Sump Light....

we use the plain compact fluorescent light bulb that you would use in the kitchen and our macro grows like mad.

ssilcox wrote: The one you are looking for is a "Lights of america" 65w power compact outdoor floodlight. It has a brown plastic housing. They work really, really well for sump lights.

This should be the one right?

lol so I'm going insane =) .... first I was told it was just a 6 dollar bulb =)?   then I've been hunting all over the valley for it, then I picked up a 50/50 corallife compact light from the aquarium and just using that for now

Edited by NickinSandy - August 08 2008 at 10:52pm

From the look of that light in the pic it's either an ordinary incandescent bulb or a soft white bulb. That's the major thing you need to change. Also move the light so that it's more centered over the refugium to take advantage of all the light from the fixture.

That clamp-on fixture works great but the best bulb to use is the highest wattage value "daylight" spiral fluorescent bulb you can find. Don't worry so much about getting the exact one that everyone is saying here. The most important thing is to get a daylight coloration (it's more blue, not soft white) at 65W or better. If my memory serves, it's about $9. Unfortunately many stores carry only the soft white end of the spectrum. It's too yellow, growing more slimey brown algae than the bluer spectrum bulbs. I'd also check other stores thart sell lights, Ace Hardware, Walmart, etc, etc.

Now let's talk about growing a flourishing crop of algae in the refugium.
Algae needs four things: good bright sunlight, high water flow, nutrients from the display tank and room to grow. Harvest it regularly after it covers 90 % of it's avalable space. Harvest it back to about 1/2 of the space so it can grow again. Nutrients include Iron. That's why Miracle Mud a.k.a. "backyard dirt" is useful.

Also, I see a lot of unused space in your refugium. I would place a 3-4" Utah sand bed in there. Few rocks, just sand. If the sand is covered by rocks it can't do it's job. A refugium as tall as yours is an ideal place for that. From the looks of it I'd say it will increase the filtration capacity of your system by ~30%


Edited by Mark Peterson - August 08 2008 at 7:13pm

If you can't find any Utah oolitic you can use silica playsand. I got mine from HD at like $3 for a 50 lb bag. It is an acceptable substitute in a fuge - just wash it thoroughly first

Not to Hijack this, but I am looking to improve the same thing.  I have a lot of live rock in my sump/refug.  Is it better to have 3-4 inches of sand?  Should I go deeper?  I have a florescent kitchen light attached to the inside of my stand (mounted on the side above the sump) and the florescent light that I had on a 20 L.  It is just the cheapo light that comes on as part of a lid.  I think they are T12 or T8 and it is 24".  Is that bright enough?  Do I need to change the bulbs yearly for here as well?

Thanks for the help.  I will buy a new bulb and add 6" of sand!

Pods live in macroalgae but you can also place some large sand or LR rubble in an area of the Refugium to encourage more bugs.