lighting for anemone

i currentl have a PC 130w on my 30 gallon tank. apparently its not enough to keep an anemone because i havent been able to keep one from dying yet. so then i was thinking of upgrading to VHO like 4 x 75w. would that be enough? im not rich im just looking for something intermediate that i wont have to upgrade for my 30 gallon

 

i use High Output T5 lighting, works just fine for me. Check out the Nova Extreme Setups, thats what I got and I'm on a budget. Great lights for your money IMO.

Btw, what are your other water parameters? And how old is the tank? Are they in good shape when you get them? Anemones can be fickle creatures so its best if we know everything about your tank and your previous experiences in order to help.

 

I wouldnt buy vho for main lighting anymore, you're way better to look at T5 or MH

 

vho is on the way out if not already down the street. and i don't find it to be that much cheaper then t5.

but are you sure its the lighting if the anemone is place near the top it should have enough light. anemones can be tricky and fickel, im not against you updating your lighting just don't be surprised if its some other reason.

 

Don't assume that it is the lighting that is killing your anemonees. 130W over 30 gal wouldn't cause your anemone to die in 3 or 4 days as you described in your earlier post. http://www.3reef.com/forums/asap/bta-dying-57838.html Something else is going on in your tank. You need to figure out what that is.

How long has the tank been set up? Don't add an anemone until your tank is at least a year old.
What are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and alkalinity levels?
What is your temp and SG?

 

I kept a bta in my 12 gallon nano cube with 24w's of pc's. Like pgreef stated there might be some other issues..

 

As mentioned, lighting represents just one small aspect in the ability to maintain an anemone in a marine aquarium.
I would refrain upon purchasing an anemone until you have become more knowledgeable with a better understanding of these delicate, beautiful and unique animals. This, is in no way a knock on your desire and dream of purchasing and maintaining an anemone, just a reflection on making you successful in keeping one of these plus the awareness that this is in deed a living animal with its own set of unique husbandry requirements that need to be met to maintain one of these animals in a captive environment.
Obviously there are many species of anemone and each one has its own place on the grid regarding ease of keeping or not.
Flower or Rock anemones may just be the type of anemone that can get your journey started with maintaining an anemone in your tank successfully for years.
Good luck!

 

MH if you want good strong growing anemone. But yea you must research before buying.

 

i see in your other post that your tank is old enough. I think the lighting it def a factor; what kind of water flow do you have? Your other post said it was moving around. Possibly searching for better current and lighting?

Also, it is possible that they are already on their way out when you get them

 

actually it was content for a few days and stuck to one spot it found and it looked healty. and then it suddenly starting declining in health. i actually do have a rock flower anemone and have for around 6 months and it has been ok.... not looking the most healty but alive none the less. i am running a good canister filter( i know not the best but i figured it would be sufficient for a 30 gallon since it rated for 175 gph i think. i am also running a small protein skimmer and a in tank nano wet dry. ( more for water movement then real wet dry filtering ( its junk really). and i have around 20 lbs live rock and live sand. i am looking to upgrade the entire system in the upcoming monthes honestly. and i think my pc bulbs could prob use replacing considering their age. it did look good when purchased and was from a reputable dealer housed with many other varios anemones. and the isnt the first bta ve lost. i have also lost 2 condys, 1 sebea,a beaded anem, 1 long tentacle and 1 bta aside from this one.alot of which were from petco ( cause u just say"long tentacle? I think thats a condy it should be 10 $")

but it may be a combination of things like u all say.