My D.I.Y Chaeto Mini-Refugium for NanoTanks....

kromix

kromix

Member
Posted this in my diary thread but wanted a seperate thread for it as I have questions, and if you do, ask away :)
So I finally got around to making the Mini-Refugium of Chaeto for the back middle chamber of my tank, thought I'd share my D.I.Y with you guys....
All I did was cut out pieces of eggcrate, smooth them out, connect them together w/ Zip Ties, Zip Tie the Submersible LED Tubes to each side and insert chaeto and submerge. Quick and easy.



Results:
[list type=decimal][*]No water temp increase maybe .5 degrees if that, still the same, water/unit does not get hot around it at all....
[*]As you can see the LED's were mounted to the lower portion of the eggcrate apparatus to avoid Light Spillover at night and there is none, complete and total darkness in the tank at night not a shred of light comes through the top into the tank....
Light effectively gets around and covers the whole chamber thanks to the 8 LED's on each side spread apart. Great light coverage
Ran it overnight, everything fine, will report back on how fast/well the chaeto grows.
[/list type=decimal]
The reason I made a thread was to share it with you all that don't visit my diary thread, but really to ask something...
I need something between the eggcrate and the part where water flows through chamber 2 to 3 (where the pump is) to stop any little pieces of chaeto going into the pump.... What have you guys used? something fine enough to stop it from getting through, but not stopping the flow... Like a type of screen or something, not sure what to try or use or whats aquarium safe, any1 ever used anything like this???
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
I don't have anything to stop the chaeto getting through besides live rock rubble. Otherwise how would pods get through
I do have to pull little chaeto pieces out of my pump every few days, not a big deal to me though.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
In my 29 biocube it came with a blue sponge that fits in chamber three specifically to keep stuff from chamber 2 (where the bio balls were) from getting into the pump. Mine is still there. I clean it every week at water change.
Nice build on the container by the way. You could even put a bag of Chemi Pure or Purigen at the bottom too.
 
kromix

kromix

Member
so what can I put to keep the chaeto out but let the pods through?
A sponge or filter floss in chamber 3 above the pump ? Ideas?
 
kromix

kromix

Member
Sure man, they were a fleebay special..... little on the pricey side for Refugium lighting, but worth it to me...
Links don't work here but go to fleebay and put in LED aquarium lighting . Example title of one of his lights: "Wide 8 white LED Bar Background Aquarium Lighting Power"
from a guy named measureexplorer
he has many diff combos, single 8 LED tube, 2 8 LED tubes (what I got), even a bigger 15 LED tube, and smaller 4 LED tubes in any combination from 1 - 4 tubes and colors, he's got red, green, blue etc... anything u need. Seems like its a pretty quality build too, hopefully my chaeto grows!
 
kromix

kromix

Member
1.6Watts of LED power, enough for refugium growth and not too much to raise temp's :)
P.S the sticks are really bright, I'm pretty confident when I have a full thick ball of chaeto the light will shine through it all from each side its just a nice strong light...
 
quandary

quandary

Member
Thanks. People on here have very low watts and some up to 20 watts. I just want to know what will make it grow....
 
kromix

kromix

Member
One of the big things too on growth is the color of the light, these are 5600k, well in the range for chaeto....
I will report back in 3 weeks on it's growth....
 
whisk

whisk

Active Member
hey kromix, very nice project. I'm too am curious how well those lights work for you. Let us know how that chaeto grows.
When I created my chaeto rack, i used a fiberglass screen to cover the holes. I can send you a pic of an example of what i did later if you like. The fiberglass screen can be found at home depot and was around $4-$5 for a roll of it. I'll PM you a link.
 
whisk

whisk

Active Member
Originally Posted by kromix
http:///forum/post/2851380
Cool thanks, yea shoot me a picture... Does that let the pods get through though?
I would say the holes are just big enough for a pod to squeeze through but cant tell for sure. The rack i use isn't "air tight" on the sides so pods can get around the rack. Its enough to contain the chaeto though. I have a crap load of pods in both chambers so im guessing they get around just fine.
 
kromix

kromix

Member
OK cool yea send me a pic, how did u attach the screen? Zipties?
Also, the link u sent me says its not longer there?
 
whisk

whisk

Active Member
Originally Posted by kromix
http:///forum/post/2851407
OK cool yea send me a pic, how did u attach the screen? Zipties?
Also, the link u sent me says its not longer there?
hmmm i'll double check the link and PM you again. Here is pic of the screen. I used superglue to get it on and it was a pain in the butt to do. I never snapped a shot of my chaeto fuge rack but this should give you an idea.
 
kromix

kromix

Member
Yes, exactly what I'm lookin for.... But those holes r big enough for pods??
Oh yea you said they go around it right because it doesn't cover the exit entirely ?
 
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