I wanted to post my review of a new (for me) refugium light as well as some new observations.
Background: my Red Sea Reefer 170 has been neglected for a while, and has a significant amount of nuisance algae (hair algae and Valonia bubble algae). I've dosed the tank with fluconazole again as it worked very well last time, but I also decided to try to upgrade my refugium lighting to prevent this from happening again by increasing nutrient export. I used to run a TaoTronics 36w grow bulb, which worked reasonably well but was more of a spotlight.
Upgrade: Kolem's 50w LED COB grow light (), based on searching Amazon for a LED grow light that was affordable, higher power than what I had, and covered a wider area so I could use my refugium space more efficiently (10x11 inches). There are other brands for what looks like the same light for the same price, but this one had a power switch on the cord (and claims to be CE certified). Several other local area reefers also mentioned that they use the same; most are happy, 1 wasn't due to the unit burning out/breaking after a few months if I recall correctly.
Light is 5" above the water surface.
Hanging the light was more of a pain, as it isn't a PAR38 bulb where I can use a clip-on gooseneck. I debated screwing in rods, but ended up using Scotch brand velcro-style tape and taped a long strip to the top of the refugium cabinet with 2 locking carabiners (25 lb weight limit) each holding half of the light's weight. Since 1" of the tape is rated for 2 lbs, I have 2-3" of tape on either side of each attachment point (2 of them), and the entire light weighs 1.7 lbs, I'm reasonably confident in this (and there's no sign of the velcro coming away after several days).
It does get warm (almost hot) to the touch at the edges of the casing which functions as a heat sink, but not unbearably or painfully so. No fan, so it's quiet.
Observations: my chaeto, which was more of a dark green, is more of a medium green. The entire refugium area i much more evenly lit, and brightly so, compared to the more "spotlight" effect of the TaoTronics. Additionally, my chaeto is now "pearling" (I think) - there are small bubbles all over and through the chaeto, extending downwards into the mat for at least an inch. After some basic Googling, my understanding is that this is excess oxygen from rapid photosynthesis which implies rapid growth. I don't see any cyanobacteria that could also be causing bubbles.
Chaeto growth is rapid enough that I can detect new growth in 1-2 days; I'm running it on an 18 hour on cycle since I'm anticipating nutrient spikes from nuisance algae dieoff from fluconazole (so far, things are looking good although I wish I could speed the process up!).
I wonder if pearling/bubbles in chaeto can be used as a marker of refugium efficiency. I also wonder how deep into the mat the light will penetrate, as the shape of my refugium isn't conducive to tumbling a large ball (it's relatively shallow, with a heater underneath it all and some rubble).
Overall, I'm very pleased with the light, and am pleasantly surprised at what I see as a significant effectiveness jump in my refugium's filtration capacity even though the wattage increase isn't much (36 to 50 watts based on power draw). Hope this helps anyone wondering about refugium light purchases in the future!
Background: my Red Sea Reefer 170 has been neglected for a while, and has a significant amount of nuisance algae (hair algae and Valonia bubble algae). I've dosed the tank with fluconazole again as it worked very well last time, but I also decided to try to upgrade my refugium lighting to prevent this from happening again by increasing nutrient export. I used to run a TaoTronics 36w grow bulb, which worked reasonably well but was more of a spotlight.
Upgrade: Kolem's 50w LED COB grow light (), based on searching Amazon for a LED grow light that was affordable, higher power than what I had, and covered a wider area so I could use my refugium space more efficiently (10x11 inches). There are other brands for what looks like the same light for the same price, but this one had a power switch on the cord (and claims to be CE certified). Several other local area reefers also mentioned that they use the same; most are happy, 1 wasn't due to the unit burning out/breaking after a few months if I recall correctly.
Light is 5" above the water surface.
Hanging the light was more of a pain, as it isn't a PAR38 bulb where I can use a clip-on gooseneck. I debated screwing in rods, but ended up using Scotch brand velcro-style tape and taped a long strip to the top of the refugium cabinet with 2 locking carabiners (25 lb weight limit) each holding half of the light's weight. Since 1" of the tape is rated for 2 lbs, I have 2-3" of tape on either side of each attachment point (2 of them), and the entire light weighs 1.7 lbs, I'm reasonably confident in this (and there's no sign of the velcro coming away after several days).
It does get warm (almost hot) to the touch at the edges of the casing which functions as a heat sink, but not unbearably or painfully so. No fan, so it's quiet.
Observations: my chaeto, which was more of a dark green, is more of a medium green. The entire refugium area i much more evenly lit, and brightly so, compared to the more "spotlight" effect of the TaoTronics. Additionally, my chaeto is now "pearling" (I think) - there are small bubbles all over and through the chaeto, extending downwards into the mat for at least an inch. After some basic Googling, my understanding is that this is excess oxygen from rapid photosynthesis which implies rapid growth. I don't see any cyanobacteria that could also be causing bubbles.
Chaeto growth is rapid enough that I can detect new growth in 1-2 days; I'm running it on an 18 hour on cycle since I'm anticipating nutrient spikes from nuisance algae dieoff from fluconazole (so far, things are looking good although I wish I could speed the process up!).
I wonder if pearling/bubbles in chaeto can be used as a marker of refugium efficiency. I also wonder how deep into the mat the light will penetrate, as the shape of my refugium isn't conducive to tumbling a large ball (it's relatively shallow, with a heater underneath it all and some rubble).
Overall, I'm very pleased with the light, and am pleasantly surprised at what I see as a significant effectiveness jump in my refugium's filtration capacity even though the wattage increase isn't much (36 to 50 watts based on power draw). Hope this helps anyone wondering about refugium light purchases in the future!
