DIY ATS

[11f150]

I made myself a waterfall style ATS today and its up and running. I bought a LED light bulb that is a "grow" light. How do I know if I have enough light or if it could be improved with more light? If Im way off on light and need more I would rather get something else now instead of wait to see if it grows anything. I believe it was a 9w LED bulb and I put it in a work light surround to reflect more light.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I made myself a waterfall style ATS today and its up and running. I bought a LED light bulb that is a "grow" light. How do I know if I have enough light or if it could be improved with more light? If Im way off on light and need more I would rather get something else now instead of wait to see if it grows anything. I believe it was a 9w LED bulb and I put it in a work light surround to reflect more light.

Hi Matt a 9w LED grow light is plenty.

You could even have gone:

An inexpensive Refugium Bulb | Melev's Reef

melevsreef.com

I just did 9w LED grow light with white-red setting and its doing fantastic on my red macroalgaes (which need more of that red spectrum) - spent a whopping $12 for:

 

[11f150]

Hi Matt a 9w LED grow light is plenty.

You could even have gone:

An inexpensive Refugium Bulb | Melev's Reef

melevsreef.com

I just did 9w LED grow light with white-red setting and its doing fantastic on my red macroalgaes (which need more of that red spectrum) - spent a whopping $12 for:

Thanks for the response. Here is the bulb I got. The light is a good 13” from the screen. Do you think full spectrum is ok or would I get better growth from more of a red spectrum?

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Thanks for the response. Here is the bulb I got. The light is a good 13” from the screen. Do you think full spectrum is ok or would I get better growth from more of a red spectrum?

What type of algae are you trying to grow?

If green XYZ, then what you have is exactly what I would have gotten. Most grow green algae.

I have green in my refugium sump but it is on 24 hour on light cycle since I grow caulerpa (smooth and feathered) so I go with slightly lower wattage $3.50 cost 6w 5K spectrum LED (compares to 60w incandescent bulb) based on

An inexpensive Refugium Bulb | Melev's Reef

melevsreef.com

My red macros (pom pom and ogo) are in my currently repurposed 5g fish QT.

 

[11f150]

What type of algae are you trying to grow?

If green XYZ, then what you have is exactly what I would have gotten. Most grow green algae.

I have green in my refugium sump but it is on 24 hour on light cycle since I grow caulerpa (smooth and feathered) so I go with slightly lower wattage $3.50 cost 6w 5K spectrum LED (compares to 60w incandescent bulb) based on

An inexpensive Refugium Bulb | Melev's Reef

melevsreef.com

My red macros (pom pom and ogo) are in my currently repurposed 5g fish QT.

I am trying to redirect algae growth from my display to the scrubber. So all green algaes pretty much

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I am trying to redirect algae growth from my display to the scrubber. So all green algaes pretty much

Think you have gotten a great light for your purpose.

 

[11f150]

Think you have gotten a great light for your purpose.

Ok thanks. Only thing Im kind of concerned about now then is the distance between the light and scrubber...probaby around 13". I can change the mount around to get it closer but hopefully it will work where its at.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Ok thanks. Only thing Im kind of concerned about now then is the distance between the light and scrubber...probaby around 13". I can change the mount around to get it closer but hopefully it will work where its at.

I think it will be fine. Your grow light is the equivalent to 100w incandescent bulb, so you are packing a punch in a small area. Too much light can be bad, but start off with either a 6 or 8 hour cycle and go from there... Think you might end up staying about an 8 hour cycle. Some will say do opposite lighting from your tank, but I run a 24 hour cycle to keep my caulerpa from going sexual, so I'd defer to others if that matters to you.

 

[Koh23]

Way back, j experimented with all sorts of lights for ats, from plain 3200k cfl, to red/blue/white/green/any leds....

Best? 3200k, not too strong, not too weak, if i remember correctly, 15w clf if ats is single end lit, 9w if two side. With proper flow, algae growth is excellent....

But, to be honest, better result i got from chaeto, and algae growth on side of baffle in sump, between fuge and skimmer section, skimmer section have lower water height, so, when comming from fuge, water slide app 10cm on glass until it hits skimmer section water level. Yes, bit longer for algae to attach and grow on smooth surface like glass (versus mesh in ats), but when it start to grow, it needed to be scraped on regular basis.... Adequate light for chaeto, with some light spill is needed, of course...

 

[Kodski]

I use a cheap LED grow light from amazon. More light, is arguably better as it will help the ATS out compete your display lighting. In reality, any light will grow algae. More light just means a faster rate of photosynthesis. For those who like to argue, yes I'm aware too much light can either damage the algae or just give diminishing returns. BRS did some testing about lights and macro algae and proved that a more powerful light will strip nutrients faster. I just don't believe in buying a several hundred dollar name brand led light to do that. I have to clean my DIY ATS once a week using a single one of these lights and highly recommend it. I'm sure the bulb you bought will do the trick though.