i 3rd the coralvue 2x9watt setup. i have 2 of the 6700k ones over my fuge and they work great plus they are tight little units. the melev rig is ghetto, the clip unit it's self is 15 bucks plus 10 bucks for the bulb, then you have to clean the spiral bulb weekly and its a huge pain in the ass. for 32 bucks you cant go wrong with the coralvue units.

macro lighting
 

My refugium will be 18" by 18" by 22" (about 30G). The depth of the water will be 18". Is 9W enough or will I get better growth with more Watts?

Seahorse fanatic, do I understand you right? You are using an AC500 for a fuge? If so, how did you go about creating it?

Re: macro lighting
 

you need more.

try this link, might find it very helpful for what you're thinkin', i did :biggrin: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/show...0&pagenumber=1

Re: macro lighting
 

Do you think one bulb:

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...ID=pc-alf24065

Or 2:

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...ID=pc-alf24130

how can you tell the K rating of the bulb? Is it just a standard curly bulb?

Thanks
Dan

look for a "daylight" bulb. typically has a higher kelvin rating than the "soft light" other than that... sometimes you may find it on the packaging but it can be more difficult to find that info.

ps i found two phyllips daylight bulbs at HD for about 10 bucks for both.

they are only 5100k, you really need something more like 6700k.

true dat! if anyone can find the screw in CF bulbs closer to 6700k i would also be very interested in knowing where they're at!!