Enough Light

[Aquariumist]

I am planning on keeping caulerpa in my refugium, the refugium will have about a two inch sand bed, and a good amount of flow. But will two 13 watt 50/50 bulbs be sufficient to keep it alive? If not what other types of algae could i use?

 

[graveyardworm]

What size is the refugium, 26 watts of 50/50 PC light is really low.

 

[dalbrecht]

For macro I would go with 65k instead of 50/50, You're not really worried about "coloring it up". I would look into chaeto or having 2 species in there. That way in the event one goes sexual you still have species number 2 to take up some of the nutrients and continue providing export.

 

[Aquariumist]

graveyardworm, the refugium is small, its in my sump, and I want to say it is 2 or 3 gallons.

 

[Aquariumist]

Oh and i made a mistake, they arent 50/50 bulbs. one is daylight (im not sure on the kelvin rating, i'll get back to you on that.), the other actinic, (which i am also not sure of the rating.) ill get more info tonight.

 

[Samala]

I'd replace your separate actinic bulb with another daylight if it were me. If the refugium is really as small as two or three gallons 26w is probably going to be plenty. I have a 19w bulb over a 5.5gallon tank (I think its 12" high) and the Caulerpa prolifera and Chaetomorpha grow very well in there.

>Sarah

 

[Aquariumist]

Thanks Samala,
My daylight bulb is 10,000 K, and my actinic is 420 nm.
I am not sure on the exact size of my refugium, but it is definatley smaller then 5 gallons. My refugium is actually an extended model ofthe sealife systems variety. My refugium is the center portion, where water comes in through the overflow via numerous slots the allow water to come in through the entire water column. The light i have covers the entire area of that region.

 

[Aquariumist]

Also, i only have a 1" snadlayer which i will be adding a layer of Kent's Marine BioSediment. Does anyone have any productivity with this product? Is it beneficial or just another gimmick. If its nobetter then any other sand i will probably just go with a fine aragamax sand, or any other sand that someone has good results with.

 

[Aquariumist]

What about Mineral Mud?

 

[Aquariumist]

anyone?

 

[graveyardworm]

Sorry thought you were using those screw-in coralife 50/50 bulbs. Are the bulbs your using regular NO flourescent tubes? Sorry I have no experience with mud type substrates.

 

[Aquariumist]

graveyardworm, what do you mean by regular NO fluorescent tubes? the tubes are also bi-pin, one 10,000k daylight, the other actinic is 420 nm.

 

[graveyardworm]

Are they flourescent bulbs, Power compact, or some type of screw in bulb?

 

[Samala]

Sound like typical PC flourescents if they have pins. I'm sure two of those is fine over your small fuge. Better to have two full daylights, but it might not be necessary.

>Sarah

 

[graveyardworm]

Yeah with pins its obviously not a screw in bulbs, I must've sniffed too much paint today. Could still be a flourescent tube though.

 

[Aquariumist]

Not completely sure, but they maybe normal fluorescent tubes, i remember seeing them somewhere, but then again i did hit my head this morning! lol.

 

[Samala]

Sniffing paint, hitting your heads.. my goodness people! I'm accident prone myself but I dont think bruises from riding roller coasters last week counts!

If they look like this.. most likely normal-output (NO) fluorescent: see pic. And if like this most likely going to be CF (compact fluorescent) or PC (power compact) bulbs. Almost all CF/PC's are bent in half and have two rows of the bulb. Plus.. 13w is a very common small size for PC/CF and a very uncommon size for NO. I think the PC/CF is what you've got.

I think we're asking only because CF/PC bulbs seem to produce more light than comparable wattage NO bulbs. And, for growing Caulerpa, Chaetomorpha, Ulva, what you've got should be just fine. In the future, switch up to two daylights for more light if the growth rates aren't what you want under 13w daylight and 13w actinic.

Oh.. for mud.. I have no experience with Miracle but I liked Mineral Mud. Soft, easy to root into, doesnt make a big mess in the tank. I'd still cover the layer with some aragonite to keep it in place. Jury is still out over whether or not it provides the trace elements that will keep your plants growing well and fast.

>Sarah

 

[louist]

Oh.. for mud.. I have no experience with Miracle but I liked Mineral Mud

I saw a chemical analysis of Miracle Mud or Minera Mud, and it's basically snake oil.

Get some live sand from a fellow reefer

 

[Aquariumist]

Thanks Samala, thw bulbs I have are the second choice, they are 13 watt PC bi-pin bulbs. I already am thinking about switchin the actinic for the 6500 k. anyway, i already have, like, a one inch layer of live aragonite, how deep should I make my sandbed? I have maybe two or three extra inches of room before my filter slits, and i was hoping for some liverock along with the calerpa (unsure on spelling), and ill see what happens from there.
-Thanks RC.

 

[Aquariumist]

Oh, one last thing. My last fuge and tank was overcome by some purple slime, i think it was cyano-bacteria. How can i prevent it, and if it does arive again, how can i get rid of it.