refug lighting

[martym]

Will a NO "shop "light work for lighting a 20g refugium? I would put plant bulbs in it instead of the shop bulbs.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

If you can find any clip on lights (I got mine from Canadian Tire) & put in a 26w CFL Noma Cool white or Phillips Daylight (Home Depot), you should be good to go.

Anthony

[martym]

Thanks Anthony

[Mike Olson]

Inspector aka Paul used the clipon and daylight in his 15-20 refugium and has had a hard time keeping up with the pruning because it grows so fast!

[Skimmerking]

Any lights from the kelvin rating of 5000K and under is really good to use. the ones from Home depot and canadian tire. if you can get the out side fixtures that you can get they are the yellow ones from Can -tire with the grill on them for spot lights i think. 500 watters.

check into those

[StirCrazy]

Any lights from the kelvin rating of 5000K and under is really good to use.

why do you say this? is there something wrong with using a daylight bulb at 6500K?

personally I would stay away from anything under 5000K if you goal is to grow plants/algae ect.. super store has some power compacts that screw into a regular light socket on for 5 bucks each and they are a true day light spectrum of 6500K and would be awesome for a sump or something.

Steve

[tinpusher]

If you want to grow frags in the refugium what light would you suggest?

[Bob I]

For plant growth any normal bulb will be fine, The longer wavelenghts in daylight bulbs are good for plant growth (algae) :biggrin:

[Skimmerking]

Any lights from the kelvin rating of 5000K and under is really good to use.

why do you say this? is there something wrong with using a daylight bulb at 6500K?

personally I would stay away from anything under 5000K if you goal is to grow plants/algae ect.. super store has some power compacts that screw into a regular light socket on for 5 bucks each and they are a true day light spectrum of 6500K and would be awesome for a sump or something.

Steve

Steve you are probably right, I always thought a lower Kelvin rating is better for growing algae in the sump or refug

mike

[BMW Rider]

I use an undercabinet type 18" flourescent fixture with a growlight bulb in it on my refugium. I got it at Home Depot in the lighting section for about $20 plus $5 for the growlight bulb. I leave the opaque plastic lens off and it sits right on top of the eggcrate nice and close to the water surface. Seems to make the macroalgae grow just fine.

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

As far as green plants are concerned, they love intensity but they only respond to certain wavelengths (or colours). They thrive on red/orange and blue/violet light but they reflect green light (hence the plant appear green to us).

Since it is much cheaper for us to buy high intensity red/orange (aka low kelvin lights) lights than it is to buy high intensity purple (aka high K), I believe low kelvin lights are the best solution.

Broad spectrum daylight isn't bad for plants, its just not ideal. Its light is balance. It may not have a strong red/orange or a purple component. Since high and low kelvin lamps may have a stronger component in those regions, these lights will do better than daylight.

Its all IMHO of course :D

- Victor.

[StirCrazy]

I know heavy in the red spectrum will encourage one type of growth and high in the blue will encourage another type of growth but I had never heard they reflect green, as everything i have read is that all light between 385nm and is it 720nm us usable for photosynthesis. and the key is trying to get the right blend.

Oh isn't the red spectrum for fast spindly growth while the blue promotes good root development and budding?

I think overall unless you are running a indoor grow op you are not going to notice a difference or a lack of performance using a daylight bulb.

Steve

[soriano]

i'm using a 13w 2600k bulb... and my macro is doing pretty good.
I think if i increased the wattage that it would grow quicker...

I was skeptical about the 2600, but apparently its working...

[WWWD]

you should run 6700k bulbs for fuge growth. higher the wattage the faster the growth.

[Invigor]

I think you should try the 4100k bulbs for the mere reason nobody has mentioned this tempurature yet! :D

To eleborate on steve's comment:

2700k "RED" spectrum (similar to HPS), for general growth and blooming.

6500k "BLUE" spectrum (similar to Metal Halide), for seedlings, cuttings, and clone growth.