To grow chaeto..........

[Young Frankenstein]

1) 20gl refugium
2) No powerhead, low gravity fed flow
3) Shake and turn once a week
4) Dose about 5 mg of chelated iron once a week
5) Use a 100w 5-6.5k MH
6) Other parameters, calcium, mg,alc must be within limits (MG higher than 1600 ppm will reduce growing)


watch the stuff grow like crazy

 

[brians4671]

agios what is your take on the low watt home depot setups alot of people are using?

 

[Young Frankenstein]

I dont think they work as good as MH, Theres some experts that agree with me on the MH instead of the fluorescents. I dont think fluorescents grow chaeto as much as MH, remember you need maximum rapid growth to remove nitrates. If your chaeto is just growing slowly it is not reducing nitrates the way it should do.

 

[lpsluver]

Yeah, but that is a lot of added heat is a small, contained area (for most of us). What else ya got? I'm looking for a resonable alternative that won't keep my chiller working all of the time.

 

[EllieSuz]

I'm using the cheap Home Depot bulb 24/7 and I have to trim the Chaeto every two weeks.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

FYI a MH is not more hot than a T5 or T8 or T12.
Without going too much into detail, the MH heat is concentrated in a single spot, where the fluorescent heat is distributed over a larger area giving you the misconception they are cooler. MH light penetrates much better the water than fluorescent, and when that happens the reflected light from the objects being lit increase the water temperature. So you may say its hotter, but lights better a simple example Light bulb=%heat+%light=total output so a usual 20% efficiency bulb will produce 80% heat. Good MH bulbs like Iwasaki and Ushio are still more efficient than T5 or T8. In the industry the fluorescent is winning the game by having a more stable PAR over the 6000 hr use where MH bulbs tend to change in PAR.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12353143#post12353143 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by EllieSuz
I'm using the cheap Home Depot bulb 24/7 and I have to trim the Chaeto every two weeks.

You will be triming even more if you had a wresting period of 6hrs to give chaeto time to calcify.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

I would recommend a light period no more than 18hrs per day

 

[brians4671]

is actinic lighting beneficial to macro growth?

 

[Palmettopark]

I run 18 watts of PC 65k on my AC 500 about 18 give or take hours a day (fixture wont run on timer). And my cheato grows like crazy. But we are talking 18 watts over a space of 12 in by 12in by 4in. If I had a sump I can see where the advantages of a MH light fixture would come into play. But I could also see a PC light fixture in the 6500K with watts equal to the size of the sump refugium working just as well.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12353924#post12353924 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brians4671
is actinic lighting beneficial to macro growth?

Yes it is, but very minimal, the 5.5-6.6 kelvin bulbs are ideal.

 

[brians4671]

thanks for the feedback fellas. the thing is im replacing the 2 65 watt bulbs originally 50/50. my options are 6700k, 6700/10000, 10000, 10000k/actinic 03, actinic 03, actninc 03/7100k, 7100k, 7100k/10000k.

 

[lpsluver]

Sorry...I'm just not buying it. MH halide vs PC in an enclosed cabinet. I'm choosing PC. More USABLE light per watt than a MH. Don't really care about penetration and reflection. Not much usable energy in reflected light in water. The energy lost is equal to the inverse square of the distance traveled (or 1/distance^2). For every inch traveled you lose 75 percent of the energy (if I am remembering my physics correctly). Watt for watt I agree with you about the heat but that is not totally what comes into play here. It's only the top of the cheato that benefits from the light, which is why we are supposed to turn it or have it slowly tumble.

 

[brians4671]

if heat wasnt an issue i would jump on the mh. i want my macro to grow like wildfire! but with me i cant i have 2 250 mh plus t5 on my dt and its a 65. otherwise i would already have a mh fixture.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12354082#post12354082 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lpsluver
Sorry...I'm just not buying it. MH halide vs PC in an enclosed cabinet. I'm choosing PC. More USABLE light per watt than a MH. Don't really care about penetration and reflection. Not much usable energy in reflected light in water. The energy lost is equal to the inverse square of the distance traveled (or 1/distance^2). For every inch traveled you lose 75 percent of the energy (if I am remembering my physics correctly). Watt for watt I agree with you about the heat but that is not totally what comes into play here. It's only the top of the cheato that benefits from the light, which is why we are supposed to turn it or have it slowly tumble.

Many people have done PAR tests with T5, compacts, MH etc they all agree that MH has a better penetration compared to others. Therefore more light going throe chaeto

 

[brians4671]

some food for thought http://www.reefs.org/library/article/actinic_lighting.html