Enough lighting for my refugium

[Bandsaw]

Hay all,

I finally setup my refugium. It is a 20g tall (12"X24X16") glass aquarium. A picture of it is below.

Currently, I have a 15W 6700K T8 lamp over the algae. My question is "Is this enough light for the Cheato and grape algae that is in there?"

I have the light on 24/7 except for 2 hours in the afternoon and one hour in the middle of the night to allow for critter activity.

The lamp is the standard one that came with the canopy. I think I have a line on a 55W PC replacement light that will fit this fixture if 15W is not enough.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[alan214]

That should be plenty of light for a fuge.

 

[reverendmaynard]

More would be better, but that bulb should suffice. The 55w pc would be a little overkill, IMO, but if it'll retro right into your hood, that's probably a good option. Lots of folks are using the CF flood lights that melev recommends.

http://melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

You could throw 2 of them on that tank for about $30.

 

[Bandsaw]

Thanks guys. I want to stay with the hood. Due to circumstances, I've had to move my mother-in-law in with us (Early Alzheimer) so my wife and I are sleeping in the basement - in my water room. The hood and cardboard keep the light to a minimum. As for the noise from the sump - Well, moved it downstairs to get rid of the noise in the living room - now I get to sleep right beside it

 

[reverendmaynard]

Personally, I'd wait to see what kind of growth you get with that before I put much money into upgrading.

Maybe put the money towards some sound-proofing.

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9322610#post9322610 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reverendmaynard
Personally, I'd wait to see what kind of growth you get with that before I put much money into upgrading.

Maybe put the money towards some sound-proofing.

right on, take a 2 week wait and see break, to wait and see

algae doesn't need as much light as one would think.
my 50gal chaeto tank runs on a VHO actinic that is old and got re-cycled from the main tank and some generic walmart coolwhite.
as the bulbs fail, I replace them with whatever "used" bulbs are on deck next. I run them until they quit

I pull a gallon bucket of chaeto once every 2-3 weeks with this setup of really lame lights