residential lighting over refugium

billford · 11/14/2008, 02:24 PM

hello everyone. i use a small compact fluorescent bulb in a domed clip on shoplight to light my refugium.i want to know what can happen to this light that is not rated to be in a wet environment.

silverwolf72 · 11/14/2008, 02:45 PM

Just means it is not water proof so if you do drop it in water it will short and trip the breaker or you could get electrocuted. If you run it on a GFCI it should be just fine. I run one on my fuge also.

mpty · 11/14/2008, 02:46 PM

i always wondered bout that too. everythin else i bought is like made for aquariums but my fuge light i got from home depot so im all like paranoid about gettin the wire wet... i'm guessin we're all gonna burn one day if my fuge overflows... but i got an overflow box in my DT to fuge so i hope i'll be alright.

xoxompty

jprince58 · 11/14/2008, 02:54 PM

I use a similar setup on one of my tanks and have seen no detrimental affect at all. Just clean it once in a while and you should be ok. If your sump environment is wet enough to cause that sort of problem, you might want to look at ventilating it a bit.

WaterKeeper · 11/14/2008, 03:18 PM

Unless you have a lot of macro algae in a fuge, normal room light will suffice. In fact, extreme lighting on a fuge is detrimental as it encourages micro algae growth.

Tswifty · 11/14/2008, 04:42 PM

Nothing wrong with it. The spectrum is what is important. I run a spiral energy saver 6500K bulb over my refugiums. I've seen 5100K bulbs (melev's bulb recommendation) but you need to special order them online I believe.

11/14/2008, 02:24 PM	#1
billford Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: chicago Posts: 446	residential lighting over refugium hello everyone. i use a small compact fluorescent bulb in a domed clip on shoplight to light my refugium.i want to know what can happen to this light that is not rated to be in a wet environment.

11/14/2008, 02:46 PM	#3
mpty Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 154	i always wondered bout that too. everythin else i bought is like made for aquariums but my fuge light i got from home depot so im all like paranoid about gettin the wire wet... i'm guessin we're all gonna burn one day if my fuge overflows... but i got an overflow box in my DT to fuge so i hope i'll be alright. xoxompty __________________ "Nuthin turns me on like a reefgeek boy rambling coral gear specks under an actinic blue light. Seriously. What else could a gal ask for?" Current Tank Info: Glass 65G, PC Lunar Aqualight, CL SuperSkimmer 65, Eheim Cannister, 80lbs live rock, 2" sand, 10G Fuge - 4" sand/mangrove/cheato, shrooms, duster, buttons, occelaris, japonicus tang, chromis, shrimp, bubble, open brain, leathers, frogspawn.

11/14/2008, 02:54 PM	#4
jprince58 Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Jenks, OK, USA Posts: 751	I use a similar setup on one of my tanks and have seen no detrimental affect at all. Just clean it once in a while and you should be ok. If your sump environment is wet enough to cause that sort of problem, you might want to look at ventilating it a bit. __________________ 'I refuse to discount another man's opinion -- until he opens his mouth to speak.' -- Anonymous Jeff Prince Current Tank Info: 72g bow mixed reef; 40g frag

11/14/2008, 03:18 PM	#5
WaterKeeper Bogus Information Expert Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 16,147	Unless you have a lot of macro algae in a fuge, normal room light will suffice. In fact, extreme lighting on a fuge is detrimental as it encourages micro algae growth. __________________ "Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom Current Tank Info: 130 Now out of service and a 29

11/14/2008, 04:42 PM	#6
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	Nothing wrong with it. The spectrum is what is important. I run a spiral energy saver 6500K bulb over my refugiums. I've seen 5100K bulbs (melev's bulb recommendation) but you need to special order them online I believe. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

11/14/2008, 02:45 PM	#2
silverwolf72 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lake Forrest CA Posts: 1,732	Just means it is not water proof so if you do drop it in water it will short and trip the breaker or you could get electrocuted. If you run it on a GFCI it should be just fine. I run one on my fuge also.