ten months old and I am not going near another anemone until I have (1) good lighting and (2) my nitrates under control for a few months solid. Water conditions need to be pristine and stable.

Here is a nice little lighting structure that would do a fantasic job

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Sunlight_Supply/Tek_Light_Fixtures/24_inch__4x24W_Tek_Light_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_(Black)_by_Sunlight_Supply

 

thanks guys for all the info the more i think about this lighting situation the more i think i should return the light while i still have a chance before the return policy is up. i have found a new light but im not sure if it will be to strong for the fish. the light i found is a combo with 2-65watt cfs and 1-150 metal halide the only problem is i could probally put it 4 inches above the tank any input on this thanks in advance for any info. H&K

 

i really think that fixture would be to strong, a total of 280 watts.
i put a 250 over a 15 and the fish would hide in the shade to avoid being burned.