Lighting for a refugium

[eporter]

Hey all…I need some suggestions on lighting options for my refugium.  It’s a 10G with a little sand bed and a piece of live rock.  I wanted to keep some macroalgae in it as well.  The cheaper the better.  Just something to keep the macroalgae alive.

 

 

[Ryan S]

a cheap 6500K bulb from home depot will do the trick. get a cheap aluminum clamp housing; and a 6500K bulb, shouldn't be more than $10 at home depot. grows macro very well, chaeto especially.

 

http://wamas.org/forums/gallery/image/13168-dsc00743jpg/

Edited September 19, 2013 by Ryan S

[onux20]

a cheap 6500K bulb from home depot will do the trick. get a cheap aluminum clamp housing; and a 6500K bulb, shouldn't be more than $10 at home depot. grows macro very well, chaeto especially.

 

http://wamas.org/forums/gallery/image/13168-dsc00743jpg/

+1

[eporter]

Nice.  Thanks!

[flooddc]

An old freshwater aquarium lamp will do as well. Have one on my 20 fuge and macro grow nicely.  

[s2nhle]

a cheap 6500K bulb from home depot will do the trick. get a cheap aluminum clamp housing; and a 6500K bulb, shouldn't be more than $10 at home depot. grows macro very well, chaeto especially.

 

http://wamas.org/forums/gallery/image/13168-dsc00743jpg/

+2

[bqq100]

I used a clip on light, and standard home depot bulb for a couple of weeks, but my stand is really cramped and I felt like it took up too much space and was too awkward.  I ended up doing a DIY LED fixture thats much more compact and manageable.  Cost me $55 (although I already had a heatsink), but I get 3-4x the lumens and will never have to replace a bulb (plus I love tinkering with electronics). Just installed it yesterday, so no comments on how well it grows chaeto yet.

 

Edit: 3-4x the lumens and 2x the watts.

Edited September 19, 2013 by bqq100

[Jason Rhoads]

I have done both the clamp-on with 6500k bulb and LEDs. Both work very well. I currently use a DIY LED setup that I made to "sell" myself on going full LEDs for my reef. 

[s2nhle]

I used a clip on light, and standard home depot bulb for a couple of weeks, but my stand is really cramped and I felt like it took up too much space and was too awkward.  I ended up doing a DIY LED fixture thats much more compact and manageable.  Cost me $55 (although I already had a heatsink), but I get 3-4x the lumens and will never have to replace a bulb (plus I love tinkering with electronics). Just installed it yesterday, so no comments on how well it grows chaeto yet.

 

Edit: 3-4x the lumens and 2x the watts.

Where do you buy the kit from? I might have to do that myself.

[bqq100]

Where do you buy the kit from? I might have to do that myself.

 

Not a kit, purchased the LEDs/driver from mouser.com and had the rest of the stuff around the house.  

• Cree Cool White MultiChip LED 
• Cree Warm White (2700K) MultiChip LED 
• MeanWell 120V to 350mA CC Driver
• CPU Heatsink (I already had a similar one)
• 5V Wall Adapter to power the fan (I already had one)
• Thermal adhesive to attach the LEDs to the heatsink (or in my case thermal paste and superglue that I already had)
• 2-prong power cord to plug the MeanWell into the wall (chop up a cheap $2 extension cord or old/broken appliance you don't use anymore)
• I also used some 3 pin fan connectors I had around the house to make disconnecting the fan/LEDs easy, but you could just solder it all together.