LED light for 10 gallon refugium

[reefnoob]

Anyone know of LED lights I can use for a 10 gallon refugium? I'm growing macroalgae in there. I'm looking for 1 that is in the $50-$60 price range, of course, if it's even cheaper than that it would be great.

 

[Bifferwine]

For a refugium, you can use a regular CFL (squiggly) bulb from the hardware store. That only costs a couple bucks.

 

[reefnoob]

What about the light fixture?

 

[texreefer]

I have used this combo for years with great results:

Fixture :
150-Watt Incandescent Clamp Light-CE-300PDQ at The Home Depot

Bulb:
16-Watt (65W) Compact Fluorescent R30 Flood Light Bulb (E)*-150417 at The Home Depot


HTH

 

[Bifferwine]

One of the clamp-on shop lights from the hardware store works fine. Like this:

 

[Bifferwine]

Texreefer ninja'd me! That's what I used for my fuge for years too.

 

[reefnoob]

How many watts per gallon would I need?

 

[Bifferwine]

I used two of those CFL bulbs over my 35 gallon fuge. I don't think wpg really matters, you just need to make sure it's lit. For a 10 gallon refugium, one bulb would be fine.

 

[reefnoob]

Thanks a lot

 

[reefnoob]

I just thought of something, would those bulbs produce a lot of heat if I buy one with a lot of watts?

 

[Bifferwine]

They don't sell them with a lot of watts (their purpose is to be a low-wattage bulb to conserve electricity). I think they are normally 16 or 23 watts. They do get hot, but the clamp-on light fixture is metal (so it doesn't melt) and it wouldn't normally be touching anything.

 

[FishyReef]

The shop light is certainly the cheaper way to go, but if you are looking specifically for LED, you could try this one: JBJ NANO Glo 4 LED Refugium Light - AquaCave.com

This is the one I have on my refugium/sump and it seems to work well

 

[reefnoob]

My concern with it getting hot is that it might heat up the water, since I don't have a chiller or anything

 

[reefnoob]

FishyReef- is aquacave.com a reliable place to shop?

 

[Bifferwine]

Most people don't have chillers. It shouldn't heat up your water enough for you to notice a temp change. It's just one bulb.

 

[FishyReef]

Yes, I've ordered several things from there and have been quite happy - see my review in the vendor review section.

But Biff is right that the shop light shouldn't heat up the water too much. I personally just don't have room under my stand to really house a shoplight and like how tiny but powerful the JBJ light is. I think it comes down to a matter of preference.