chaeto growth?

[sweetrav18]

Is a 5w LED light enough to keep chaeto alive in a fuge basket? i had a small amount and it just melted away??

 

[luther1200]

If it just melted away then I would say it wasn't enough light, IMO. But I could be wrong. Maybe some more info on the system would help.

 

[sweetrav18]

i have a fuge basket in the back of my 29g BC. lighting is on a reverse schedule

 

[ludnix]

I keep a 5 watt LED light over my terrarium, not enough light for chaeto though in my opinion.

 

[spsfarmer09]

i am pretty sure it wont be enough.

 

[gabbagabbawill]

LED's can be a very narrow spectrum of light... just because you can see it doesn't mean that it is in the correct range for photosynthesis.

I don't have one of these bulbs yet, but it looks promising: http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

BTW, if you google "5100K bulb" melev's link above is the first that shows up... pretty impressive!

 

[Brian DeGolier]

The melting is not enough light. I now have the fastest growing, healthest chaeto that I have ever seen with a clamp light $7 and a GE PC 13 watt (60W)Energy Smart bulb $8 and they last 4 years and emits very little heat. The bulb I have actually is the daylight with a 6500K rating, there is also a 5000K Sunshine. My nitrates are way down, and I'm selling the chaeto to the LFS.

 

[firemedic0135]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15234799#post15234799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Brian DeGolier
The melting is not enough light. I now have the fastest growing, healthest chaeto that I have ever seen with a clamp light $7 and a GE PC 13 watt (60W)Energy Smart bulb $8 and they last 4 years and emits very little heat. The bulb I have actually is the daylight with a 6500K rating, there is also a 5000K Sunshine. My nitrates are way down, and I'm selling the chaeto to the LFS.

good luck with four years and that one bulb. Mine usually last 6 months running 24/7. They do work very well though.

 

[Brian DeGolier]

Yeah, the 4 years is what they say on the box, mine is on for 18 hours per day, but at least they're cheap

 

[sweetrav18]

are these bulbs submersible

 

[spsfarmer09]

no

 

[rendogg]

5 watts should be enough to grow a blind cave salamander.

 

[sweetrav18]

thanks rendogg for the advice...anyone have any constructive advice about maybe a submersible light for chaeto

 

[Brian DeGolier]

no, the light goes on top, use eggcrate.

 

[redfishsc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15235409#post15235409 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by firemedic0135
good luck with four years and that one bulb. Mine usually last 6 months running 24/7. They do work very well though.

Agreed. Mine is still working after 6 months, but I put it on my back porch. My chaeto wasn't growing well. It's only been a week since I put the new one in, so we'll see how well the chaeto responds.

I think the light output on these really drops off to low-PAR after 6 months. I can visibly see a strong difference in light output between the old and new, and color shift (from white to yellowish).

Still looks good on the back porch!

 

[GrimReefer82]

I found a bulb at lowes that is amazing for chaeto and caulerpa. it's made by bright effects and is 6500k and costs less than 10 bucks. Its just a compact fluorescent floodlight bulb. Good luck finding a submersible light and could you explain why it has to be submersible?