i just got a refugium and i dont know much about it

wht are the lighting hours and how can i keep the algea growing well and etc... please give me a few tips on refugiums

 

Go with some sand and macro. I have cheato in mine and it does an excellent job. As for the lighting I would go with the same lighting schedule as your DT. Some other people would disagree and say go 24/7 or go opposite your DT to keep the algae from going sexual. Here is the advice I got from a biochemist on the subject.


Well some people say 24 hours but its not going to grow and absorb all the nutrients with 24 hours of light. They will argue tooth and nail about it based on their algae still growing at a slow rate, but i used to be a biochemist in college... they need to do two types of reactions, called CAM photosynthesis, where the day is needed for half and the night is needed for the other half. If you have pH swings from day to night, you will want to go with night time lighting to make the pH more stable. I just keep mine on with my normal daylight time because my pH is spot on all the time... I also have a "show" fuge that is on display with a bunch of nice looking softies/critters/macros so i have it illuminated in the day.

 

thanks man i also have about an inch or so of sand at the bottom

and would an office hang on light work for the lighting

 

That would be fine along with a 6500k spiral compact florescent bulb.

 

Sounds like great advice lol

 

haha yeah wonder where that came from nice looking fuge by the way! (just saw your pics in the other post)

still waiting for pics of everything else

 

It's about a 5 inch sand bed
http://www.3reef.com/forums/refugium/display-fuge-pics-93259.html

 

For those of you joining us that are new to the hobby - the best piece of advice you'll get around here as a saltwater newbie is 3Reef's slogan
"Go slow, let it grow."
And for those experianced hobbyists joining us - it's still good advice
good luck and post pics soon



Here are a few threads for you to read, then come back and ask about anything you still don't understand. we'll get you squared away and on the right path

http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/how-setup-saltwater-aquarium-89044.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/ultimate-newbie-guide-86462.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-articles-how-tos/all-about-sumps-filters-fuges-79852.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/protein-skimmers/all-about-skimmers-skimmers-skimmer-85389.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/general-reef-topics/handy-research-links-89299.html

 

ive had the tank for lik a year nd a half i have a blue tang in a 25gallon tank i dont think im a newbie i just got a refuguim thts all but thanks for the info

 

Blue tang in a 25 gallon! All I'm going to say is that it should be out of there... And if the tang police see this you are going to really hear it!