How do RBTA's do with metal halides?

[jkhudson]

My RBTA has outgrown the 20 gal I have him in. I have been keeping him under t-5's and has done very well. I'm reluctant to move him into my main tank because I've had issues with anemones in there before (before they themselves die, they move around and take corals with them). Anyway I have 4 t'5 50/50's and 2 400w MH over a 150 that is 2 feet deep. My water perameters are fine calc over 400, no ammonia or nitrates, salinty is fine.

[anniesdad]

90gal w/ 250 dimmable MH.
2 anemones in the tank.
And they are LARGE!

No corals in there though, sorry.

[Chihuahua6]

Switching them from t5s to 400 watt halides is a huge difference. The Anemone would most likely hide from the light. If you have plenty of ledges and caves then it might be feasable but expect some wandering.

Honestly I don't see the need for such high wattage in a 24" tall tank.

[LOTUS50GOD]

I have my RBTA under a 400 w 14k MH.. He sits about 2 feet under the bulbs and streches towards the light.

Then again... I do have another RBTA (clone of the 1st) and it likes it under a ledge...

[crvz]

it should survive, but it may take a while to acclimate it to so much more light. and before that's done, it may cruise around in an attempt to get comfortable, so many of your corals may be at risk.

[gogregerson]

They love them. But like any light love creature you need to acclimate it slowly to the new lighting conditions.

[jubjub]

i have 250w mh's and my nem likes to climb the rock to the top to soak in as much as he can....

[dfm34]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13295657#post13295657 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gogregerson
They love them. But like any light love creature you need to acclimate it slowly to the new lighting conditions.

I agree 100% I upgraded my tank from a 55 w 5x56 w t5's to a 140 (30" deep) w 2x250 hqi MH. I was so worried about water quality I never acclimated my livestock to the new lights :mad2: . My BTA is doing fine with some extra tlc but it is a little bleached so please do it slowly.

[BigJay]

My RBTA is doing all right in a 180 under 3 X 250 watt halides. He seems quite happy under the center brace where there is less PAR. He hasn't moved much, probably due to the feedings.

[anniesdad]

Here they are w/ the 250w adj. MH.



http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo37/rr330i/aquarium/IMG_2342-2.jpg?t=1220638529

[jkhudson]

What if I dialed back my halides to 2 hrs a day and brought the time up by say, 1/2 hr a day?

[shaggy14]

that should work, just start it out in indirect light and then when finished getting the lights back to a normal cycle see how its doing

[boxfishpooalot]

i dont understand the whole light acclimation thing. On the reef would the sun not burst to 150,000 lux in seconds, only to have a huge cloud cover it to 10,000 lux? Whats the deal here?

Is it UV light or something. This needs to be understood, becasue it drives me nuts everytime i hear it said.

[stagefright13]

It will go where it want's to go. If you got a shelf in the rock it will maybe hide under it and extend it's tentacles up if it needs the light. Been my experience anyway after 3 BTA's.

175 watt MH was enough on my 29 gallon. But now I have a 250. And now I have an LTA. But the BTA's did like lotsa light contrary to popular belief. At least in my experience. But 400 watters may be a bit much.

[stagefright13]

Well I don't light acclimate personally. The BTA will always hide it's foot in a ditch on the rock anyway. And spread just the right amount of tentacles out to the light. Obviously it will spread more and more over time. Till it suns itself like crazy.

The biggest thing is getting a large healthy one in the first place. If the tentacles are white you may be able to recover it. If you see transparent tents then it is almost dead.

[gogregerson]

The "deal" with light acclimation is an animal like a coral or anemone gets used to a certain light intensity and spectrum. If that changes it gets stress and bleached, the equivalent of a third degree sun burn. Think of it this way, you stay in doors all winter then take a vacation to Mexico and lay out on the beach without sunblock for 8hrs naked. What's going to happen?

[downhillbiker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13300891#post13300891 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gogregerson
The "deal" with light acclimation is an animal like a coral or anemone gets used to a certain light intensity and spectrum. If that changes it gets stress and bleached, the equivalent of a third degree sun burn. Think of it this way, you stay in doors all winter then take a vacation to Mexico and lay out on the beach without sunblock for 8hrs naked. What's going to happen?

you would think so, but the anemone is like we are. if you are getting a sunburn on your naked butt, you go inside, so will the anemone, it will find somewhere it likes. it will adjust. that said, it may move places you dont want it and sting corals. a good idea is to build a small pile of rock in a corner furthest away from direct light, and have a few holes. have the pile isolated and BTA's usually dont like to travel across sand so that will protect your corals. it will crawl in and out of the cracks and rocks according to its comfort in lighting and flow. they know what they want.

[stagefright13]

I have NEVER seen a bta in sand. So that is prolly a great Idea. Also they don't like alot of flow. So that can also be used to position them.

And what is beer pong!? :spin2:

As far as MH lighting. The one bta I had a couple years positioned itself dead center under a 175 MH halfway up the rock. It's foot was planted under a shelf. Next one I got went to almost exactally the same spot. But I never had one big enough to keep my clowns from killing it. So I went to a very large lta.

[maroun.c]

When I moved my 8 years old Anemone from my old 80 G with 1 150 W 20K halide to my new 150 that had 2 150 W 14k Which were a lot brighter than the 20 K it did not do well and hid a lot till it ended up moving then being sucked by a powerhead and diesd later on.
also another very nice RBTA that has been donig fine at the LFS tank for months under 250 W 20K bleached when I placed it under my 150 14K which were brighter. It could be realted to other issues but the only clear difference was the ilght as all my other parameters were in check...
Check my build thread if you like to see the pics and how the anemones deteriorated. I did not go deaper than 2 feet to try to avoid needing more than a couple of 150 W MH and a third 250 W. What K are you running as the colour temperature had a great effect on par. I believe my 14 k 150 W MH are equaly bright or very close to my 22 K 250 W MH.
If you do it decrease yoru lighting time and bring it up very sowly paying attention tot he anemones coloration. Also try toplace the anemone under a ledge so that it can retract to shade if it is getting too much light without it looking for such a location.

[kingsland]

I have had one RBTA for seven years under 250's. It found a spot it liked and stayed there until I upgraded to a larger tank a year ago and needed to move it. It now stays in the QT. In the larger tank, I placed a small RBTA on the lower tier of rock under 400W MHs. It is now three RBTA's but has not moved from its spot in a year. They like and will do fine under lots of light. In my experience, and I have had enough RBTAs and GBTAs to observe consistent behavior patterns, once they find a spot they like with the right amount of flow and light, they do not move as long as they have a stable environment. Even if they divide, if they are happy on their rock, they tend to stay close together. They like their backside to be protected. If you have a rock that has a scooped out area or larger hole, place the RBTA near this area. I generally look for specific rock shapes to place them on. It is helpful if the rock is fairly smooth and without sharp protrusions.

I would place it lower in your tank, and not worry about it. It will go where it likes and acclimate itself to the amount of light needed by the location it chooses.

[stagefright13]

A 150 14k MH is nothing to a bta. I am sure there were other causes. Mine sunned itself directly under a 175 watt 10k hamilton. Dead center even. And they are very bright. And the whole thing stretched into the light all day. However my Clown got very big and pounded it to death... :(

[stagefright13]

oops dbl post

[jkhudson]

This thing is the size of a dinner plate. I'll probably have to move the rock as well.

[reefCrawler]

RBTA loves strong light, I have 3 and all move up to the very top to reach light.

have 2 x 400W MH on a 150G tank.