refugium lights

[supermarvin76]

What kind of lighting is needed for my refugium? Is a regular 17w aquarium florescent alright? If not what should I use?

Also, will algae grow in the refug that is not wanted? Such as on the glass. If so, should I, or can I keep a snail or 2 in there to help?

 

[makana]

What kind of lighting is needed for my refugium? Is a regular 17w aquarium florescent alright? If not what should I use?

this light will be fine depending on plkanned refugium size. one of my refugia has a 50/50 normal output flouro and the other has a daylight (10000k) PC. i believe any decent amount of light will suffice. it depends on what algae you plan to keep. i have chaetomorpha which is very undemanding.

Also, will algae grow in the refug that is not wanted? Such as on the glass. If so, should I, or can I keep a snail or 2 in there to help?

you will get "undesiable" algae groing in the refugium. IMO this is a good thing that should be encouraged, not discouraged by adding snails. the microalgae in the fuge will outcompete any that try to grow in the display tank.
i do keep about a dozen really tiny snails in the fuge to clean up a little but i dont want it scraoed clean as an astrea margarita or other snail might do.
occasionally i will admit to putting a snail from the main tank into the refugia for a weekend-long algae binge