FAQ:Why Refugium light is pinkish?

[dz6t]

I want to take this opportunity to answer a frequently asked question: do I need those Fugly pinkish refugium light for marco algae?

The short answer is: No

These are major reasons:
1. Marco algae under the ocean do their photosynthesis just like coral. Any light that is good for coral is good for marco algae.

2. The pinkish light spectrum is, simply adopted from horticulture led, an some of them ARE horticulture led. On the land, there are a lot of red, it is not the case under the ocean.

3. Someone will say, I see tons of growth under these pinkish red led. Well, you get the similar result with a day light led. PAR is the most important thing, either from the $300 one or from a $50 alcheapo Ebay black box.
For matter of fact, many al-cheapo led out perform the $300 one.

 

[Terry Martin]

What par do you want?

 

[absolutecarrot]

I want to take this opportunity to answer a frequently asked question: do I need those Fugly pinkish refugium light for marco algae?

The short answer is: No

These are major reasons:
1. Marco algae under the ocean do their photosynthesis just like coral. Any light that is good for coral is good for marco algae.

2. The pinkish light spectrum is, simply adopted from horticulture led, an some of them ARE horticulture led. On the land, there are a lot of red, it is not the case under the ocean.

3. Someone will say, I see tons of growth under these pinkish red led. Well, you get the similar result with a day light led. PAR is the most important thing, either from the $300 one or from a $50 alcheapo Ebay black box.
For matter of fact, many al-cheapo led out perform the $300 one.

thanks very helpfull

 

[dz6t]

What par do you want?

Higher par than your display.
For example, if your display tank has 350 par at the surface, you want 400 par in your refugium.

 

[Budget_Reef]

I want to take this opportunity to answer a frequently asked question: do I need those Fugly pinkish refugium light for marco algae?

The short answer is: No

These are major reasons:
1. Marco algae under the ocean do their photosynthesis just like coral. Any light that is good for coral is good for marco algae.

2. The pinkish light spectrum is, simply adopted from horticulture led, an some of them ARE horticulture led. On the land, there are a lot of red, it is not the case under the ocean.

3. Someone will say, I see tons of growth under these pinkish red led. Well, you get the similar result with a day light led. PAR is the most important thing, either from the $300 one or from a $50 alcheapo Ebay black box.
For matter of fact, many al-cheapo led out perform the $300 one.

This is good information but I am thinking of having a mini refugium in a hob filter, I want it to be cheap do you think those 20 dollar refugium light bulbs type lights or should I go with something else

 

[uhupong]

Higher par than your display.
For example, if your display tank has 350 par at the surface, you want 400 par in your refugium.

I have 8 bulbs t5 and par at surface is over 600. Does the above rule still apply?

 

[dz6t]

I have 8 bulbs t5 and par at surface is over 600. Does the above rule still apply?

YES, but please note that refugium is for reduction of waste such as nitrate and phosphate. Marco algae can out compete coral for essential nutrients. If your phosphate and nitrate is low, and you need to dose to keep phosphate and nitrate up, then refugium is doing more harm than good.

I am wondering what type of t5 bulbs are you using and how close are the bulbs to the water surface?
600 PAR from t5 is kinda higher than usual.

 

[dz6t]

This is good information but I am thinking of having a mini refugium in a hob filter, I want it to be cheap do you think those 20 dollar refugium light bulbs type lights or should I go with something else

Get a PAR meter will help. But many inexpensive led lights on Amazon will do a great job.

 

[dz6t]

It can be helpful to see why the blue and red led are popular for horticulture. It is all about cost. In the world of horticulture, there is a famous saying that 1% more par gives you 1% more yield. So the major cost factors for lighting are: par, electricity cost and led fixture cost. They add up quickly when a farm deploys hundreds to thousands of led fixtures.

Let’s look at these categories:

1. PAR and electricity:
It is the reason why some led manufacturers choose top brand led chips, such as Cree. These led chips put out more PAR per watt and more importantly, they last a lot longer than generic led chips provided effective cooling. Green led is highly inefficient, as well as some other color led chips. So using blue and red allows the fixture to yield as high as possible PAR per watt. Plants on land are very effective to utilize blue and red spectrum, but many marine species do not utilize red as much.

2. For many years, Blue and Red led are generally less expensive to manufacture than full spectrum white led, because full spectrum white led required phosphor coating. Simply put, a white led basically is a blue led with phosphor coating in order to generate broad spectrum, and they degrade faster due to the aging of the coating, just like t5.

3. The current trend is moving toward full spectrum due to the all-in-one COB chips become more popular. Also led chips price have been dropping significantly.

4. The fixture cost plays a huge role in horticulture. That is why designer led fixtures are not popular. If you see a horticulture farm deploys hundreds of $800 fixtures, the farm is going the wrong direction financially.

But after all, we are in a hobby, so there is nothing wrong to buy whatever led fixtures that we like. As long as the underlying technology is understood. For example, if I buy a $300 refugium light, that is because I like the look, the controller, it makes me feel good, etc, not because it can grow algae better.

Hope this help.

 

[uhupong]

YES, but please note that refugium is for reduction of waste such as nitrate and phosphate. Marco algae can out compete coral for essential nutrients. If your phosphate and nitrate is low, and you need to dose to keep phosphate and nitrate up, then refugium is doing more harm than good.

I am wondering what type of t5 bulbs are you using and how close are the bulbs to the water surface?
600 PAR from t5 is kinda higher than usual.

ATI powermodule 8 bulbs with leds 15 inches off.

 

[dz6t]

ATI led hybrid?

 

[uhupong]

ATI led hybrid?

Yes. 8X54W HYBRID ATI POWERMODULE

 

[dz6t]

That make sense due to the led.