XR15 G5 Blue for cheating growth

[Scottm032]

I recently put a radion in place of my Apex GRO (not enough par) on my refugium. I decided to adjust the setting to 7000 kelvin on a reverse lighting schedule. I’ll know within a few weeks if I’m getting good growth out of my cheat.

Anyone else using a radion for a fuge? What was your experience??

 

[Formulator]

Dude, chaeto will grow under a $10 shop light… what exactly are you trying to achieve and who told you that was necessary?

 

[PharmrJohn]

Dude, chaeto will grow under a $10 shop light… what exactly are you trying to achieve and who told you that was necessary?

Pretty much! Chaeto is rather undiscerning in its needs.

 

[Scottm032]

Dude, chaeto will grow under a $10 shop light… what exactly are you trying to achieve and who told you that was necessary?

I’m not “growing cheato”. I’m exporting nutrients. My $170 GRO wasn’t doing the job. I needed more par. I now have the proper light to do the job. My question was more about spectrum.

 

[Formulator]

I’m not “growing cheato”. I’m exporting nutrients. My $170 GRO wasn’t doing the job. I needed more par. I now have the proper light to do the job. My question was more about spectrum.

Semantics… I have a cheap 36W hygger on my fuge that “exports nutrients” like nobody’s business. Its a 20g long and I export more than a softball sized clump of chaeto every week. It is set on full spectrum. Plants like chaeto need both red and blue ends of the spectrum, while the zooxanthellae in coral utilize the green-blue spectrum significantly more. This was evolutionarily driven due to the way red light is filtered out by water. If corals needed significant red light, they would struggle at reef depth.

Blue light has been shown to aid in vegetative growth, but it is important this light is supplemental and not just shifting the entire spectrum toward blue, at the cost of the red side.

 

[Scottm032]

Semantics… I have a cheap 36W hygger on my fuge that “exports nutrients” like nobody’s business. Its a 20g long and I export more than a softball sized clump of chaeto every week. It is set on full spectrum. Plants like chaeto need both red and blue ends of the spectrum, while the zooxanthellae in coral utilize the green-blue spectrum significantly more. This was evolutionarily driven due to the way red light is filtered out by water. If corals needed significant red light, they would struggle at reef depth.

Blue light has been shown to aid in vegetative growth, but it is important this light is supplemental and not just shifting the entire spectrum toward blue, at the cost of the red side.

 

[Scottm032]

I have a 250 gallon well stocked aquarium. Lots of corals and full grown fish that I’ve had for 10 years. If I could get away with a cheap light I most certainly would.

 

[Formulator]

I have a 250 gallon well stocked aquarium. Lots of corals and full grown fish that I’ve had for 10 years. If I could get away with a cheap light I most certainly would.

I failed to mention - I actually have 2 lights. I have the hygger I mentioned over the top and I have a tunze eco chic submersible light under the chaeto. Adding the submersible light doubled my growth and I don’t have to turn it anymore.

 

[VintageReefer]

If you want greater control over nutrients, you should change macro, not the light

Almost any light will grow cheato

Get an algae turf scrubber, and increase your efficiency with an algae that has 5-8x the nutrient reducing capacity of cheato

 

[Formulator]

Get an algae turf scrubber, and increase your efficiency with an algae that has 5-8x the nutrient reducing capacity of cheato

I never considered the efficiency of turf vs chaeto. Interesting… I like my fuge for its function as an actual refuge for pods, but I wonder if I could still integrate turf somehow

 

[VintageReefer]

I never considered the efficiency of turf vs chaeto. Interesting… I like my fuge for its function as an actual refuge for pods, but I wonder if I could still integrate turf somehow

I’ve done this
This was my cheato fuge

I would export two long sandwich bags weekly and sell

My nutrients were not being controlled to the level I wanted.

I added a surf2 algae scrubber. It grew turf. And…all my cheato died in a few months. And after the cheato was gone, and I was running the scrubber alone…my nutrients went down. The scrubber was handling the tanks nutrient load on its own, and out competed the cheato and proved to be stronger

My scrubber took up 1/4 the space in this refugium. To compensate for pods, I filled in the remaining space with live rock and made a unlit cryptic fuge. The unlit rock grew sponge and tiny feather dusters and pods. This combination has been my method of filtration for 10 years and it’s way more effective than the cheato was

Pods don’t need cheato. They will reproduce and live just fine in the dark with live rock chunks or rock rubble

 

[AetherealKnight]

I use a $20 12w light on Amazon for my chaeto for my new Refugium last month. It didn’t look so well in the first few days so I started dosing chaetogro and it has exploded. It’s like doubled in size. So I really doubt it’s the light.

 

[VintageReefer]

To the OP, the radion can do the needed spectrum but I suspect not all the leds will be utilized and it won’t put out as much usable watts vs a dedicated fuge light that is designed to apply 100% of its power to the correct spectrum

 

[Formulator]

I’ve done this
This was my cheato fuge

I would export two long sandwich bags weekly and sell

My nutrients were not being controlled to the level I wanted.

I added a surf2 algae scrubber. It grew turf. And…all my cheato died in a few months. And after the cheato was gone, and I was running the scrubber alone…my nutrients went down. The scrubber was handling the tanks nutrient load on its own, and out competed the cheato and proved to be stronger

My scrubber took up 1/4 the space in this refugium. To compensate for pods, I filled in the remaining space with live rock and made a unlit cryptic fuge. The unlit rock grew sponge and tiny feather dusters and pods. This combination has been my method of filtration for 10 years and it’s way more effective than the cheato was

Pods don’t need cheato. They will reproduce and live just fine in the dark with live rock chunks or rock rubble

Welp, I know what my next project is going to be