Refugium Lighting

[dmweise]

I'd like to setup a refugium in my sump. I need to know what kind of light I should get and how long it should be on each day.

Any suggestions?

[BIGBIRD123]

You can use one of the clip-on shop lights from Home Depot and get one of the compact florescent 6500K bulbs. I have mine on 24/7.

[JimD]

Why 24/7? Just curious...

[ErikH]

no chance of anything going sexual with the light on 24/7. Unless your macro is kinkier than chaeto! :D

I gotta pat my own back on that one. Pretty funny.

[JimD]

umm... lo..l... What about photosynthesis? Dont most plants need the dark to convert sunlight to energy? :)

[ErikH]

umm... lo..l... What about photosynthesis? Dont most plants need the dark to convert sunlight to energy? :)


I have sexy macro and from what I have read it says 24/7 unless you want prego!

[BIGBIRD123]

It is the grape calerpa that you mostly have to worry about going asexual. I have never seen Cheato or racemosa do it but I guess it could be possible. I just do it out of habit because I used to have the grape calerpa.

[dmweise]

You can use one of the clip-on shop lights from Home Depot and get one of the compact florescent 6500K bulbs. I have mine on 24/7.

This sounds like it can be pretty low cost! I like it. I'll check out Home Depot this afternoon. Thank you.

[dmweise]

This sounds like it can be pretty low cost! I like it. I'll check out Home Depot this afternoon. Thank you.

Home Depot didn't have anything that I could use that was affordable and that could be used in a cabinet. I got a light from AquaTek. Its pretty sweet.

[BIGBIRD123]

I spent $15 at HD.

[hilltopperpete]

I have sexy macro and from what I have read it says 24/7 unless you want prego!

True.

Also, it's pretty important to keep pasta sauce out of your tank. :bigsmile:

[allan]

I picked up a pc (half blue half white) from AD about five and a half months ago and saw a lot of growth (what I thought was a lot). About two weeks ago I picked up a clip on lamp (six bones), and a 95 watt bulb (nine bones (probably not the best)). I run the PC 24/7 and the HD lamp about 12s a stretch, typically over night as it tends to raise my water temp. During the night I leave my cabinet doors open to make the most of the house ac.

Now my chaeto is growing noticably faster. I had a small piece that I picked up from Mr. Cobb and had watched (a watched pot never boils) to see if it would grow, never really did. However in the last two weeks it has almost doubled in size.

There is a plan that I used to grow while I was a teenager that I would put under grow lamps for about 12 hours a day. When I wanted the plant to go sexual I would shorten the light period from 12 to 8 hours. I believe this is what triggers the plant into thinking winter is coming and then they do their business.... or attempt to. I always separated the plants so that the males were no where close.

Question is, if you have frags in the fuge can the lights still stay on 24/7?

[innate1]

That's funny, you never know where you'll bump into a farmer ;)

[allan]

:shades:

Actually, I think that Home Depots (and the like) do it to their plants so that in late winter ~ early spring the flowers are all blooming in their stores, until you get them home and put them into the soil where they lose their flowers until later. JMO of course.

Had a temperature issue with that HD light in my fuge, shot way up to 84.7 degrees. Put a fan in their set on low turned off the HD light and the water temp dropped to 77.5 degrees. Turned the HD light back on and left the fan on one... got to find that happy medium...