Lighting Needs

rbraunberger · Mar 28, 2016

Hello all,

How can you tell/make sure your clam is getting the correct amount of light?

Kawasaki213 · Mar 29, 2016

How long is he staying open for? how big?

rbraunberger · Apr 1, 2016

It is three inches, stays open all day unless to cover the light then it reacts. When blues are on it closes up but not all the way. It does keep move off the rock I placed just above the sand level. Was not sure if it wanted less light or trying to move to get more light.

McMullen · Apr 1, 2016

Lux meter?
Par meter?
What kind of light?
How deep is tank?

@saltyfilmfolks

rbraunberger · Apr 1, 2016

McMullen said:
Lux meter?
Par meter?
What kind of light?
How deep is tank?

@saltyfilmfolks

Sorry I do not have a light meter. I have the Radion X30 pro light at 40% max at noon, and the depth of tank is 20 inches. My sand bed is on the thicker side at 3-4 inches. I had the clam center a bit forward but moved it more towards the side. Well it moved that direction, and I moved its base rock and repositioned it there.

McMullen · Apr 1, 2016

Download a lux meter on your phone. It will allow you to ensure the proper "range."

rbraunberger · Apr 1, 2016

McMullen said:
Download a lux meter on your phone. It will allow you to ensure the proper "range."

Any recommendations for a reliable one? Possible Free =)

McMullen · Apr 1, 2016

I have an iPhone and use Galactica, it's free.

Hoping @saltyfilmfolks will chime in......far more knowledgeable!
Seems like @mcarroll has also posted on Lux as well!!!
I'm simply using what they have previously posted/provided.

Midrats · Apr 1, 2016

Don't put your phone in the tank

rbraunberger · Apr 1, 2016

squareriggersailor said:
Don't put your phone in the tank

lol....i will try not too....I do not have the new Samsung....that might be nice for this though

rbraunberger · Apr 1, 2016

ok....so just went out and the clam has moved more towards the side now....i was afraid he was not getting enough light....this moving towards the edges is making me think maybe to much...is there such a thing for a clam?

mcarroll · Apr 1, 2016

Check out your lux readings and try not to read to much into the clam's daily movements - they are close to random.

If you could track and record them for a few weeks, you might see a pattern though.

rbraunberger · Apr 1, 2016

mcarroll said:
Check out your lux readings and try not to read to much into the clam's daily movements - they are close to random. If you could track and record them for a few weeks, you might see a pattern though.

thanks...just worried since a dersa clam I had for 8 months died...dont want to loose my blue squamosa!!!!

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 1, 2016

Galactica for iPhone and lux light meter by crunchy byte box for android.

At the top of the tank you'll be looking for
My guess.
20,000 lux on a 20 in tank.
Above that is fine too. Better actually as they do require a higher amount of light.

A $15 lux meter is the best honestly.

At 20k lux it's around 300 plus par at the top.

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 1, 2016

rbraunberger said:
ok....so just went out and the clam has moved more towards the side now....i was afraid he was not getting enough light....this moving towards the edges is making me think maybe to much...is there such a thing for a clam?

I have a Squamosa. It doesn't move now it has a happy place for flow.
From what I have seen and read etc clams live in near daylight light levels. 100k plus lux in the wild.
In aquaria pars from 250 to 400. More than that I can't comment on.

mcarroll · Apr 2, 2016

rbraunberger said:
Hello all,

How can you tell/make sure your clam is getting the correct amount of light?

Easy as 1,2,3...

scholar.google.com
"tridacna habitat | distribution"
http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/3985
They are found from the surface down to about 10 to 20 meters depth.

Stony corals are rarely found surviving down to around 60 meters, becoming more common above 50 meters. Which from memory gives them something like 1000-5000 lux.

It's hard to find ($free) references on actual light levels at particular dpeths in the ocean, but I'd say from 30,000 [HASHTAG]#lux[/HASHTAG] on up to around 80,000 lux. (around 600-1600 [HASHTAG]#PAR[/HASHTAG]) should be good.

I'd presume that just as with corals, "more is not better" for light, so unless you dig further* and find that they are somehow more suited to ultra-bright light than stony corals, I wouldn't assume you need anything more that "average bright reef lighting".

How about a qoute from the article...(RTFM!)

These rather uniform hydrographic conditions indicate that the limiting depth for growth of Tridacnidae (10 to 20 meters) is determined primarily by the transparency of the water and the lack of sufficient light for photosynthesis by zooxanthellae at greater depths.

Fixtures typically top out around 40,000-50,000 lux, so putting 30,000 lux over a clam shouldn't be too hard. But it sounds like clams are NOT like corals - more light is probably better. Just keep in mind the limits many corals have - more is not better for them.

* Lots has been written on clams and their culture, but hobby sources seem mostly dubious and better sources are costly....for research libraries only. :mad:

rbraunberger · Apr 5, 2016

I checked out the lux readings at evening is about 25-27 K lux, mid day about 50K lux....the clam did move a bit and has found a place it seems to like......even digging into the sand a bit. Not sure why it likes being up in the coral so much....but open wider than ever...must be happy