Optimum lighting for refugium

[RockAddict]

hello.
right now i use an odessea 65 watt power compact with 12k daylight bulb.
i want to know if there's anything i can do to step up the macro production.
the bio load on the fuge is good. plenty of creatures eating and pooping in the water
everything seems to be growing, but i'm guessing not as fast as it could be.

btw. i have a simple home depot round reflector with ordinary socket and an energy saver flourescent 26 watt bulb(probably 6500k) in a wet/dry somewhat converted to a fuge, and those little macros appear to be really sprouting nicely.
i'm wondering if i am just overlooking the growth in my main fuge because it's so packed with plants, it's hard to tell. from what i am telling you, is there something that is standing out that you can tell me to change?
thanks

[charlie]

It is probably growing more than you know, why don't you change bulbs to what you have on the wet/dry and see what happens?

[RockAddict]

yeah. i'm going to pick up another setup like the one i mentioned (i think it was under 10 dollars including the bulb), and maybe alternate that with the 12k cf. see what happens.
it's just that i have had my fuge running for about 3 months. that doesn't sound like a long time, but i loaded that fuge with macros from the very beginning. i am hearing everyone saying they are removing sandwich bags of algae every month, and i'm not seeing that kind of turnover.

[RockAddict]

i'm not having any trouble cultivating bristleworms though
i must have hundreds in my fuge already

[charlie]

I wouldn't worry to much about macro production. I have found that sometimes there was a layoff in production in mine also. I just kept harvesting every 3 weeks or so and it would level out.
Do you have a sand bed in your fuge, just curious?

[Reefland]

I wouldn't worry about the growth rate of it either, as long as it looks healthy. If it is growing too fast that means there is a lot of available nutrients available, and that isn't really a good thing.

[RockAddict]

yes...i used miracle mud (about 2 inches, and i threw in about 12 pounds of indo-whatchamacallit live sand (black and white crystals) so, total depth of the bed is about 3 inches.
you can view it here:
Reefs.org Forums :: View topic - Mr_X's Tank

[RockAddict]

I wouldn't worry about the growth rate of it either, as long as it looks healthy. If it is growing too fast that means there is a lot of available nutrients available, and that isn't really a good thing.

ahh. so..if my water parameters are out of whack, then i might see a crazy bloom.

i mentioned a decent bio load. let me run this by you guys:
75 gallon display, 40 gallon tank for fuge, filled to about 75-80%.
about 70 pounds of LR,
1 algae blenny 4"
1 yellow watchman 1"
1 coral beauty 3"
4 blue/green chromis under 2"
1 engineer goby 4"
1 maroon clown 2"
1 purple LTA
3 emerald crabs
2 sally lightfoot crabs
1 porcelain crab
1 skunk cleaner large
1 coral banded large
1 sand sifter star
1 tigertail cucumber
about 10-12 snails....give or take
some coral frags..nothing big really

[charlie]

The reason I asked about the sand bed, is that I am going to remove the bed out of mine tomorrow, along with the live rock. I somehow have the feeling that it is just one more thing that can go wrong. I will let the macro collect the extra detritus. I do my water changes out of my fuge, so it is easy to siphon up the extra garbage.

[Reefland]

I wouldn't say that it has to be out of whack to grow rapicly, but would grow more rapidly if there was an excessive amount of nitrate, phosphate, etc. If the macroalgae is growing, and healthy, and your nutrient load is low in th e tank, there is no reason to need it to grow more rapidly. ;)

[RockAddict]

The reason I asked about the sand bed, is that I am going to remove the bed out of mine tomorrow, along with the live rock. I somehow have the feeling that it is just one more thing that can go wrong. I will let the macro collect the extra detritus. I do my water changes out of my fuge, so it is easy to siphon up the extra garbage.

i'm not understanding. you are removing your sand bed because you think it might be a hazard? i was told it's good for the fuge.
the LFS guy told me to use the miracle mud and the plant roots and bristleworms and copapods will keep digging in that stuff and release trace minerals. i dunno. sounded good at the time, but i have read a report that that mineral mud is crap. supposedly was tested and nothing in it that came fromt he ocean. when i dumped mine in the tank, i could swear i saw bits of a substance that appeared to be red brick. so then i threw the live sand in just as an added precaution.

[charlie]

That is quite a few fish for a 75, but they are small. I have a dsb in my display also. Miracle mud is overrated, but I got sucked in there also. Macros like chaeto don't really need to root, because they are just a big ball of nutrient eating plant. I have a little caulerpa in my fuge now, that is gonna go bye, bye. I have had that stuff go sexual on me and it ain't pretty.

[RockAddict]

this weekend i am taking down the 75 and putting everything in my 125. i'm just waiting on a new stand to hold my 55 gallon fuge i'll be using.
oh..and add a small sailfin tang and a small pajama tang to the list. (they are recovering in the hospital tank right now from a case of ich.
and subtract that coral beauty. he's evil and going back to the lfs

[charlie]

Whoa, an upgrade too!!! Good luck with the transfer. If you have had success with the way your system is running, don't change it just for the heck of it. everybody's tank is different, so what works for me and Scott, may not work in your case. Plus it gives us something to talk about.

[RockAddict]

That is quite a few fish for a 75, but they are small. I have a dsb in my display also. Miracle mud is overrated, but I got sucked in there also. Macros like chaeto don't really need to root, because they are just a big ball of nutrient eating plant. I have a little caulerpa in my fuge now, that is gonna go bye, bye. I have had that stuff go sexual on me and it ain't pretty.

well..i'll keep you posted.
when i started my fuge, i went and purchased macros from 3 different sources. so to get a variety of species, and copapods. i have buble caulerpa chaeto, and 3 other types i don't know the names of. the bubble caulerpa will never get overgrown. every time i see a sprout make it to the surface, i yank it out and feed it to the tangs. they love it!