Refugium and phosphate question/advice??

[Gwitness]

I have a 220 gallon tank and I also have a 60 gallon that is plumbed up to my main tank that I use for a refugium......

I am currently reading 0.8 on my ultra low Hannah phosphorus checker.....I run gfo in a reactor also.

I ordered a bunch of macros and chaeto from liveplants.com awhile back....I feel like my chaeto does not grow at all and neither does anything else I have in the refugium....I also feel like my phosphates should be lower than that when I only have 6 fish in my tank and I don't overfees at all...

I am currently running just clamp lights from Home Depot on my refugium with 5000k led bulbs....any suggestions or advice to get my refugium to grow and take up the phosphates more than they have been so I can use less gfo? It will that never happen

I understand 0.08 is not insanely high but I'd prefer 0.02-0.04 range if I could

I guess my main confusion is about my refugium and why nothing really grows

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

how is the flow in the refugium.

 

[Gwitness]

how is the flow in the refugium.

The refugium is drilled so I have the return pump blowing water back in (not fast at all)

And I put in only one hydor powerhead because I thought I didn't need good flow in the tank....maybe I'm way off on that though

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

eh, plants need flow too of course. but with the hydor it sounds like you have at least some..
are the clip lights high up? are the lights cfl or leds?

 

[Gwitness]

eh, plants need flow too of course. but with the hydor it sounds like you have at least some..
are the clip lights high up? are the lights cfl or leds?

It's a pretty shallow tank so the lights are right over the macro and chaeto...and I'm using 5000k led bulbs currently

I'm trying to get a picture for you but this app isn't letting me send one right now for some reason

 

[Gwitness]

 

[Gwitness]

Normally my chaeto isn't up front like that....it just got loose from the rocks today

 

[Gwitness]

Any ideas? Maybe it's my bulbs?

 

[sebastiaan1985]

Think the bulbs are of influence, 5000K contains more yellow, which does nothing for your algae.
Personally I would go for at least 6500K, but better a 10000K lighting. More useable spectrum.

Above my refugium in the sump I have a grow-led (with red and blue) for growth, but not a nice sight for open refugium.

 

[Gwitness]

Think the bulbs are of influence, 5000K contains more yellow, which does nothing for your algae.
Personally I would go for at least 6500K, but better a 10000K lighting. More useable spectrum.

Above my refugium in the sump I have a grow-led (with red and blue) for growth, but not a nice sight for open refugium.

Okay great to know! Can I get that spectrum bulb at Home Depot? Or do I need to get a different fixture?

 

[sebastiaan1985]

Might be worth checking the YouTube Channel of Bulk Reef Supply, nice study of refugiums/cheato and different lighting.
Very good view

 

[Gwitness]

Might be worth checking the YouTube Channel of Bulk Reef Supply, nice study of refugiums/cheato and different lighting.
Very good view

Will do thanks!

 

[Gwitness]

So I switched to Home Depot par38 5000k bulbs and it is 90 watts and now my chaeto is kinda turning brownish at the ends of it and has tons of air bubbles all on it??? Any thoughts or ideas?

 

[Luke Schnabel]

My macro algae didn't grow all to well till I started dosing iron. Then it exploded with growth and the green got way deeper.
The lights you have now should be fine to grow any type of macro. They could just need some more nitrates and some iron.

 

[Gwitness]

My macro algae didn't grow all to well till I started dosing iron. Then it exploded with growth and the green got way deeper.
The lights you have now should be fine to grow any type of macro. They could just need some more nitrates and some iron.

So I was just about to post this also!!! My nitrates are super low because I went fallow for awhile....just tested and nitrates are still at 0 but I thought the macro was only affected by phosphates, not nitrates also [emoji85] maybe I need to buy some more fish and feed a little more

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So I was just about to post this also!!! My nitrates are super low because I went fallow for awhile....just tested and nitrates are still at 0 but I thought the macro was only affected by phosphates, not nitrates also [emoji85] maybe I need to buy some more fish and feed a little more

Algae (micro and macro) both need a source of N and P (and many trace metals such as iron).

 

[Luke Schnabel]

Adding more fish is a good rout to add NO3. Every tank is different though.
I actually have to dose Potassium Nitrate to keep my nitrates around 5-10ppm. I can't get them through just feeding. Same thing with phosphate now. I'm feeding 6 cubes a day, and my auto feeder is feeding pellets 3 times a day and I still can't keep Nitrate and Phosphate up.

 

[Gwitness]

Okay I'll try and figure it out and try a couple different things to get it going! Appreciate the replies! Thanks

 

[bubbaque]

If you get nitrates in the tank, it will also pull down your phosphates because the chaeto will finally be able to grow. I dosed potassium nitrate also and my chaeto grows like crazy!!

 

[Gwitness]

Okay awesome