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Easy Refugium Fuge Light for the Nano Cube


steelhealr

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SoCal Reefer

 

I pulled the vinyl off the back of my 2005 24g cube. it comes right off. Now I gotta figure out a way to get my light setup to fit behind the tank, this thing is pretty heavy

 

light.JPG

 

So i've been following this thread for a while now and setup my own refugium for my 6g nanocube. I got a redsea light from Petco. At first, i had it just sitting in the back of the tank,but the light that was bleeding off the side really annoyed my gf to the point I had to shut it down everynight, which on the nightime cycle, gave no light to my cheato! It never seemed to grow. I took some of the ideas people on here had and made an enclosure.. enjoy:

 

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NanoCube-boy

That palm light sucks for me, it doesn't wrk so I upgrade to a galaxy... I hope my galaxy work. Some of my chaets die from the palm lighting.

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I guess with a smaller tank it works better? The top light I posted is 13W 6500K

 

I havent been checking my parameters, I'll do it tomorrow before I do a water change, but from what i saw a few weeks back, the Nirtogens are at 0 across the board.

 

do you have your light just sitting in the back like I used to? i'm thinking forcing the light into theback with little bleeding helps ALOT.

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If your tank is not in your bedroom, and you don't mind light spillover, this is the light that has driven my nitrates to zero and FILLED my entire back chamber with chaeto:

 

nano158.jpg

 

I left the reflection in so you can see the type of bulb that is driving the growth of the chaeto:

 

nano159.jpg

 

The light is the Executive Light....got it at Costco. SH

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NanoCube-boy

Damn steel, that is nice... I wish my chaets grow that big... my freaking chaets aren't much helping right now. My nitrate is at 25 and damn..

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I know..it blows me away too. The entire middle chamber is filled with the chaeto and the surface is covered with small fanworms. SH

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Steel(and those who are looking for his light)

 

I hit the local Home Depot today for some yard stuff and found the Lights of America lamp. HD had 2 models sun light 1127 and 1137. I have a feeling they are a tad different from what Steel had, since these were not the "touch to turn on" types.

 

Anyways, they were $19.99, and they aren't on the HD website AND they weren't at a different HD I went to yesterday so you might have a hard time finding them. I'd suggest you call your local HD and give them the name "Sun light" and the model number 1127 or 1137.

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I had the Azoo and although the chaeto improved, there is NO comparison to the present light. The bulb is a four tube, 27watt (claims it is equivalent to 150Ws), 6700K. Again, I saw a good handful of them left at a local Costco last weekend.

 

I think that light above looks OK (the Azoo I believe was only 5W's). It's $10 more expensive plus shipping if you can't find the other locally. SH

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anndi, it is a desklamp. and it is probally the same bulb as steel's, so 27W. I have it on a TV tray and it fits JUST behind the glass. Since it is in my living room, i dont care about light bleed.

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I would like to contribute my version of a refugium light for a nano. This is a 20 watt under cabinet light from Home Depot installed in a DIY box. My tank is a Nano Cube 12DX. I am using it to light the back of chamber 2. I harvest a tennis ball size clump of cheato about every 4 weeks.

Refugium_Light.jpg

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To Sparkling..yes..but..this is mostly abandoned with the advent of this lighting mod.

 

To JHipkin....I had similar 'miniscule' changes in my chaeto that I thought were huge amounts of growth. That light you have is probably way below the Kelvin temp necessary to foster photosynthesis and active growth. The higher and faster the growth rate of chaeto, the more proteins are necessary for growth, the higher the need for fertilizer (nitrates), the greater the reduction in one's tank. Now, I grow an entire chamber of chaeto in the same amount of time. I think your wooden housing looks great....you should just change the light spectrum. SH

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Steel: I just checked my cheato after 4 days of running the sunlight. WOW. I'm already ready to harvest some out of the back. Amazing what it does. I was running a 7W light back there for a while till i was about to hook my 13w on it. Now that I have the 27 on the back it just exploded the growth.

 

the 13 I posted the other day is being used on my 6g tank, we'll see how well that grows.

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WTG Gilly...can I say "I told ya". It was just some playing around to find the right lighting. When bobalouy et al. discovered that the back of the 24 was just vinyl, that revolutionized the fuge. The constant growth will probably wipe your nitrates out. Post back and let us know how it goes. SH

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Easy sparkling:

 

1) Requires wiring

2) Saltkreep

3) Fitting the light

4) Heat issues

5) More watts exteriorly

 

Ugly? How? Who sees the back of the tank?? SH

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