stormy_petrel
New member
I thought the community might be interested in one person's experience with using a high power led grow light in a refugium.
I used the Mars300 light you can find here
I had been using a 6500k spiral CFL for years with success, but it was my expectation that my chaeto and ulva would have a growth explosion under this light, but I ended out experiencing much less chaeto/ulva growth and the propagation of more unwanted algae forms, most notably green turf. I let this experiment run for approximately 2 months in the hope that the macros needed time to adjust, but it is clear that broader spectrum ~6500k is much more effective at growing macros than the "Spectrum of Light: 430~440nm, 450~475nm 620~630nm, 650~660nm, and white " in the grow light.
My next plan is to try a 30w 6000k LED flood light so it will be interesting to see how the macros respond to it.
I used the Mars300 light you can find here
I had been using a 6500k spiral CFL for years with success, but it was my expectation that my chaeto and ulva would have a growth explosion under this light, but I ended out experiencing much less chaeto/ulva growth and the propagation of more unwanted algae forms, most notably green turf. I let this experiment run for approximately 2 months in the hope that the macros needed time to adjust, but it is clear that broader spectrum ~6500k is much more effective at growing macros than the "Spectrum of Light: 430~440nm, 450~475nm 620~630nm, 650~660nm, and white " in the grow light.
My next plan is to try a 30w 6000k LED flood light so it will be interesting to see how the macros respond to it.
