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Will this grow cheato?

post #1 of 10
2/22/11 at 2:02pm
Thread Starter 

I was at a pet store the other day and purchased a set of "moon lights" because they were 75% off.  I have a 14 gallon biocube and was planning on putting some chaeto in the middle chamber and lighting through the back glass of my tank.  FYI there are 4 leds total and are white in color not sure of the kelvin rating.IMG_20110222_165446.jpg

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post #2 of 10
2/23/11 at 11:17am

Im not entirely sure. Cheato doesn't need insane amounts of light, but It might need more then that. Google "magnetic refugium light" Its a 4-LED fixture which will magnetically attach to the back of your glass. If the 4 LEDS that you have will put out as much light as those 4 then I would say you are probably good to go. Is there anyway of hooking them up and just trying to grow a little cheato to see? Its pretty cheap stuff and if it starts to die you may want to try to increase your lighting by either supplementation or possibly a new fixture. You can get grow bulbs and a fixture from like home depot or lowes for really cheap prices and you would be good to go.

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post #3 of 10
2/23/11 at 2:21pm
Thread Starter 

yeah i have seen those magnetic lights before although never in person.  Not sure how strong the leds are in that unit but probably stronger than the ones i have.  I guess i will just try them out and see what happens.  I only paid $5 for what I have so I'm not out much money if they don't work.  

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post #4 of 10
2/23/11 at 3:49pm

Yea I would just go ahead and try them too. If cheato around you is expensive or you can't find it just shoot me a PM and i'll send you a chunk. It'll live quite a while so it doesn't need to be overnighted or anything like that. Mine will prob have a chunk of pods in it so I would prob submerge some of it with some tank water to keep them alive.

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post #5 of 10
2/23/11 at 3:53pm

Chaeto seems to do best under lighting in the 6500k tempurature range (close to natural sunlight).  I would say those lights won't do anything for you in this area.  Or at least, not enough to keep it alive.

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post #6 of 10
2/23/11 at 4:01pm

Yea I use a 6500k power compact bulb above my 4.5 gallon fuge rated at like 26 watts. I would have just gotten a fixture from home depot but I dished out the $70 for the fixture that was made for my fuge. I must say it does work really well and I am glad I bought it.

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post #7 of 10
2/23/11 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chain View Post

Yea I use a 6500k power compact bulb above my 4.5 gallon fuge rated at like 26 watts. I would have just gotten a fixture from home depot but I dished out the $70 for the fixture that was made for my fuge. I must say it does work really well and I am glad I bought it.



Yep, from everything that I've read, threads and articals is that the 6500k is the best for chaeto.  Some folks even use just some simple clip on work lights that you can find at home depot or lowes for like $10 with the right flourescent bulb.

 

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post #8 of 10
2/23/11 at 7:14pm
Thread Starter 

Yeah I know all about the lights and fixtures from lowes and home depot.  I wanted to try this route because it is for a 14 gallon biocube and didnt want to have a huge hot light sticking off the back of the tank.  I appreciate everyones feedback and suggestions.  The more I look at these lights they just dont seem bright enough to me but who knows.

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post #9 of 10
2/23/11 at 7:22pm

Have you looked into the higher powered LED bulbs with the mogul bases?  Or the LED grow light bulbs by anychance?

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post #10 of 10
2/23/11 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 

I have not.  Looks like im taking a trip to Lowes tomorrow

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