2 questions - macro lighting and cycle

[kirshman]

Hi again, been out of the hobby for 4 years and just getting back. In the past when I've cycled I've used the dead shrimp method and the ghost feeding method to cycle. Are there new better methods or stick with tried and true? Also with macros, what do you use for the lights on a fuge? I'm going to be running a 20l reef with a sump and fuge. probably put some cheato in there. Used a plant grow PC in past, wondering what people are doing now.

 

[silverado61]

Shrimp and ghost feeding are still the recommended method but put the shrimp in a piece of nylon for easier retrieval. Led lights are the rage.

 

[flower]

The PC grow lights are cheap and work just fine... The expensive LED lights are best used for the display.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Ghost feeding method is probably the best way to go. It gets the tank to ease into cycling and doesn't let ammonia spike so much.

PC bulbs put out a lot of heat. I suggest going to a hardware store and buying a 3-5w warm white LED bulb. They generally cost $20 and fit into a regular socket. They also last about ten years and put out as many lumens as a traditional bulb with a lot more watts.

 

[bang guy]

I agree with Snake on the ghost feeding. I've cycled many dozens of tanks and in my experience the best long term results are from fresh live rock to start the cycle, frequent water changes to keep ammonia present but low, and ghost feeding to stabilize bacteria colonies.

I'm less sure about algae refugium lighting. My personal experience is they seem to benefit from the excess heat of inferior lighting. My best results have actually been with incandescent lighting, halogen to be specific. Even though these bulbs waste over 50% of their output in the form of heat they seem to be really good at growing macro algae.

 

[beaslbob]

I used NO fluorescent for macros. 3400k at first but then I liked the 6500k look later. For a refugium I used spiral pig tail incandescent replacement bulbs in a round clip on reflector. 4 watts per refugium gallon or so.

I prefer to cycle by getting the macros growing and then cycle the tank with male mollies.

my .02