Anemone lighting

Looking at a anemone for my clown fishes, this is the real reason for the marine tank, think they are magnificent !
So what am I looking for in regards to lighting ? W friend of mine is suggesting metal halide pendant light at 250watts ? Is this going to deal with the anemone ?
As always, appreciate the help and advice.

 

u need at least 4-6 bulb t5 fixture

or halides...250watts depending on ut tank size..

 

How big is your tank? I have a 90gal with 4 bulb T5 config & my two anemones are HUGE!!

 

I have a 90 gallon cube. Currently have Aquatic life dual lamp T5HO
What is a decent light ? Dint want to spend big bucks what about LEDs ?

 

leds will prolly run you around 750 ish

you could try 4-5 of the par 38 led bulbs...

i have 2 250 lumantek ballasts with lumantek reflectors and 20k radiums..with 2 2x39 t5 fixtures over a 150..

i think some par 38 led bulbs will look good and still be enough light if you get enough of them..

 

4-5 of these..
Dimmable High Power PAR38 White Blue LED Aquarium Reef Corals Grow Light Bulb 1325wb

or these..
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...en&sa=N&biw=1212&bih=739&tbm=isch&um=1&itbs=1

 

You could just get BoostLED's Mu 135w LED fixture, that would work fine and is at least as powerful as a 250w MH and its most likely cheaper and it doesnt produce heat

 

BoostLEDs look like what i need, but, I can't suspend them, and I am 30 inches wide ?

 

Do not use a boost Mu on a 24" tall tank... I assume that your cube is something like 30x30x24? I like the boost spotlights, but the Mu leds really have crappy par output. They are okay for relatively shallow tanks, but they are not going to penetrate a 24" tall cube. You'll want about 100-200 PAR at the bottom of your tank. Their website shows that, but that at 20", but that is through 20" of air, not water. It will be a lot less through water. I'd be amazed if your getting 50 PAR at the bottom in a 24" tall tank.



Also, it drops off quickly to the sides, so you would need at least 2, but that is assuming they even have the penetrating power (which they likely don't - most likely to penetrate, you'd need to swap out the optics, however, this is not possible with this fixture) to cover the dimensions of your tank with sufficient par for a nem.

Leds gain a lot of efficiency due to their ability to light a rectangular tank better than MHs. With a cube, they loose much of their efficiency. T-5s have similar issues, you'll need at least 2 x 4 bulb fixtures, to cover the footprint of your tank evenly.

So, I'd probably avoid T-5s on a cube, or you'll be spending a fortune replacing bulbs. 1x250W MH would do it though. Also many leds would be fine, fine though, just not boost, as it dosn't have the optics for a tall tank. AI SOLs would be good. You could use 2 of them. This would be about 100W less and you would not have to change bulbs. You could also use a diy kit from rapid. Really you'd want about 48 leds though, with 40 degree optics. This would also save some electricity and would not have to replace bulbs. MHs are tried and true and on a cube, you'd only have one, so, replacing 1 bulb isn't that bad. Mostly just personal preference really.

 

You should also be made aware that just because you get an anemone, it doesn't mean it'll host with your clowns. The clowns may not care at all about the anemone.