Do I need a separate grow light for the refugarium in my 3 gallon AIO pico reef?

[staylor1490]

I converted an Imagitarium 3.7 Gallon PRO Deluxe Freshwater Aquarium into a pico reef with the Reefbreeders Saltwater Pico LED as my lighting. The light has decent power output (100 PAR at the bottom of my tank if the light shines over it), but I have the light angled over the non-AIO part of my tank and was wondering if I can rely on the residual lighting from the Pico LED to grow some chaeto in my refugarium? I'm thinking of converting one of the original AIO compartments into a fuge for chaeto.

Here's some pics of the tank. Since there's not a lot of space to grow chaeto I don't know if buying a separate grow light for chaeto is worth it.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

I honestly don't think it's worth an effort on a 4g tank. I mean you'll be maintaining the heck out of it even if it does work. A Pico tank like that needs only a water change

 

[vetteguy53081]

You can do without. I would not expect to grow chaeto or similar, but you can however add a few mangroves to reduce nitrate

 

[Starganderfish]

I have a 4 gal AIO with Chaeto in the middle chamber. It works really well for stripping nitrates out of the water and for generally cleaning the water and as a refuge for pods and small life.
My filtration is a filter matt I change weekly, Chemi-Pure Blue and some Seachem Matrix for Biofiltration. Along with the chaeto that's the extent of my filtration. I don't use a skimmer.
I perform daily 10% water changes with an AWC.
My nitrates are zero with a Hanna checker and my phosphates are super low.
Chaeto is an amazing filter and nitrate absorber. It's vastly preferable on a small tank over a skimmer, which pulls water out of the tank and messes up salinity.
I built a simple fuge light using some red/blue LED strips I got from Aliexpress, stuffed into a glass test tube and sealed in with silicone. It runs on a reverse lighting cycle to my main lights, and is controlled by a standard Smart plug controlled through Amazon Alexa. I used some 3d printed parts to make it a little efancier but that wasn;t really necessary. It's been running since Feb with great success.

DIY Submersible Nano AIO Refugium Grow Light

I’m looking for a way to potentially grow chaeto in the rear middle chamber of my AIO Waterbox Peninsula 15 gallon. After searching for submersible lights and not finding many small options, I’m considering DIY. After finding some YouTube inspiration, I have a prototype. I purchased a cheap $7...

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