Hi all am going to be setting up a small refugium on my new tank . On my old tank for the refugium light I was just using my old prime HD for my cheato and was working great buy sold the light awhile ago when I **** down my old tank . I have a prime fresh water light pretty much new sitting on the shelf for a few years I was wondering if I could use that for the cheato/refugium?
Cheato lighting question
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Nanoreefboi
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Chaetomorpha is an algae/plant, so a freshwater light may be suitable. Won’t hurt to give it a try.
STLReefer
New Member
Not that long ago the "normal refugium light" was often a standard 3000k to 6500k incadescent in a cheap metal clamp on dome and they work fine. Pretty much anything will work in my experience. I have started using some cheap 12x12 led panel grow lights and they do seem to be marginally better, but mostly i switched because they were the easy cheap way to evenly light a 12x24 section i grow cheato in without the hotspots i was getting with my cheap dome reflectors.
So i would say use what you got. As long as it is not extremely underpowered and has the spread you need you should be fine.
So i would say use what you got. As long as it is not extremely underpowered and has the spread you need you should be fine.
Like others have mentioned above it should be perfectly fine to grow your Chaeto- you will just have to tweak the settings to work for you 
You can definitely run it 24/7 but I like to recommend to work your way up to that point over a period of time and monitor your chaeto's growth with your light intensity/ height you have it over the tank.
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
Most ornamental macros do poorly under non-white light for some reason, but I found chaeto to be the exception. Mine grows like crazy with a cheap red/blue (I call them blurple) LED grow light for houseplants. No need to invest in an expensive tank specific light for this purpose. A six watt "blurple" led grow light is all that's needed to control nitrates in my 20 gallon tank with 5 RBTAs 2 clownfish and a SLF crab. I have found however that high water flow through the chaeto is necessary for good growth.
Also pay attention to "watt" ratings. Some LED lights are marketed as "equivalent" watts, whatever that means, but don't disclose it. If PAR specs are not available, at least pay attention to actual watts vs "equivalent" watts when making comparisons. For example, the 6 watt light I mentioned might be sold as a "60 watt" light by a dishonest seller.
Also pay attention to "watt" ratings. Some LED lights are marketed as "equivalent" watts, whatever that means, but don't disclose it. If PAR specs are not available, at least pay attention to actual watts vs "equivalent" watts when making comparisons. For example, the 6 watt light I mentioned might be sold as a "60 watt" light by a dishonest seller.
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