cheap lights for refugium?

[bongobrian]

What kind of lights does everybody recommend for a refugium? My primary goal is to have good macro algea growth. Right now I have a small refugium with a PC bulb (I believe it is a 12 or 13 watt) and my macros are rockin. If you have been following my other posts, you'll know that I'm going to build a larger refugium. Anyway, I was talking to a guy at an LFS and he uses "plant grow" bulbs and halogen bulbs from Home Depot. He told me to use 1 or 2 of the plant grow bulbs and 3 halogens. Has anyone heard of this? better yet, is anyone DOING this? He was telling me how the halogens say right on the package "not for aquarium use" but I kinda trust this guy because his advice has never been wrong in the past. I still wanted to hear what you guys had to say about it. Gracias.

[organicreefer]

ltspd has been using incandescent "grow bulbs" over his ref. and he says they work great......
but, fwiw, incandescants are horribly inneficient , put out tons of heat,and the "grow bulbs" simply filter part of the spectrum out to create a color temp more suitable for growing plants-but it means even less light from an already inneficient source.........same thing goes for halogen tons of heat -and not the most efficient.

personally i think the best choice for a refugium bulb might be an hps lamp-if these guys are having success with grow bulbs ,i bet an hps would rock!hps puts out one of the highest (i think the highest)lumens /watt of any light source-and grows plants beautifully;)

all that said im a typical loa 65w user and i like it,dont have room for an hps myself...but maybe on that next big tank someday.........hth

[bongobrian]

So what exactly is an hps and what is an loa?

[cod]

So what exactly is an hps and what is an loa?

hps= high presure sodium
loa=Lights of America(name brand)

[bongobrian]

Thanks, are both of these are available at Home Depot? what kind of wattage should I look for? Effeciency is important to me and I'm glad you brought this to my attention. My refugium will most likely be a 20 gallon tank and I will be running the lights 24/7. I'm not very good when it comes to the DIY stuff, but I'm trying to learn and hopefully get better at it. Thanks again.

[cod]

I got my loa 65w 6500k at HD. I use it on a 10 gal ref., and I like it. It did require a little simple wiring. Get a grounded drop cord, cut the male end off at whatever length you need, black wire (cord) to black wire (lamp), white wire to white wire, attach the green wire (cord) to lamp housing. You might want to do a search for LOA on this and other boards for the product #, and read about failures some people have had with these lights. I have been using mine for almost 11 months with no problem.

I don't know much about HPS, but I have seen them in the outdoor lighting section at HD

HTH

[organicreefer]

hps= high pressure sodium(sodium vapor),its a hid ,like halides and mercury vapor,but it gives of an orange /yellow light(its commonly used for street lights).
loa =lights of america .the 65w pc floodlight .its rated 65k,and is very popular as a refugium light.

both of these kinds of lights can be found at HD,though they probly only have like a 75w hps there.hps is for the most part ,the first choice for most indoor gardeners,because its puts out more light per watt than any other light.higher wattage hps lamps/ballasts can be found at hydroponic stores.i wouldnt run a hps if youre refugium is in youre stand because of heat issues.........it has to be treated like a halide in that respect(10" off the water fans and stuff)but if you had a basement refugium ,a 250w hps would be killer for mangroves and stuff............

[bongobrian]

Cool thanks for the info. So, how would an loa do in the stand? do they run cooler? How many would you recommend that I run? and should I run some other kind of lights in combination with the loa for a wider spectrum range?

[organicreefer]

my loa is in my stand,it does get a little hot ,but nothing major,i dont think its affecting the water temp to much.others have suggested drilling holes in them removing the casing ,adding fans etc etc ,to keep them coole,but i think its mainly the people using them on small tanks (10g)that are doing this.
as far as how many to run ,that depends on the area youre trying to cover/how much light you want-more is usually better.
as for adding different lights,im considering adding a grow bulb(yes even after i just bashed them) to mine just to see what happens,they are cheap and maybe i could have it come on just at night (i light my ref.24/7)as an experiment.

[cod]

I run mine in my stand with no mods. or fans. I would not recommend drilling holes or removing the lens. This is purely anecdotal, but in almost every post iv'e read about a premature failure, the person has altered the light housing in some way.

As for how many lights to run...hmm.?.? I have one light on a 10 gal., and macro alga grows like weeds(sea weeds ;) ). You could start with one, and add on as needed.

[jlazo]

I have a 10 gallon sump with have of it partitioned as my refugium. I have a 28watt quad 6500k, and 9 watt 10,000k actinic PC's. My macro is growing well. I bought a Hamilton kit, very compact and easy to fit in my stand.

[hllywd]

LOA has a work light that already has the cord attached they show it on their web site. My problem is I have been to several Lowes, HDs, and Wally worlds and when I ask for a specific light, the "experts" look at me like I'm an idiot. So I haven't found any of the LOA fixtures everyone uses, here they're sort of elusive just like SD play sand. Bottom line, from the looks of it the work light has some way to attach the "stand" and you should be able to use these same provisions to mount the light in a hood. Personally if I ever find one I would remove the glass cover to reduce any light.
As for HPS I don't know about the intensity per watt claim, I do know the specific reason for hydroponic use is the spectrum. The red spectrum of the light is use to promote flowering and fruit production. MH in the 4500K range is usually used to promote foliage growth.
I'm not going to use MH or HPS in my refugium florescent is sufficient for me. My point is HPS doesn't make sense to me considering what we are trying to do in the refugium.
Tim

[organicreefer]

tim,hps is definitely the most light per watt...thats why they are used for street lights(well most of em anyway)
you are correct about alot of indoor gardeners using hps for flowering,halides for veg,but that applies to plants which flwower in the fall/spring(hps more closely simulate the "harvest "sun) i have seen one setup with hps over a refugium with mangroves/caleurpa...and it was the most awesome one ive ever seen..maybe it could have been even better with halides i dont know.....but i know the most light per watt is true

[vibez]

hllywd, i have actually seen the LOA work light. I think it was at Price Costco or Sams Club where I saw it. Can't remember but it was one of thos two stores.