Chaeto lighting

sleepydoc · 08/14/2016, 10:51 AM

I got a clump of chaeto for my sump and bought a Phillips 1200 Lumen, 5000K LED spot light for it. I have the bulb hanging about 6" above the surface turned on ~10 hrs/day but the clump of chaeto is withering away. Is this not enough light? It seems like it should be, but I can't think of anything else I'm doing wrong. I have algae growing in the DT, so I know there's nutrients available.

PhillyGeeks · 08/14/2016, 11:15 AM

I was having the same issue. I just bought the TaoTronics E27 LED grow light in the hopes providing a better spectrum will be the difference

Elo500 · 08/14/2016, 12:14 PM

The tatronics made a big difference for me. Well worth it.

Jayreefer · 08/14/2016, 12:38 PM

I have 2 of these over my cheato and it has grown fester than any other light I have ever used.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

TheFishGuy31 · 08/14/2016, 06:07 PM

I made a sump light out of some 520nm red LEDs I ordered by accident. The growth of my cheato has exploded compared to any of the CFLs I've used in the past.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lsufan · 08/14/2016, 07:40 PM

I have the same light as u sleepdoc. When I first put it over the chaeto it would grow from softball size to bigger then a basketball in a few weeks. The tank was somewhat new so I had nitrates in the 30 to 40 ppm range at the time. Since my nitrate has dropped to less than 10 ppm the chaeto hasn't been doing as well. I was busy so I didn't trim it & it went from basketball size back to softball size & has been that way for around a month.

I'm going to try a light with more red like the taotronics & see what happens.

sleepydoc · 08/15/2016, 08:17 AM

Ok - I ended up ordering one of the 24W taotronics bulbs to see how it does.

It was interesting looking at the reviews - I checked out the 36W bulb linked above as well as another one and they say they have 12 - 3W LEDs, but several people plugged in a Kill-A-Watt and said it was only drawing 12 watts. I saw this complaint with other 36W bulbs as well, and one of them even says "Theoritically, the total power is 36watt, but usually it will be less than 36 watt due to the effect of voltage and current. The actual power consumption is 14.4W." Well, duh - 'the effects of voltage and current' is the definition of watts. It appears they simply under drive the LEDs, likely to keep heat dissipation manageable. It's hard to tell, but many of the bulbs looked exactly the same - they even had almost identical pictures. I'm sure many are made in the same factory.

Of note, the Phillips bulb I currently have has 12 LEDs and is rated at 15W. I checked it and it draws 14.7W, right on spec. Of course the color spectrum is different, so even if the new bulb draws the same amount of power, it may be better if the LED wave length is more appropriate for the chaeto. I'll check the power of the taotronics when it arrives and report back. Thanks for everyone's advice!

theatrus · 08/15/2016, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepydoc

Ok - I ended up ordering one of the 24W taotronics bulbs to see how it does.

It was interesting looking at the reviews - I checked out the 36W bulb linked above as well as another one and they say they have 12 - 3W LEDs, but several people plugged in a Kill-A-Watt and said it was only drawing 12 watts. I saw this complaint with other 36W bulbs as well, and one of them even says "Theoritically, the total power is 36watt, but usually it will be less than 36 watt due to the effect of voltage and current. The actual power consumption is 14.4W." Well, duh - 'the effects of voltage and current' is the definition of watts. It appears they simply under drive the LEDs, likely to keep heat dissipation manageable. It's hard to tell, but many of the bulbs looked exactly the same - they even had almost identical pictures. I'm sure many are made in the same factory.

Of note, the Phillips bulb I currently have has 12 LEDs and is rated at 15W. I checked it and it draws 14.7W, right on spec. Of course the color spectrum is different, so even if the new bulb draws the same amount of power, it may be better if the LED wave length is more appropriate for the chaeto. I'll check the power of the taotronics when it arrives and report back. Thanks for everyone's advice!

I'm not at all surprised at the under-rated bulb. Its super common in the off-brand stuff. They may be packing 3W diodes in there, but they don't drive them at full power by any means, as you said likely for thermal reasons - you're not going to be able to passively cool the light at any more power than 12-15W.

Tweaked · 08/15/2016, 12:25 PM

Red LEDs are the best growth I have seen yet. Look no further IMO.

Ou8me2 · 08/15/2016, 01:02 PM

I use one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/251761927880...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

So far it seems very decent, but I have only had it for a week. So I can't say how it is long-term just yet.

kzaveri19 · 08/15/2016, 02:30 PM

What kind of fixture do you guys use? I would like something that clamps on to the Sump

sleepydoc · 08/15/2016, 04:33 PM

I just got one of these but didn't have a great place to clamp it and was always worried I'd knock it off so I ended up sticking a cable tie pad to the underside of the stand top and securing the cord with a zip tie so it hangs straight down over the sump.

HippieSmell · 08/15/2016, 07:01 PM

I used a Feit 5000k par30 bulb that did really well; much better than a cfl floodlight. I've had the taotronics for a few weeks now and it seems to be doing a bit better, but too soon to pass final judgement.

Dmize · 08/15/2016, 08:39 PM

Same boat. Went with the Lowes light / light clip and it grew like mad for the first few weeks.

Doubled in size, but now looks like it has stopped growing.

I read someplace you should take 1/2 of it out every so often? Anyone else doing that?

Planning on ordering the 24W taotronics bulbs tonight.

Ou8me2 · 08/16/2016, 04:05 AM

I used this as the fixture https://www.menards.com/main/lightin...68257669422467

Much better than a metal one. It's made of high-impact polycarbonate plastic. The inside reflector comes with high white reflectivity for improved light dispersion and handles up to 75watt bulb.

Dmize · 08/17/2016, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ou8me2

I used this as the fixture https://www.menards.com/main/lightin...68257669422467

Much better than a metal one. It's made of high-impact polycarbonate plastic. The inside reflector comes with high white reflectivity for improved light dispersion and handles up to 75watt bulb.

Looks similar to what Im using.

08/14/2016, 10:51 AM	#1
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	Chaeto lighting I got a clump of chaeto for my sump and bought a Phillips 1200 Lumen, 5000K LED spot light for it. I have the bulb hanging about 6" above the surface turned on ~10 hrs/day but the clump of chaeto is withering away. Is this not enough light? It seems like it should be, but I can't think of anything else I'm doing wrong. I have algae growing in the DT, so I know there's nutrients available. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

08/14/2016, 11:15 AM	#2
PhillyGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 76	I was having the same issue. I just bought the TaoTronics E27 LED grow light in the hopes providing a better spectrum will be the difference __________________ 57g rimless mixed reef DT - 29g sump, ATI sunpower with Kessil supplement, Apex classic, Tunze nanostreams, Waveline DC 4000 return, RO NWB 110 skimmer, Neptune DOS for 2-part

08/15/2016, 08:17 AM	#7
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	Ok - I ended up ordering one of the 24W taotronics bulbs to see how it does. It was interesting looking at the reviews - I checked out the 36W bulb linked above as well as another one and they say they have 12 - 3W LEDs, but several people plugged in a Kill-A-Watt and said it was only drawing 12 watts. I saw this complaint with other 36W bulbs as well, and one of them even says "Theoritically, the total power is 36watt, but usually it will be less than 36 watt due to the effect of voltage and current. The actual power consumption is 14.4W." Well, duh - 'the effects of voltage and current' is the definition of watts. It appears they simply under drive the LEDs, likely to keep heat dissipation manageable. It's hard to tell, but many of the bulbs looked exactly the same - they even had almost identical pictures. I'm sure many are made in the same factory. Of note, the Phillips bulb I currently have has 12 LEDs and is rated at 15W. I checked it and it draws 14.7W, right on spec. Of course the color spectrum is different, so even if the new bulb draws the same amount of power, it may be better if the LED wave length is more appropriate for the chaeto. I'll check the power of the taotronics when it arrives and report back. Thanks for everyone's advice! __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

08/15/2016, 12:25 PM	#9
Tweaked FUP&A Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Madison, CT Posts: 7,722	Red LEDs are the best growth I have seen yet. Look no further IMO. __________________ DSA 105 Pro, Cebu Sun-Radiums-M80 Ballasts, 4 T5's, XHO LEDs. Through Wall 55g Sump, 10g Frag and 29g Display attached, Vertex V6, 3 mp40's, Gyre, 2 mp10's, GFO, Carbon, Pellets - 10g Bar Tank

08/15/2016, 02:30 PM	#11
kzaveri19 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 143	What kind of fixture do you guys use? I would like something that clamps on to the Sump __________________ 66g SCA Build - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24602969

08/14/2016, 12:14 PM	#3
Elo500 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 315	The tatronics made a big difference for me. Well worth it.

08/14/2016, 12:38 PM	#4
Jayreefer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Peoria Az Posts: 2,022	I have 2 of these over my cheato and it has grown fester than any other light I have ever used. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

08/14/2016, 06:07 PM	#5
TheFishGuy31 Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: Mechanicsville, MD Posts: 122	I made a sump light out of some 520nm red LEDs I ordered by accident. The growth of my cheato has exploded compared to any of the CFLs I've used in the past. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

08/14/2016, 07:40 PM	#6
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	I have the same light as u sleepdoc. When I first put it over the chaeto it would grow from softball size to bigger then a basketball in a few weeks. The tank was somewhat new so I had nitrates in the 30 to 40 ppm range at the time. Since my nitrate has dropped to less than 10 ppm the chaeto hasn't been doing as well. I was busy so I didn't trim it & it went from basketball size back to softball size & has been that way for around a month. I'm going to try a light with more red like the taotronics & see what happens.

08/15/2016, 01:02 PM	#10
Ou8me2 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 743	I use one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/251761927880...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT So far it seems very decent, but I have only had it for a week. So I can't say how it is long-term just yet.

08/15/2016, 04:33 PM	#12
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	I just got one of these but didn't have a great place to clamp it and was always worried I'd knock it off so I ended up sticking a cable tie pad to the underside of the stand top and securing the cord with a zip tie so it hangs straight down over the sump. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

08/15/2016, 07:01 PM	#13
HippieSmell Occupy Reef Central Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Orbiting Posts: 4,141	I used a Feit 5000k par30 bulb that did really well; much better than a cfl floodlight. I've had the taotronics for a few weeks now and it seems to be doing a bit better, but too soon to pass final judgement. __________________ Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like bananas. Current Tank Info: 78"x36"x27" acrylic, 6 Orphek Atlantik V3+ Compacts, MRC Orca Pro II w/washdown, CalcFeeder Pro AC3, Emperor Aquatics 80w UV, 80/20 aluminum stand, Vortech MP60's, Theiling Rollermat, GHL Profilux 3.1T EX, Kessil H380

08/15/2016, 08:39 PM	#14
Dmize Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 50	Same boat. Went with the Lowes light / light clip and it grew like mad for the first few weeks. Doubled in size, but now looks like it has stopped growing. I read someplace you should take 1/2 of it out every so often? Anyone else doing that? Planning on ordering the 24W taotronics bulbs tonight.