Refugium Light Bleaching Chaeto

[KevinRosso]

Hey Everyone,

I just switched to the Kessil H380 and its bleaching my chaeto. I run the light for 10 hours a day and its about a foot above the water line which is the highest my sump area allows. My chaeto is think and matte like and fills my entire fuge area. Its starting to bleach the chaeto so I've been turning it manually a few times a week. Should I reduce the number of hours the light is on? Is this bleaching beneficial for the Triton method because it might cause the chaeto to leach out it nutrients? Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Heuey51]

Reduce the number of hours and over a period of a few weeks bring it up to the photo period you desire it needs to acclimate to the light, the h380 is more intense then anything that you may have had previously

 

[PiscesPower]

I have the same light and pretty much the same refugium situation. What I have found is that I make sure my chaeto is submerged at least 2". The water seems to drop the PAR and/or cool the water enough to prevent the bleaching. If its up much closer or comes out of the water it will bleach in a lovely Kessil shaped circle. I also turn it every evening, but I'm just obsessed with my tank LOL. I run mine 14 hrs overnight.

 

[Left Coast DJ]

Send me your Kessil fuge light and get yourselves a lower-par, less intense, light.

 

[tastyfish]

I have the same issue with the 6400K CFL, acclimatise as above or simply push the algae down deeper..

PS: Don't ignore water chemistry. Iodine, Iron, Potassium and a number of other trace elements are important for macroalgae health

 

[Octane13]

Following...
I had a UFO lighting my fuge for a while. Had it on about 4 hrs a day and all seemed well so 6hrs then increased to 8 and noticed chaeto getting lighter in color and less dense. When I realized the light was too strong and not nutrients was when I put a piece of fogged glass over half of that section for a week or so to help slow evaporation. The side with the glass started to color up and look healthy again. Just swapped for a "cheap" amazon light I had laying around. Something similar to this
https://www.amazon.com/Osunby-Growi...qid=1526661018&sr=1-9&keywords=led+grow+light

 

[Matth6761]

Checking in! How's your progress with the Kessil? I've been using a 24 watt Amazon light over the fuge on my Eshopps r100 and I've experienced some bleaching in the top inch or so of the chaeto directly under the light, but very dense growth in the rest of the compartment.

 

[DesertReefBoy]

I use a h380 roughly a foot over my fuge and have no issues other then insane growth!! I would definitely start off slow with the light. I think I did a hour a day for a few days and then every couple days increased the time by a hour until I was up to 12 on 12 off cycle reverse to my DT lights. Some die off is normal but if you are getting a lot then I would try to acclimate the algae like mentioned above. Lastly where are your nutrient levels? Do you have no3 and po4 in your system? Are you currently dosing core 7? Do you have many pods in your algae?