Refugium Lighting

ryan111 · 02/12/2012, 01:21 AM

hi all,
I have a question about lighting my refugium(s). I currently have a medium (3.6gal) cpr aquafuge hanging on my 130gal where I grow some macro alge to feed my tang. I am growing the stuff that grows in a thin sheet looks like lettuce. I also have a section in my sump that has a refugium where i have some chaeto. But anyway I am thinking about picking up another aquafuge the large size if I can figure out if it will fit on my tank with the pump and my overflow and the plastic brace that runs accross the top of the tank. So in the new refugium I want to use it to grow out frags of coral....I've got so much frogspawn plus all the little ones budding off the stalks below the heads....and also some acropora I would like to frag in this new refugium. I also have to mangrove seedlings i need to move from the refugium below the tank because there is limited space and they will be hitting the light source soon. over the current refugium hanging on the back of my tank i have a 36w power compq from aquatraders (i realize these arent of the highest quality lights but they seem to work great for me). So all this leads to my question...I'm not sure what to light the new refugium with. But with limited plugs i was thinking about getting rid of the light on the old one and lust getting a 48" light that would span across both of them that i would hang from the ceiling (like i do my main light for the display tank).This way with it being suspended it would give the mangroves room to grow a still light my refugiums. I will probably go with aquatraders lights again seeings how they are way cheaper compared to other options. I see now they have a 48" fixture called the reefbright and it has 54 1w leds. Check them out at aquatraders.com And since this tank is close to the wall which means my refugiums are VERY VERY close to the wall unfortunately, I like the idea of LEDS because they would be much cooler. But would this be strong enough for the mangroves and for the algae and the coral frags down in the refugiums hanging on the back if i suspended this light 7"-10" about the refugiums? They also have some H.O. T5 units in the 48" range that are actually cheaper with built in timers and would give me way more wattage...would these be better option? one of the 48" H.O. T5 is a 162watt unit and one is 216w. These would give off more heat and the fixture is wider. Since the fixture is wider i would have to hang it a little higher because i have a wide fixture over the main tank that is in close proximity (which is also suspended from the ceiling). The LED fixture was only 5" wide and the 162 watt T5 is 7.5" wide and the 216w is 8.5" wide. I mean i would like to give the LEDs a try im not currently using any LEDs but for the money i could get either of the T5 units which are stronger lights so i am torn. I also dont want to kill the refugiums with too much light either...just trying to get the most bang for my buck. I can post a picture of the tank from the side if it would help.

02/12/2012, 01:21 AM	#1
ryan111 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 6	Refugium Lighting hi all, I have a question about lighting my refugium(s). I currently have a medium (3.6gal) cpr aquafuge hanging on my 130gal where I grow some macro alge to feed my tang. I am growing the stuff that grows in a thin sheet looks like lettuce. I also have a section in my sump that has a refugium where i have some chaeto. But anyway I am thinking about picking up another aquafuge the large size if I can figure out if it will fit on my tank with the pump and my overflow and the plastic brace that runs accross the top of the tank. So in the new refugium I want to use it to grow out frags of coral....I've got so much frogspawn plus all the little ones budding off the stalks below the heads....and also some acropora I would like to frag in this new refugium. I also have to mangrove seedlings i need to move from the refugium below the tank because there is limited space and they will be hitting the light source soon. over the current refugium hanging on the back of my tank i have a 36w power compq from aquatraders (i realize these arent of the highest quality lights but they seem to work great for me). So all this leads to my question...I'm not sure what to light the new refugium with. But with limited plugs i was thinking about getting rid of the light on the old one and lust getting a 48" light that would span across both of them that i would hang from the ceiling (like i do my main light for the display tank).This way with it being suspended it would give the mangroves room to grow a still light my refugiums. I will probably go with aquatraders lights again seeings how they are way cheaper compared to other options. I see now they have a 48" fixture called the reefbright and it has 54 1w leds. Check them out at aquatraders.com And since this tank is close to the wall which means my refugiums are VERY VERY close to the wall unfortunately, I like the idea of LEDS because they would be much cooler. But would this be strong enough for the mangroves and for the algae and the coral frags down in the refugiums hanging on the back if i suspended this light 7"-10" about the refugiums? They also have some H.O. T5 units in the 48" range that are actually cheaper with built in timers and would give me way more wattage...would these be better option? one of the 48" H.O. T5 is a 162watt unit and one is 216w. These would give off more heat and the fixture is wider. Since the fixture is wider i would have to hang it a little higher because i have a wide fixture over the main tank that is in close proximity (which is also suspended from the ceiling). The LED fixture was only 5" wide and the 162 watt T5 is 7.5" wide and the 216w is 8.5" wide. I mean i would like to give the LEDs a try im not currently using any LEDs but for the money i could get either of the T5 units which are stronger lights so i am torn. I also dont want to kill the refugiums with too much light either...just trying to get the most bang for my buck. I can post a picture of the tank from the side if it would help.