What makes a refugium light a refugium light? (Share your setup!) | BRStv Investigates

[randyBRS]

Hey!

We're back with another BRStv Investigates and today, Ryan is discussing how some of the most popular refugium lighting options perform against known spectrums that produce optimal plant growth. Check out what we found about proper spectrum and usable PUR from six different popular refugium lights!

-Find all of our reefing videos HERE!

 

[Crabs McJones]

I use the Kessil H80 over my little fuge, bought from BRS. I need to build a bracket to lower it

 

[knowen87]

I use a 150 watt LED pendant over my fuge. It is very strong but I have like a 40g fuge for my 180. I have never been able to grow cheato until now. I started my fuge with my new tank because of this series. I guess we will see how it goes.

I think that you should look at the way chaeto depletes other elements like iron and the ratio of phosphate to nitrate removal as well.

 

[Shon]

Instead of CFL you should try the wet location LEDs, a pairing of Warm and Daylight should give you better results versus the one CFL for the same wattage. At 5.5w (5700k Daylight) and 6w (2700k Warm) 40w equivilent Sylvania Ultra LED @ Lowes/Home Depot, 4 bulbs make 23w. Plus no hazard of mercury and glass if bulb breaks.

Any chance on a change of cheap-o bulb on future tests?

 

[zachxlutz]

Great info guys, as always!

Question: Would you please elaborate more on the quick tidbit of info about lighting 12 on/12 off vs 24 on? You briefly mentioned it near the end of the video stating that when you went back to 12 hours "it really took off".

Thanks!

 

[Ryan Browne]

I had the best growth in my fuge with any grow light that had Red 650nm-660nm light mixed with Blue 450nm-460nm light. I grew tons of Cheato, but I also grew tons of algae. I had to take my fuge offline once a month and clean out the algae, it was a pain. I also ran into problems with the Algae clogging up equipment. So I dont grow anything in it anymore. I still have my fuge, but now with standard white lights, and use a Turbo Aquatics L2 Algae scrubber for nutrient export. No more dirty fuge. Now I use my fuge as a safe haven for growing pods and bacteria in ceramic media.

 

[revhtree]

Great video and now really got me thinking about the EcoTech Marine freshwater solution!

 

[Ryanbrs]

Instead of CFL you should try the wet location LEDs, a pairing of Warm and Daylight should give you better results versus the one CFL for the same wattage. At 5.5w (5700k Daylight) and 6w (2700k Warm) 40w equivilent Sylvania Ultra LED @ Lowes/Home Depot, 4 bulbs make 23w. Plus no hazard of mercury and glass if bulb breaks.

Any chance on a change of cheap-o bulb on future tests?

We can look at others but I think we are going to find that household lighting options are simply designed to illuminate a room and give a pleasant hue to the room which has nothing to do with our application. They will work to some degree but probably continue the mixed results reefers have had with refugiums rather than provide legit replicable value. I think we would likely look at lower cost horticulture bulbs rather than household bulbs.

 

[Ryanbrs]

Great info guys, as always!

Question: Would you please elaborate more on the quick tidbit of info about lighting 12 on/12 off vs 24 on? You briefly mentioned it near the end of the video stating that when you went back to 12 hours "it really took off".

Thanks!

We had it at 24h and experienced what I would call zero results for at least 6 months. Everyone here assumed it was because this was a KZ tank and had no nutrients. The day I went back to 12/12 it took off and almost instantly became a thick matt which eventually was over a foot thick. Solid green and healthy from top to bottom.

 

[Ryanbrs]

I had the best growth in my fuge with any grow light that had Red 650nm-660nm light mixed with Blue 450nm-460nm light. I grew tons of Cheato, but I also grew tons of algae. I had to take my fuge offline once a month and clean out the algae, it was a pain. I also ran into problems with the Algae clogging up equipment. So I dont grow anything in it anymore. I still have my fuge, but now with standard white lights, and use a Turbo Aquatics L2 Algae scrubber for nutrient export. No more dirty fuge. Now I use my fuge as a safe haven for growing pods and bacteria in ceramic media.

I have heard this before but as long as the cheato matt covers the entire top of the fuge we just haven't had issues with other algae's.

 

[zachxlutz]

We had it at 24h and had what I would call zero results for at least 6 months. Everyone here assumed it was because this was a KZ tank and had no nutrients. The day I went back to 12/12 it took off and almost instantly became a thick matt which eventually was over a foot thick. Solid green and healthy from top to bottom.

Interesting info! Thanks! I'm running a 17 hour reverse photoperiod and I'm having trouble keeping my nutrients detectable. I'm wondering if dropping it to 12 hours will decrease nutrient uptake or actually increase? I'll make the change on my Apex and see what happens!

 

[hart24601]

I run a h380 and it's a beast. I wanted to go skimmerless, and I might try again, but it was pushing pH up to the 8.7 range on two calibrated probs (apex and rkl) so I had to add the skimmer back in.

What I would be very interested in is if you made a solution for dosing while running chaeto, something like a combo of iron, manganese and maybe boron. I have an extra dosing head and I think once you sorted out the average uptake rate of those nutrients by chaeto one could reasonably set up a doser to roughly match the algae growth with spot testing every so often. I have an extra doser and have thought about making a similar solution from seachem iron and adding the other elements. With all the great data you are providing on algae based exports it could be of value.

Right now I am using the KZ automatic elements to supplement iron and iodine.

 

[RobertP]

I too run a H380 on a 12 hour alternate schedule and it just works. Have harvested out chaeto several times since I got it and traded chaeto to the LFS for more fish or corals. I previously had a hang on with a walmart grow light and while it worked a little, the chaeto grew very slowly. Hadn't harvested any after about 2 months. Within 2 weeks after adding the H380 I had to harvest because it exploded.
Some of the top layer of chaeto turns white from burning because I hang my light low to keep the light off my skimmer. However, all the rest of the chaeto is fully green.

 

[Greybeard]

Excellent.

I'm running a 2x24w T5 unit over my 12" x 24" refugeum. 6500k bulbs, for now, but if I could get a good recommendation for a 24" T5 bulb that peaks in the 'right' spectrums, I'd be happy to buy them. Might even add a 2nd 2x24w T5 fixture, if I really thought it would do me much good. There's room, and they're not expensive. Oh, no, it's not an ATI, or even Sunlight Supply fixture, it's a cheap Odyssea unit. Price was right... $32, with the 6500k bulbs.

 

[Ryanbrs]

Excellent.

I'm running a 2x24w T5 unit over my 12" x 24" refugeum. 6500k bulbs, for now, but if I could get a good recommendation for a 24" T5 bulb that peaks in the 'right' spectrums, I'd be happy to buy them. Might even add a 2nd 2x24w T5 fixture, if I really thought it would do me much good. There's room, and they're not expensive. Oh, no, it's not an ATI, or even Sunlight Supply fixture, it's a cheap Odyssea unit. Price was right... $32, with the 6500k bulbs.

I have been trying to get the team to approve these bulbs and bring them in but the belief is there is little willingness to buy $30 bulbs which target specific growth spectrums.

https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/eye-powerveg-t5-ho-420-fluorescent-lamp?categoryId=lamps
https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/eye-powerveg-t5-ho-460-fluorescent-lamp?categoryId=lamps
https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/eye-powerveg-t5-ho-633-fluorescent-lamp?categoryId=lamps
https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/eye-powerveg-t5-ho-660-fluorescent-lamp?categoryId=lamps

I think the form factor of these might be a bit more realistic for most reefers.
https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/feliz-fluorescent-grow-lamps?categoryId=lamps

 

[Greybeard]

I have been trying to get the team to approve these bulbs and bring them in but the belief is there is little willingness to buy $30 bulbs which target specific growth spectrums.

https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/eye-powerveg-t5-ho-420-fluorescent-lamp?categoryId=lamps
https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/eye-powerveg-t5-ho-460-fluorescent-lamp?categoryId=lamps
https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/eye-powerveg-t5-ho-633-fluorescent-lamp?categoryId=lamps
https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/eye-powerveg-t5-ho-660-fluorescent-lamp?categoryId=lamps

I think the form factor of these might be a bit more realistic for most reefers.
https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/product/feliz-fluorescent-grow-lamps?categoryId=lamps

Ok, the compact wouldn't work for me, but the 4 24" T5's sure would... I'm thinking, based on the spectrum graphs, that one 460 and one 660 might be the 'mix' to try in my 2 bulb T5. Thanks

Oh, and specific spectrum $30 bulbs wouldn't sell... but a you're recommending $300 and $1,200 LED's that produce those same spectrums? Huh. Some funny thinking going on over there.

 

[Ryan Browne]

The problem for me was maintenance. It took way too much time to clean out the fuge. Everything grew together like an algae/cheato soup, it was awful. On the flip side, there was a lot of good stuff growing on in there, and it did help export nutrients. Just took too much time to manage. The algae scrubber does the same thing, just in a confined, easy to clean box. Takes me less than 10 mins to "Clean the Screen".

I have heard this before but ss long as the cheato matt covers the entire top of the fuge we just haven't had issues with other algae's.

 

[rushbattle]

The problem for me was maintenance. It took way too much time to clean out the fuge. Everything grew together like an algae/cheato soup, it was awful. On the flip side, there was a lot of good stuff growing on in there, and it did help export nutrients. Just took too much time to manage. The algae scrubber does the same thing, just in a confined, easy to clean box. Takes me less than 10 mins to "Clean the Screen".

By that logic, carbon dosing and gfo would be the ticket for you. Too much nitrates? Add more vinegar. Too much phosphate? Change the gfo. If you watch the gfo brs video they show you how to do it so quickly that it's almost no maintenance. Just add fresh media and run cloudy water through the reactor until it runs clear. Done for a month!

 

[Ryan Browne]

Yes, I did that. I own the BRS dual chamber Carbon-GFO reactor, and Ive got to say that it works great. The GFO did lower phosphate and the carbon made my tank crystal clear. It did help reduce algae growth. I did regular water changes, and I did dose carbon to lower nitrates. I like doing maintenance on my tank, but I don't like spending too much time. I felt like I was always, cleaning something, or dosing something (Yes i could dose automatically). What it comes down to is what works best for me. I've gotten excellent results with my scrubber. If I want me nitrates to measure zero I run it for 18 hours a day. If I want to raise my nitrates I run it for 15-16 hours. I can control the scrubbers light intensity and time from my Apex. Its very easy, and not sure why more people don't use one. Now my maintenance is just the occasional water change, clean equipment, test water and clean the screen.

By that logic, carbon dosing and gfo would be the ticket for you. Too much nitrates? Add more vinegar. Too much phosphate? Change the gfo. If you watch the gfo brs video they show you how to do it so quickly that it's almost no maintenance. Just add fresh media and run cloudy water through the reactor until it runs clear. Done for a month!

 

[Ryanbrs]

Ok, the compact wouldn't work for me, but the 4 24" T5's sure would... I'm thinking, based on the spectrum graphs, that one 460 and one 660 might be the 'mix' to try in my 2 bulb T5. Thanks

Oh, and specific spectrum $30 bulbs wouldn't sell... but a you're recommending $300 and $1,200 LED's that produce those same spectrums? Huh. Some funny thinking going on over there.

LOL I agree! Guess I am curious what others think about buying $120 in bulbs to cover all four spectrums. I will certainly bring it back to the team as leverage : )