Refugium lighting Q
- Thread starter sslarison
- Start date
my "gut feel" is around 3-4 watts/gallon.
my 15g external sump/refug is lit by an 18 w (90 incand equilivant). It only has about 8g or so of water. Chaeto grows very slowly. And nitrates remained non zero in the 55g display.
By contrast my in tank refugium is lit by 2 4' utility fixtures only 4-6" from the macros. So 160 watts was no more than 8" from the macros. Chaeto and various caulerpa spread and grow very rapidily. And in 2 months nitrates were down to and have stayed at 0.0.
my 15g external sump/refug is lit by an 18 w (90 incand equilivant). It only has about 8g or so of water. Chaeto grows very slowly. And nitrates remained non zero in the 55g display.
By contrast my in tank refugium is lit by 2 4' utility fixtures only 4-6" from the macros. So 160 watts was no more than 8" from the macros. Chaeto and various caulerpa spread and grow very rapidily. And in 2 months nitrates were down to and have stayed at 0.0.
A refugium doesn't require any light at all. The bugs and worms being protected in the refugium actually reproduce faster in the dark if that's your goal. If the organisms you're protecting in your refugium require lighting then we'll probably need to know what you plan on keeping in there.
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