Can I use this bulb in my refugium?

[Dr. Dai Phan]

Greetings,

My refugium lights (3) need to be replaced and I cannot find the replacements even at my LFS without waiting a week or two to be ordered. I saw this at the Home Depot and I wonder if this can be used instead (and much cheaper too). I wonder if refugium lights require special spectrum to be effective. Thanks! DP

[thincat]

Welcome to th site...If it fits your lamp fixture you can give it a try. I use something similar to that in my sump for my Cheato algae. Look for the highest Kelvin value you can find. Home Depot in my area is starting to bring in T-5 bulbs and fixtures so keep your eyes out for these too.

[thincat]

Oops, just for the record..If everyone one of us SW reefer would ask HomeDepot why they don't carry T-5 fixtures and higher Kelvin bulbs they would more then likely start to bring them in. Supply and Demand......We have the power to do this..

[Dr. Dai Phan]

Originally Posted by thincat

Oops, just for the record..If everyone one of us SW reefer would ask HomeDepot why they don't carry T-5 fixtures and higher Kelvin bulbs they would more then likely start to bring them in. Supply and Demand......We have the power to do this..

Yup. That will work wonders as I am paying 25 bucks a pop for a 34" T5 bulb and I have 8 of them! Too bad I don't have anymore of my AIG bonus money to buy! DP

[HN1]

Originally Posted by thincat

Oops, just for the record..If everyone one of us SW reefer would ask HomeDepot why they don't carry T-5 fixtures and higher Kelvin bulbs they would more then likely start to bring them in. Supply and Demand......We have the power to do this..

Great point thin! Thinking about that a little further... everytime I get a receipt from HD I have a survey listed. I think next time, I'll take the few minutes and do the survey and then make the suggestion that they carry T5s when asked "what can we do to improve?" or whatever. Corporate greed can be our friend.

[thincat]

I do that too. They started to bring t-5's bulbs in but at a lower K value, so I had a talk with the person in charge of lighting. I will have to wait and see what happens.

[Dr. Dai Phan]

Hello,

I went to the local hardware stores and they only have the 4100K as the highest rating. I also checked in the reptile section at LFS and they only have them at 9 watts. I wonder if 4100K will work though as I was told that you need minimum of 5000K in the refugium. These things are darn hard to find so I may have to look at places that sell green house plants or place order online. DP

[thincat]

My refuge light is 15w and is 6500k and I got it from my local wal-mart pet section. The flurescent wattage on compacts is low but the output is much higher. check there.

[Dr. Dai Phan]

Originally Posted by thincat

My refuge light is 15w and is 6500k and I got it from my local wal-mart pet section. The flurescent wattage on compacts is low but the output is much higher. check there.

Wow. I should check that but I don't ever recall ever seeing it at Walmart. Thanks a bunch! DP

[neil_04]

you have to keep your eye out at walmarts alot of them did away with the fish department "probably hard to find a walmart employee thats good at cleaning tanks" no offense to any walmart employees. But yea i found a 15 watt like that, it fits my 10 gallon hood so im thinking of making my 10 gal my sump still not sure though. keep looking i spent like 2 hours at home depot and lowes yesterday trying to find a cheap way to light my salt water for corals, and to be honest it looks like im going to have to buy a expensive hood or get a retro kit

[thincat]

Yea, my Wal-Mart does not carry fish. Just a few tanks, sand, food and meds and the good score on the bulb.

[mandown123]

is use this wack energy saver I think 29 watts bulb from home depot, its 6700K, grows the algae like mad. Looks like the motion floodlights people have on their house.

[thincat]

Originally Posted by mandown123

is use this wack energy saver I think 29 watts bulb from home depot, its 6700K, grows the algae like mad. Looks like the motion floodlights people have on their house.

Thats what you want...all the algae growing in there and not in your DT.

[mandown123]

yeah man, its perfect, cost barely anything. got the idea from here. works PERFECT. My fuge is a swamp and my nitrates are zero with minimal water changes. Perfect.

Melevsreef.com - Refugium Bulb

looks like the floodlight one on the left, perfect for what you need.

[Dr. Dai Phan]

Originally Posted by mandown123

yeah man, its perfect, cost barely anything. got the idea from here. works PERFECT. My fuge is a swamp and my nitrates are zero with minimal water changes. Perfect.

Melevsreef.com - Refugium Bulb

looks like the floodlight one on the left, perfect for what you need.

Excellent article. I am going to ditch the sump canopy light and install the light (with clamp on) as you show. Since it does not get very hot, can you keep the clear cover over the sump to minimize water loss? Thanks DP

[mandown123]

i like to leave uncovered for the gas exchange but yeah that light doesn't even get hot to the touch. You could do that.

[CementShoes]

Originally Posted by thincat

Welcome to th site...If it fits your lamp fixture you can give it a try. I use something similar to that in my sump for my Cheato algae. Look for the highest Kelvin value you can find. Home Depot in my area is starting to bring in T-5 bulbs and fixtures so keep your eyes out for these too.

Been following your other posts. Where do you have macro in your sump? A later post says you have all your chambers filled with LR to the top?

[thincat]

By that I meant the chambers that were filled with bio-balls. The first chamber has a fourth of the way filled with LR and topped off with cheato. The second chamber has my skimmer and the last chamber has my return pump. There is a total of 5 or six chambers...there is so much coralline that it's hard to tell. I hope that clears that up.