Lighting for your Refugium

[vetteguy53081]

Innovative marine chaeto light

 

[saltyhog]

I've had this light for about a year and grows chaeto wicked fast.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/waterproof-full-spectrum-led-8850-tunze.html

Harvesting this much every 3 weeks or so.

 

[Atti2de]

I used a floodlight bulb 6500k and it grew well. Moved to a Kessil H150 magenta and the growth rate grew. Now a Kessil H150 and I have crazy growth. Without walls on my sump the front of my house looks suspicious with a pink glow...

It all depends on your system though. If you have high/low nutrients, temp, light schedule and such.

 

[ChrisW]

Just a fuge light, not sure of the brand, but the cheato grows crazily, have to trim it back every few wks or so, light is on opposite cycle from display light cycle

 

[Burrito]

using the fuge section of a trigger 34 with the medium kessil fuge light, h160 i think. amazing chaeto growth, golfball to filling up the whole area with thick dense cheato in about 6 weeks

 

[Art2249]

This is a Skye LED that came with an Innovative marine tank. The tank came with 2 lights but I'm using it for QT and only need one over the tank.

 

[Seipster]

This on my xl525 new tank so chaeto has not really taken off yet.

 

[Gabaghoul]

I use an AI Hydra26 HD for my refugium. Grows chaeto much faster than the HomeDepot LED bulb I had on there previously. I only used the Hydra26 because I happened to have one on hand and then I noticed it was an incredible upgrade. But I would probably go with something made specifically for chaeto growth with the red spectrum like the Kessel if I was going to get something for that purpose. Although those seem overpriced to me.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

For my nano I use LED strips, last week I got a golf ball sized clump of Cheato and it’s filled the refugium already, (it’s about 2 1/2 quarts) it’s essentially the only means of filtration since I don’t run anything else besides carbon.

 

[2CC's]

I took a chance and followed some advice in another forum on the same subject and used this lamp. I have 100 gal system and dose small amounts of nitrate and phosphorus just so they register with the test kits. The chaeto grows really dense and I remove a compressed softball sized clump every two weeks. Filled the 14x14 area under the light 8" thick. . Light is 8" off the water - lots of flow through the tank (11 GPM through a 25 gallon compartment). The beam is rather focused (10" circle at water level) - in my case that worked out well as i did not want spillover into an adjoining compartment . I am pleased with it.