Refugium light for innovative marine fusion 20

[Mycota]

Hi,

Im looking for a good refugium light for the all in one fusion 20 im setting up. Im creating a chaeto refugium in one of the back compartments and need a small light i can use to light it through the aquarium back glass panel.

On my old tank i used the shop light/cfl and it worked great. Unfortunately i only have about 5 inches between the aquarium and wall and that wont work.

I had heard innovative marine was selling a underwater led that worked great for chaeto but looks like it is discontinued.

I have seen 30W LED clip on lights on amazon that have bulbs at 460 and 660nm. I know those wavelengths aren't the most optimal but would that work?

I really would like something small and sleak with minimal light spillage out of the tank. In otherwords a shoplight without the cover would equal unhappy girlfriend if the whole room is glowing from it.

I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

 

[macnets]

They made a new one with a much better light spectrum.

https://www.marinedepot.com/Innovat...ting-Innovative_Marine-0I10623-FIRFRL-vi.html

 

[macnets]

 

[Mycota]

@macnets yeah i was thinking that IM Chaetomax light looked nice but 70 for a refugium so small seems excessive assuming its in stock (which it appears to ve at the moment). I may end up going with that one but was hoping to find something a little more affordable.

 

[macnets]

@macnets yeah i was thinking that IM Chaetomax light looked nice but 70 for a refugium so small seems excessive assuming its in stock (which it appears to ve at the moment). I may end up going with that one but was hoping to find something a little more affordable.

I agree, for that price you could probably build a chaeto Reactor which would be more effective imo.

 

[Mycota]

Decided to try out the chaetomax even though the price is absurd. It is really just the best fit for my needs since its made for my style tank.

I think i will probably still going to get the $20 amazon clip light and try it out for a bit on an old aquaclear mod just to compare growth. If it doesn't work out ill just clip it to one of my indoor house plants.

Ill try to remember to report growth comparisons in a few months to see if the cheap clip on plant leds are a viable option.

 

[JaihWill]

There are some led’s on amazon that have great growth on chaeto reactors. The $70 for the new IM is just too steep for my justification after buying the Magafuge light.

 

[Mycota]

Im going to perform an experiment between the chaetomax and an amazon $20 dual led hydro light to see if the chaetomax actually has better results. Ill update results in a month or two.

 

[LetItReef]

I had this LED that is mounted on the wall and that is directly pointing on the back of the chamber of my IM40:

https://www.amazon.com/ACKE-Spectru...=UTF8&qid=1516211771&sr=8-1&keywords=acke+led

 

[Mycota]

@LetItReef how were your results with that unit?

 

[Justfebreezeit]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CHJM7L/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I dropped one of these in each secondary chamber about 2 weeks ago, cant tell if its working yet though. will update.

 

[LetItReef]

@LetItReef how were your results with that unit?

Had awesome growth of red macroalgae and back was stuffed. I removed bec of detrius build up. I should have added a small powerhead.
I will try to look for pics and will send it.
Now, I am using the same light to grow pythoplankton and have also good result!

 

[Mycota]

@Justfebreezeit definitely keep us updated!

@LetItReef how are you growing the phyto? How did you start yohr first batch?

 

[LetItReef]

@Mycota :

I initially bought the following listed below and few items that I already have- airline tubing, small pump and couple clean empty 8oz water bottles for the culture and grow LED light- https://www.amazon.com/ACKE-Spectru...515545165&sr=1-4&keywords=acke+led+grow+light

https://www.amazon.com/Live-Marine-...qid=1515543931&sr=8-16&keywords=phytoplankton

https://www.amazon.com/Hydro-Algal-...&qid=1515543989&sr=1-3&keywords=f2+fertilizer

https://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Compa...TF8&qid=1515544567&sr=1-1&keywords=gang+valve

Using the empty water bottle with few holes on top- one hole that could fit a airline tubing. I took about half a cup of the Phytoplankton then add about a tb of the F2 fertilizer and about 2-3 cups of saltwater with 1.020 salinity, give it a good shake then light it up for about 14-16 hours. Once it turns dark green, you have your Phytoplankton ready. Mine takes about 4-5 days.

If this isn't helpful, there are few vids that I watched in youtube

 

[Mycota]

@LetItReef Cool thanks for your response. Ive considered doing this as well. Was just wondering where you got your starting culture.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

My experiment didn't work out. I'm not sure if its the light or various other factors but my Chaeto pretty much died away.

1. I have dragons breath in the display that is doing well might be out competing.
2. I'm running purigen and chemipure elite, might be stripping to much.
3. The Chaeto is a detritus magnet.

 

[Mycota]

I still haven't started my experiment. I need to get another intank basket so the flow is close on each chaeto. So far the chaetomax light is doing awesome. Chaeto went from golfball size to larger than my fist in about 2 weeks. Im running a ghost skimmer and chemipure blue.

 

[Mycota]

I shake my basket up and down for 20 seconds or so every day or two to get detritus off the chaeto. It also has the added benefit of sending pods into the display.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Thats good to hear, so you have good growth with plenty of other nutrient export. It means that light is working well.
Shaking the basket is a good idea also. My chaeto was just free floating in the second chamber.

I might revisit the refegium idea down the road. Keep us updated on your progress/growth.

 

[ranchhand02]

I am also thinking of adding a fuge to my nanocube 28 and I really like the chaetomax light, but $70 is a bit much for it. I may try some of the lights off of amazon that are listed on here.