Lighting question

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dralarms

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Sep 7, 2003
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Location
Athens, TN.
I have a friend locally that is trying to advise me on setup of my sump, he has stated that I should get a light for my sump and a timer for both lights so that when the tank lights go on the sump lights go out and when the main lights go out then the sump lights come on. His resaoning for this is that with out light the co2 levels rise in the tank (I don't know if this is true or not), and that by having a sump that is lighted alternatly then it will help to stabilize the tank o2 levels. Am I being fed bull? :? 8O
 
I do this with my fuge but I have never seen anyone light the sump. Nothing in there really needs it.

Just because I have not seen it does not mean people don't do it though :)
 
Unless there's algae in the sump (which would then be a fuge) this makes no sense to me :?
 
What exactly is the diff between a sump and a fuge? I was thinking about some sand and maybe some rock in the sump. Would that make it a fuge?
 
A refugium is an "refuge" where animals and plants can live without being eaten by the fish. These are usually pods and macroalgae. What you buddy told you is true. See, there is algae in your tank that converts CO2 in the water, water, and light from the tank into glucose(sugar) for itself and releases O2. At night, however, the algae goes through respiration, where it converts the glucose into usable energy. This uses up oxygen in the tank, taking it away from your fish. By having the fuge light on a opposite time as the tank, there will always be some algae producing oxygen. Also, mangroves are a plant the grows in the estuaries of rivers, so it can go in either fresh or salt. It's roots are the only things in the water, so to keep it your light must be well away from the water of the mangrove will reach it a burn itself.
http://www.churaumi.net/nature/mangrove.jpg
This shows them full grown.
 
I've never seen fully grown mangrooves, but the ones I have in a pot at home are only stalks with the roots burried in gravel filled with water. They are about 1-1/2 ft tall.
 
I was thinking about some sand and maybe some rock in the sump. Would that make it a fuge?

Yes it would :)

Sounds like you want a sump and fuge together. Alot of people do this. With the right baffles should be easy. I got a acrylic sump that I am going to use that has a return area, then an area for the skimmer, then an area for a fuge and then the return pump area all in one container. this would be a sump/refuge combo :)

If this is the case then you would want a light on the area that has the sand and the macros. You could use the reverse lighting setup for the fuge or have the light on 24/7 for the fuge.
 
With the right baffles should be easy. I got a acrylic sump that I am going to use that has a return area, then an area for the skimmer, then an area for a fuge and then the return pump area all in one container. this would be a sump/refuge combo

Sounds more complicated. 8O What I want to do is put the 29 gal tank under my stand, put some ls in it, maybe some rock, along with my emporor 400, skimmer, heater, ETC. If I start subdividing this tank there will not be any room for my equipment. 8O
 
The thing you have to remember is that the force of the water coming into your 29 will disrupt your sand and such and then the return pump will spit cloudy water back into your tank.

You need some kind of divider. Currently I use a 20 gal glass tank with a small rubbermaid type container acting as a barrier/wall. It is a tight fit but it stays in place and works great as a bubble trap. My drain line dumps right by my skimmer and the water then flows underneath my makeshift wall to my return pump.

If your skimmer and filter are HOB models, then you should have room for a fuge in there but you still need to keep the drain line and return pump separte from any sand or macros. Baffles are used as bubble traps and with the drain, filter and skimmer dumping water into the 29 gal, bubbles will be created.

You could always go to HD and buy acrylic sheets to silicone into the tank.
 
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