sump refugium question

[chrisrench]

Could I simply place some caulerpera or macro algae in my sump, with a flourescent light or do I actually have to use a seperate unit to be used as the refugium? Also, what kind of light would I need? 40 watt flourescent ok?

 

[dburr]

If your flow is low enough, yes. But make sure it doesn't get to your pump.
Thats why a baffle is nice.
40 watt bulb is good if your sump is shallow. I have a 55 gallon sump and 2- 40 watters wouldn't cut it. Now I use a 96 watt PC.

 

[footbag]

Yes, you could do this, but to prevent the caulerpa from being sucked up by the pump, you would need to add a baffle. After adding the baffle you may consider adding a DSB. After doing all of this you may have wished that you just got a seperate tank for a fuge. I love looking at my fuge. There are tons of pods, bristles and shrimps and I could stare at it all day long. I don't though; I look at it at night when the displays lights are out.
Is there any room next to your sump?:thinking:

 

[footbag]

DBURR beat me to it, Damn.
There is also a $35 Lights of America fixture that works well for fuges. It's 65w, and gives great growth. They do burn out often though.

 

[chrisrench]

Yes, there is some room for me to work down there. I suppose, I just rework the plumbing to get some water flow in there. I need to search the web and find some pics to see how people have rigged them up. Thanks too the both of you. Very informative. Who would have thought when I woke up this morning, I would learn something. Thanks again.