josh_scci Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I have a coralife mini t5 light on my sump. It has two 6 watt bulbs, 420nm actinic and 10,000k. Problem is it didn't seem to work the first time around as it caused other algaes to grow in my sump. I'm gonna try it again but I'm not sure how many hours to run the light. I'm gonna run it on a reverse photoperiod from the display. Any advice? Link to comment
Boggers Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 you are better off with something in the 6500K range and the 420nm is not needed for Cheato. 24/7 or at least 8-10 hours reverse cycle will be fine however. Link to comment
migs671 Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 you are better off with something in the 6500K range and the 420nm is not needed for Cheato. 24/7 or at least 8-10 hours reverse cycle will be fine however. what do you mean by reveres cycle? also will like a par38 bulb from home depot be good enough for cheato growth? Link to comment
Nocturnal Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 what do you mean by reveres cycle? also will like a par38 bulb from home depot be good enough for cheato growth? Some people try to run the chaeto light opposite than the display light in case of PH swings caused by the algae respiration. Others don't think it matters. You can grow it with most lights really. The light won't need to penetrate very deep into the water and algae seems to prefer red light anyway. A regular CFL or maybe better a plant gro bulb will work. Link to comment
skimlessinseattle Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I have run a home depot par38 5000k lamp in my fuge with mediocre results. I would try a 6500k cfl, its cheaper and known to work well. Just make sure there is adequate flow and rotate the chaeto frequently. Link to comment
Boggers Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 reverse cycle I was referring to is reverse photo period. I like my 6500K CFL bulb on a 24/7 light period. I have tried 10K light and 50/50 but they do not work as well for me. I personally do not think running it opposite your display matters for most of us. However a 24/7 will prevent some Macro from going sexual, mainly Caulerpa. Link to comment
josh_scci Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 Well I already had this light laying around, so I didn't see the need to get a different light if this will work. I may switch it to two 10000k in the future though. Link to comment
Boggers Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I would run 24/7 if feasible and see if you can get 6500K t5 when you can. Link to comment
josh_scci Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 Unfortunately they only make the 10000k and actinic in that size. And I tried running 24/7 before and had nuisance algae outbreak in the sump. I set the timer for 10 hours, and may just see if I can find a cheap grow light to put over it if this doesn't work. Link to comment
josh_scci Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 What about a typical t8 fluorescent fixture with the so called plant bulbs? Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 This is what I use for my chaeto. Works great Link to comment
josh_scci Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 Ok this is what I got. It's a 100 watt equivalent CFL bulb in one of the small metal reflectors. I'm still gonna leave it on a 10 hour reverse photoperiod and see how that goes. Link to comment
dottybackss Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 you are better off with something in the 6500K range and the 420nm is not needed for Cheato. 24/7 or at least 8-10 hours reverse cycle will be fine however.\ What about leds in 7000k? is this work too? Link to comment
Boggers Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Dottybacks: as long as you are close to the 6500K you will be fine for optimal growth. It will grow even at 10K but not as fast. One word of caution on LEDs is they can be pinpoint directional and can fry the cheato depending on power, optics, and distance. Link to comment
dottybackss Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Dottybacks: as long as you are close to the 6500K you will be fine for optimal growth. It will grow even at 10K but not as fast. One word of caution on LEDs is they can be pinpoint directional and can fry the cheato depending on power, optics, and distance. Oh really that's kinda dangerous lol. Well I do have to watch for that because my fuge is a HOB one so is only 2.5'-3' between the water line and the light. Also they are 3W each and i have 6 led bulbs. Link to comment
potatowned Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 So I have a 120watt full-spectrum LED light about 15 inches above my tank. I leave the cover off my AC70 refugium. Will the 10 hours of light that I have my LED set to be enough to grow the chaeto? OR, will it burn it out? Should I put the cover on the AC70, hoping that the plastic will diffuse some of the light? It doesn't really look like it's growing. Link to comment
blacksand_reefer Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 So I have a 120watt full-spectrum LED light about 15 inches above my tank. I leave the cover off my AC70 refugium. Will the 10 hours of light that I have my LED set to be enough to grow the chaeto? OR, will it burn it out? Should I put the cover on the AC70, hoping that the plastic will diffuse some of the light? It doesn't really look like it's growing. same setup. interested to see what others say. Link to comment
Nocturnal Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Does the LED bulb have a defuser built in? FWIW I have some chaeto growing in my frag tank about 8" below a 150w halide and it's growing like crazy. Link to comment
potatowned Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Does the LED bulb have a defuser built in? FWIW I have some chaeto growing in my frag tank about 8" below a 150w halide and it's growing like crazy. It has a lens, but no defuser. Link to comment
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