Cheap Submersible LED for Refugium??

Miketc17 · Sep 21, 2014

I'm turning a AquaClear 70 into a refugium for my 27g cube. It's going to have chaeto. What are some cheap submerisble led lights that I could use? I've tried amazon but a lot of them are pretty expensive.

cope413 · Sep 22, 2014

Why submersible?

Miketc17 · Sep 23, 2014

cope413 said:
Why submersible?

I prefer submersible so it doesn't light up my room too much at night.

mrcoffee2 · Sep 23, 2014

10W Underwater Light

mrcoffee2 · Sep 23, 2014

Hah woops sorry you said LED... My bad!

Miketc17 · Sep 23, 2014

mrcoffee2 said:
Hah woops sorry you said LED... My bad!

That one actually looks promising! Have you had personal experience with it?

tyler1503 · Sep 24, 2014

There's quite a lot on eBay that are submersible in all different colours. I don't know if they're powerful enough to keep macros alive though. None of the sellers will tell me the wattage. I imagine they're pretty weak, but it may be worth looking into.

Coelli · Sep 24, 2014

I'm using that 10w halogen in the back of my Biocube. It's plenty bright. It's only been in there about a week but the chaeto doesn't seem to be suffering.

Miketc17 · Sep 24, 2014

tyler1503 said:
There's quite a lot on eBay that are submersible in all different colours. I don't know if they're powerful enough to keep macros alive though. None of the sellers will tell me the wattage. I imagine they're pretty weak, but it may be worth looking into.

Yeah that's the problem with the ebay ones.

Coelli said:
I'm using that 10w halogen in the back of my Biocube. It's plenty bright. It's only been in there about a week but the chaeto doesn't seem to be suffering.

I might have to give it a try then. Did you buy it from inTank?

Coelli · Sep 24, 2014

Miketc17 said:
I might have to give it a try then. Did you buy it from inTank?

Yup, picked it up at the same time as the fuge basket. I don't know how long chaeto takes to show that it's not getting enough light but so far mine has stayed nice and green.

Miketc17 · Sep 24, 2014

Coelli said:
Yup, picked it up at the same time as the fuge basket. I don't know how long chaeto takes to show that it's not getting enough light but so far mine has stayed nice and green.

How do you like that fuge basket? It looks really nice, but I don't think nice enough for $50, at least not for me lol. I did the DIY mod.

Coelli · Sep 24, 2014

Miketc17 said:
How do you like that fuge basket? It looks really nice, but I don't think nice enough for $50, at least not for me lol. I did the DIY mod.

Well, I just bought the bundle so I got it at a discount along with the fish saver.

It's not bad! The only thing is it's open on two sides, and this seemed to me like the chaeto could get all over the place, so I modded it with plastic canvas and zip ties to make it more like an actual basket. They also say if you use the basket to leave the sponge between chambers 2 and 3 in place; I did, and when I pulled it 10 days later it was so clogged and dirty that I wound up taking it out and folding more plastic canvas to sit down in that space and block any rogue chaeto, rather than having to deal with taking it out all the time. I have so much equipment jammed into chamber 3 it's a PITA to get down there. Overall though I like it, and since the chaeto came seeded with pods I started seeing them in the DT within a few days. I suspect things are going well in there but unless the pods tell me, I can only judge by the health of the chaeto.

Coelli · Sep 24, 2014

Hmm, no edit function. I was going to add that you could probably save the cash and build a whole basket out of the plastic canvas and zip ties. Plenty of flow, the chaeto won't escape, but the pods could get out.

Miketc17 · Sep 25, 2014

Coelli said:
Hmm, no edit function. I was going to add that you could probably save the cash and build a whole basket out of the plastic canvas and zip ties. Plenty of flow, the chaeto won't escape, but the pods could get out.

That's exactly what I did lol. It's nothing fancy like the InTank one, but it does the job.

mrcoffee2 · Sep 25, 2014

Miketc17 said:
That one actually looks promising! Have you had personal experience with it?

Yes, I love it!

I bought like 100 bulbs on amazon really cheap and they last 3-6 months depending on how long you have them on during the day.

hart24601 · Sep 25, 2014

Been using the 10w intank light in my biocube 14 with the media basket and chaeto for almost 2 years. Great growth, no problems.

Miketc17 · Sep 25, 2014

mrcoffee2 said:
Yes, I love it!

I bought like 100 bulbs on amazon really cheap and they last 3-6 months depending on how long you have them on during the day.

hart24601 said:
Been using the 10w intank light in my biocube 14 with the media basket and chaeto for almost 2 years. Great growth, no problems.

Hmmm you guys have sold me then. I will be ordering it!

Coelli · Sep 25, 2014

mrcoffee2 said:
Yes, I love it!

I bought like 100 bulbs on amazon really cheap and they last 3-6 months depending on how long you have them on during the day.

Would you happen to have that link...?

The InTank one came with an extra bulb but I'd like to have more on hand. I'm running it 12 on/12 off opposite my tank.

Miketc17 · Sep 25, 2014

Coelli said:
Would you happen to have that link...? The InTank one came with an extra bulb but I'd like to have more on hand. I'm running it 12 on/12 off opposite my tank.

+1. I just ordered mine.