nano clam

[Jasontkd]

hey all, I have a 20 gallon (30x12x12) 30lbs LR. 2 clowns, yellow polyp, green ricordea, striped mushroom, brittle star, 3 turbo snails, 15 hermits, fighting conch, scwd wavemaker run by mag 7, 1 x 65 watt PC. are there any clams that stay small and would go in this tank. i love the look of them, I just don't know a lot about them.

[Bigdogzack]

Crocea don't get over 6" or so and are extremely colorful BUT they also need very intence lighting (read metal halide...175 watt for your size tank).

[Justin]

You have good lighting for the size of your tank, BUT,its highly unlikely that it'll be intense enough for a clam. The old school rule as watts per gallon isnt accurate enough to gauge(but for the sake of argument most suggest 5watts per gallon). The accepted measurment in the industry now from what I understand is PAR.Although your watts per gallon is close, the actuall intesity hitting your animals is still relatively low being 65 watts.
Alot of distributors keep these guys under 250 watts of halide light, in similar depths as your tank, although bigger systems. PC and VHO guys can work around this and get good results because of the amount that there using(which is alot!).

With the lighting you have now, id stick with soft coral. It will be more satisfying to see things thrive in your tank, than just being able to barely survive.

-Justin

[geekbrit]

I guess that means a 24g nano-cube with 2x 36W 50/50 CF lamps is a complete non-starter for clams?

I'm interested in a comment I saw in the 'Starter Clam' thread - do they actually improve water quality by removing nitrates from the water? I was guessing they'd have a negative impact on the system.