new refugium

[naeemn]

I'm puting in a new refugium in my tank but i have a couple of questions and would like some help if its possible
1) I have a 90gal. is a 20 gal refugium big enough
2) what kind of substrate should i put in it
3) I'm putting in some live rock how much should i put knowing i have 60lbs in the main tank
4) I'm also adding in it the sea weed I believe its called chatepla or something anyway what kind of light should i use and how long should i keep he light on
I appreciate the help i'm a little confused
again thanx in advance

[naeemn]

oh sorry its a fowlr 60 lbs of it

[Jon Evans]

20 gallons should be fine. Chaeto is good macroalgae. I use calurpa in mine. Any sand will work, but they make some like Miracle Mud that have trace elements in it. In my opinion, it would be more important to add more live rock to the display tank than to your fuge. I just use a 13 watt compact flourescent trouble light from a hardware store to light mine. I also leave the light on 24/7.

[naeemn]

thanx for the respond

[Cody Ray]

IME Miracle Mud is a mess, regular aragonite sand works the best.

[Cord]

I have a 19 watt flourescent flood light on my fuge. I got it from home depot special orders dept for $10-11. I can give you the phone # if you want. 6500K and 5100K bulbs are available. But for now I am still trying to get some chaeto.

[naeemn]

ya cord i would really appreciate that thanx a lot

[sean48183]

I agree with JonE. I wouldn't add too much live rock to your fuge. It will just get covered with algae sooner or later any way. I would put 10lbs in the fuge to seed it and the rest in the display.

I would suggest crushed coral in your fuge. It gives the pods a great place to reproduce. I have used real fine sand and CC and have found a 2" layer of CC really makes the pods explode.

For a light I would go to home depot and check out there outdoor flood lights. They have a 65watt compact flueroscent fixture with a 6500k bulb and a ballast. I made my own fixture but other people have had real success with this light. I believe it's around $35. Maybe someone can chime in on the name of it.

[Cord]

For 19 watt (equivelent to 85 watts) call Home Depot and ask for special orders department, 1-800-431-3303. Remember, ask for "special orders". The 6500K bulb is 2P3819-65K. They have a 5100K bulb too which is supposed to work well. The similar ones in the stores are 2700K which is just too low for growing chaeto.

Expect it to take at least 3 weeks to get the bulb. It took me around a month and a half because they didn't have it in stock, so I had to call back a few times complaining. If you want, I have a new 5100 K bulb laying around that I can send you. I'll charge what I paid for it which is $10 plus maybe a couple of bucks for shipping. Let me know if interested.

There is a thread on this bulb somewhere on reef central, if anyone knows where it is maybe they could put the link here.