220 gallon reef tank

[duke33]

I'm just learning but I don't see what it would hurt.

 

[Amphiprion]

Figured I'd just ask this here instead of starting a new thread. I have a coralife CF light with a 50/50 bulb. Anyone know if there's a reason not to use it on my refugium

Try to get a 6500K or lower color temperature. It tends to be better for plant growth in that it usually has more PAR per watt compared to 50/50 lamps.

 

[Knox_RBP]

So I can just change the bulb in the fixture or would it be more practical to just use a different setup? I remember seeing people use fairly cheap light setup from home depot and suck that had those ratings you mentioned.

 

[Jstdv8]

I use a cheap clip on lamp with a reflector and a 27 watt swirl style CFL, I think its 5000k

 

[Knox_RBP]

that's exactly what i was thinking of but couldn't remember exactly. Thanks

 

[jayghmi]

Not to side track, but is that a bio wheel in the picture?

 

[Amphiprion]

So I can just change the bulb in the fixture or would it be more practical to just use a different setup? I remember seeing people use fairly cheap light setup from home depot and suck that had those ratings you mentioned.

Do you mean the bulb temperature didn't work? I've had better luck with the lower color temps on many occasions. You can even confirm it in dry weight of the algae, if you'd like to compare. You just won't get the same amount of light with a 50/50 lamp compared a lower Kelvin lamp, assuming they are the same wattage.

In the instances that don't seem to work, most of the limitation is elsewhere and not light-related at that point. Light limitation can certainly occur, though, assuming there are adequate nutrients in the tank. That's not always the problem though (and usually not), which is why I recommend bright lighting for a refugium--as much as you can manage and it still be practical. Some folks even use metal halides, but that's largely impractical for most people--both in terms of electricity and heat.

 

[Knox_RBP]

Not to side track, but is that a bio wheel in the picture?

yeah it was still on the emperor shell.