what type of bulb to buy for diy fuge?

gfk · 02/15/2008, 08:04 PM

Im building a fuge tomorrow and I was at home depot looking at lights. there are so many bulbs, i'm going to just have some LR, sand and chaeto, what is the best bulb to get?

thanks

Roy G. Biv · 02/15/2008, 08:18 PM

Buy these bulbs

Specifically the ones in the blue packages, they are 6500K

gfk · 02/15/2008, 08:19 PM

have a brand name or anything? there were a ton of blue boxes

Kannin · 02/15/2008, 08:32 PM

I use one that lookd like that but, is covered in glass like an outdoor flood light. They are only 13 watts but give of 65 watts of light with almost no heat.

gfk · 02/15/2008, 08:34 PM

so basically it doesn't matter as long as it's a light

Roy G. Biv · 02/15/2008, 08:38 PM

6500 k is best for growth. At home depot, those bulbs above come in 3 spectrums... They are in 3 different color packages. The blue packages are 6500k (Daylight) Im not sure of the name

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...b+AND+refugium

widmer · 02/15/2008, 08:38 PM

This keeps coming up and I gotta wonder why people even bother with the daylight spectrum ones, and don't just do the straight up standard "soft" or "warm" compact fluoros. A warm compact fluorescent makes perfect sense for me if you're trying to harbor algae.

Roy G. Biv · 02/15/2008, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by widmer
This keeps coming up and I gotta wonder why people even bother with the daylight spectrum ones, and don't just do the straight up standard "soft" or "warm" compact fluoros. A warm compact fluorescent makes perfect sense for me if you're trying to harbor algae.

You can certainly try other color bulbs, but IME the 6500k do the best. Actually I believe corals do the best under 6500K but people ckoos 10000K because its a compromise and looks better than 6500k

alve · 02/15/2008, 08:43 PM

I use this one from Home Depot. Chaeto quadripled in two weeks:

Roy G. Biv · 02/15/2008, 08:49 PM

Bingo.. Thats the brand I use.

painkiller1009 · 02/15/2008, 08:52 PM

this might help you understand why the lights need to be 6500k.
http://melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

gfk · 02/15/2008, 08:57 PM

this should be interesting, im going to have a fuge that is about a gallon and a half big in my little 10 gallon sump.

its gonna grow like crazy in there

Paaty · 02/15/2008, 09:01 PM

man, $39 it is not cheap.

SCR · 02/15/2008, 09:09 PM

39 is how much you will save using them. They cost about 8 bucks

schigara · 02/15/2008, 09:19 PM

LR and chaeto do not work well together. Chaeto needs to be able to spin and tumble freely and will get caught on the LR and stop. I tried keeping LR in my refugium for a couple months and the chaeto turned brown and never grew as it was stuck against the LR.

I pulled the LR out of the refugium and allowed the chaeto to tumble in the flow and not only does it grow but I have to prune it back once a week. In my fuge, it gets to a bit bigger than the size of a basketball before I have to cut half of it out.

alve · 02/15/2008, 09:35 PM

I use eggcrate between the chaeto and live rock so the chaeto doesn't get caught on the rock. It still doesn't tumble, I turn it over about once to twice a week and it grows like crazy.

gfk · 02/15/2008, 09:54 PM

ill keep that in mind, i dont have a ton of room, so should i not put sand in there either?

alve · 02/15/2008, 10:04 PM

A lot of people do have sand in theirs. I like to avoid having the fuge built up detrius. I don't have a whole lot of flow going through the fuge from my return but have a powerhead in there pointing down so there are no dead spots and nothing builts up on the bottom.
There are many different and good ways to set up a fuge. It's all about preference.

Radioheadx14 · 02/15/2008, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by alve
I use this one from Home Depot. Chaeto quadripled in two weeks:

I have a similar one that is 6700k. chaeto grows like crazy

Roy G. Biv · 02/16/2008, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Radioheadx14
I have a similar one that is 6700k. chaeto grows like crazy

Do you remember where you got it?

Timbor · 02/16/2008, 09:11 AM

Just so you all know, as you seem to have overlooked it, the bulb on melevs site is 5100k, not 6500k.

I use one that is around 5000k and it works great. I imagine the 6500k would work great too, I'm just not sure which would be best for chaeto.

Tim

mrkalel · 02/16/2008, 09:40 AM

I recently changed from the standard 10K & Actinics to the 65K &65K ColorMax bulbs in my Coralife Lunar Aqualight Plus Deluxe fixture over my Show Fuge, which was originally over my main display until I changed to MH...

I cant wait to hopefully see a big difference in growth of my Macro in there...

Here's a quick shot about 6 Mnts old... everything is much bigger now...

Cyber-Burn · 02/16/2008, 09:46 AM

Actually Melev posted an updated to the article a while ago. He listed a new updated bulb with the 6500k spectrum that is available from home depot (sometimes) and online under the brand name TCP. I just ordered some replacement bulbs myself this week online

Tajjo · 02/16/2008, 09:48 AM

http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html GET ONE OF THOSE!!

02/15/2008, 08:04 PM	#1
gfk Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Benicia, CA Posts: 1,601	what type of bulb to buy for diy fuge? Im building a fuge tomorrow and I was at home depot looking at lights. there are so many bulbs, i'm going to just have some LR, sand and chaeto, what is the best bulb to get? thanks

02/15/2008, 08:32 PM	#4
Kannin Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fall City, WA Posts: 1,538	I use one that lookd like that but, is covered in glass like an outdoor flood light. They are only 13 watts but give of 65 watts of light with almost no heat. __________________ I used to target feed mojanos... until I found out that they weren't baby bubble tips.

02/15/2008, 09:01 PM	#13
Paaty Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 565	man, $39 it is not cheap. __________________ 325g mixed reef sps dominated, 550g Total volume. Current Tank Info: 325 DT/ 550g Total

02/16/2008, 09:11 AM	#21
Timbor Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 554	Just so you all know, as you seem to have overlooked it, the bulb on melevs site is 5100k, not 6500k. I use one that is around 5000k and it works great. I imagine the 6500k would work great too, I'm just not sure which would be best for chaeto. Tim __________________ "I bet a funny thing about driving a car off a cliff is; while you're in midair you still hit those brakes... Hey, better try the emergency brake! - J.H." Current Tank Info: None currently

02/16/2008, 09:40 AM	#22
mrkalel Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Long Island Posts: 614	I recently changed from the standard 10K & Actinics to the 65K &65K ColorMax bulbs in my Coralife Lunar Aqualight Plus Deluxe fixture over my Show Fuge, which was originally over my main display until I changed to MH... I cant wait to hopefully see a big difference in growth of my Macro in there... Here's a quick shot about 6 Mnts old... everything is much bigger now... __________________ Able to spend a ridiculous amount of time staring at a fish bowl... https://twitter.com/MrKal_El https://instagram.com/mrkal_el/ Current Tank Info: Oceanic 144 Gal Half-Circle Display / AGA 72 Gal Bow-Front Fuge / Oceanic 60 Gal Sump 3 / ReeFlo Hammerhead Return / AquaC EV-240 Skimmer w. Mag 18 / Basement Sump & Fuge / 4 Reefbreeders Supernova's

02/15/2008, 08:18 PM	#2
Roy G. Biv Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 3,646	Buy these bulbs Specifically the ones in the blue packages, they are 6500K

02/15/2008, 08:19 PM	#3
gfk Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Benicia, CA Posts: 1,601	have a brand name or anything? there were a ton of blue boxes

02/15/2008, 08:34 PM	#5
gfk Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Benicia, CA Posts: 1,601	so basically it doesn't matter as long as it's a light

02/15/2008, 08:38 PM	#6
Roy G. Biv Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 3,646	6500 k is best for growth. At home depot, those bulbs above come in 3 spectrums... They are in 3 different color packages. The blue packages are 6500k (Daylight) Im not sure of the name http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...b+AND+refugium

02/15/2008, 08:38 PM	#7
widmer Drug Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Rochester, MN Posts: 2,958	This keeps coming up and I gotta wonder why people even bother with the daylight spectrum ones, and don't just do the straight up standard "soft" or "warm" compact fluoros. A warm compact fluorescent makes perfect sense for me if you're trying to harbor algae.

02/15/2008, 08:43 PM	#9
alve Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Redwood City, CA Posts: 312	I use this one from Home Depot. Chaeto quadripled in two weeks:

02/15/2008, 08:49 PM	#10
Roy G. Biv Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 3,646	Bingo.. Thats the brand I use.

02/15/2008, 08:52 PM	#11
painkiller1009 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Marion - Ohio Posts: 518	this might help you understand why the lights need to be 6500k. http://melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

02/15/2008, 08:57 PM	#12
gfk Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Benicia, CA Posts: 1,601	this should be interesting, im going to have a fuge that is about a gallon and a half big in my little 10 gallon sump. its gonna grow like crazy in there

02/15/2008, 09:09 PM	#14
SCR Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Central, Fl Posts: 708	39 is how much you will save using them. They cost about 8 bucks

02/15/2008, 09:19 PM	#15
schigara Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Memphis, Tn Posts: 525	LR and chaeto do not work well together. Chaeto needs to be able to spin and tumble freely and will get caught on the LR and stop. I tried keeping LR in my refugium for a couple months and the chaeto turned brown and never grew as it was stuck against the LR. I pulled the LR out of the refugium and allowed the chaeto to tumble in the flow and not only does it grow but I have to prune it back once a week. In my fuge, it gets to a bit bigger than the size of a basketball before I have to cut half of it out.

02/15/2008, 09:35 PM	#16
alve Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Redwood City, CA Posts: 312	I use eggcrate between the chaeto and live rock so the chaeto doesn't get caught on the rock. It still doesn't tumble, I turn it over about once to twice a week and it grows like crazy.

02/15/2008, 09:54 PM	#17
gfk Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Benicia, CA Posts: 1,601	ill keep that in mind, i dont have a ton of room, so should i not put sand in there either?

02/15/2008, 10:04 PM	#18
alve Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Redwood City, CA Posts: 312	A lot of people do have sand in theirs. I like to avoid having the fuge built up detrius. I don't have a whole lot of flow going through the fuge from my return but have a powerhead in there pointing down so there are no dead spots and nothing builts up on the bottom. There are many different and good ways to set up a fuge. It's all about preference.

02/16/2008, 09:46 AM	#23
Cyber-Burn Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 30	Actually Melev posted an updated to the article a while ago. He listed a new updated bulb with the 6500k spectrum that is available from home depot (sometimes) and online under the brand name TCP. I just ordered some replacement bulbs myself this week online

02/16/2008, 09:48 AM	#24
Tajjo Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Denver Posts: 1,039	http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html GET ONE OF THOSE!! __________________ Expect the worst and hope for the best! Current Tank Info: 75 gal display, 40 breeder sump. 1 Tunze 6105, 1 Maxi Jet mod, octopuss nw 200, 618 GEO calcium reactor, 2 250w mh icecap pendant with icecap ballast, pheonix bulbs, with 4 t5 VHO actinic