CADLIGHT Refugium

I just bought a 22 gallon cadlight and as some of you know, there are 3 sections in the back filter. first, a place for bio-balls and filter padding, the second a refugium for live sand, rock, and macroalgae, and third the return pump. 400 gph!!! anyways, space is very crammed in the back and i need to fit a light into the 2nd section so i can grow macroalgae and livesand. How do you think i should go upon doing this? the section is 9.75" x 3" Any ideas on what i should do? i dont know what kind of light and how big the light need to be for macroalgae to grow. I also dont want the light to make it look like a crammed setup because half the reason why i bought this system was because everything is hidden and clean. Any suggestions? any simple clip on lights that would work?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

Are the compartments clear? If so, you could put a light on the side (back) of the tank, and have it actually shine through the compartment. It would all stay fairly hidden and clean looking that way.

 

Ahh smart man packleader. Yes, they are clear. That would actually work out perfectly because then i wouldnt have to take off a light or move it every time i want to go into the back or put more macro in there. Thanks for the suggestion. Does it need to be a special type of light? and how much watts? are we talkin 10, 20, 30?

Edit: o yeah and its not adding any heat to the tank! perfect! haha

 

It all depends on what macros you want to keep. Generally speaking, for the typical stuff (like chaeto), 2-3 watts per gallon of 6500K would work great. You can easily get something like that at Home depot.

 

Ok with that being said, why do CADLIGHTS sell clamp ons like this if its 3 watts PER GALLON! do you mean per gallon of the entire tank volume or of just the refugium?
http://www.cadlights.com/product_info.php?products_id=129
this one is only 9 watts

 

Just the refugium

 

If its not the total volume of the aquarium, i can shine a 26 watt 50/50 light back there. If that is acceptable, I will make a purchase of livesand (not on the following web site) and chaeto with pods. They said not to add too much macro at a time or else you will be adding nutrient instead of reducing nutrient. So, they said each chaeto comes as a tennis ball size. Im going to order one of those for now. Is that too much or too little or just good for now? When would be a good time to get more? any other macros that you would recommend for a beginner?
ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae - Chaeto with Pods
Is that light too much? Considering that the gallons in that slot is about 2?

 

ok so here is the back of my tank (not my picture). the middle sections dimensions are 9.75x3x13.5 how much gallons of water should i put into the equasion 4 watts per gallon?

 

The 'aquarium volume' calculator may help you:
3reef.com - Forums for coral reef aquariums, salt water fish, corals, inverts, protein skimmers, aquarium lighting and more - Calculators

 

thanks matt! never even knew those were on here haha. Ok so to round up, i need about 8 watts of 6500k light.