Lighting for good plant growth

Setting up my refugium in my sump which will have plant life. What is a great light to increase plant growth in a refug? I will have L/R, L/S and plant life in my refug.

Also what is a perfect plant life to go with in a refug that is hardy and will decrease the nitrates and all that good stuff.

 

For around $50-$60 you can get low watt HPS bulb,fixture,ballast which IME has unparralled plant growth.....as anyone here that does indor hydro or organics will agree, HPS is the cheapest method (unless you buy an agricultural model, grossley overpriced). Now finding a low watt one is a bit tricky but the growth is out of controll when setup right. After much experimentation (on a commercial scale) HPS kicks bootay! We also got unusally high growth rates out of mangroves, after lowering the salinity. If not Ild say any small HID or even floro that burns 6500k is the best, either way they can both be picked up at Home Depot or the equivelant for a rock botton price.
For macro algae, I like cheatomorpha, it grows at an insane rate , dosent go sexual, and is easily harvested.

 

Any one, suggestions. The sump is a 29 gal will light 24/7 if needed just need a good light for great plant growth.

 

i went to home depot and they have never heard of floro or hps lighting. Do you have any web sites or product names that i can just find it my self at h/d or even lowes.

 

wow, thier staff needs to be trained.....:
HPS stands for high pressure sodium, often used for flood lamps and security, as for floros thats for flourescent, basically your looking for any lighting that displays the kelvin rating on the side.....it will read: 6500K, most are 3000-4500K but they usually have a couple of the ones you would need for plant growth (6500K). I am very suprised that they did know the abrev. HPS, i appologize for the wasted trip. I just went to pick up some new bulbs for my chameleon enclosure (for the plants and her metabolism) and ended up buying a whole new fixture for $48 after tax. Thats really wierd they had no clue......:-/ Hope you have beter luck, Heres some links on ebay w/ pics and prices to give you an idea....bear in mind these are systems that are geared towards horticulture, I've built the same setups for around $50 from my local hardware stores.


http://cgi.ebay.com/400-watt-HPS-Gr...734050961QQcategoryZ42225QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


http://cgi.ebay.com/High-Efficiency...735336577QQcategoryZ42225QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-400-watt-GR...733610450QQcategoryZ42225QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-400-watt-HP...733610342QQcategoryZ42225QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

aquatechnick,

thanks for all the information, like you said they need to train their employees better. I did some looking on line and have found a lot to select from. I saw a lot that were indicating that they help plant growth but were only 2200k. Could this be right? I am still looking for a 6500k and will most likely purchase a kit and assemble it my self.

do i need a ballast or should a floro be the best way to go?

 

Bulbs not intended for plant growth need to say 6500K to be sure (in a sense of the fact of being safe rather than it being a fatc) they will give the correct type of light the plants need to grow, BUT all agricultural bulbs work VERY well in all of my experiences. Ive never goten a bulb labled as a "grow light" and not had it function, so if you find a kit for a good deal i would simply buy it, then purchase the horticultural bulb seperate if you are still unsure, about $15-25 more. The 150 watt kit is sure to work (or all that i found) as this is the same setup i use for the plants in my room (ivy silly.... ), They pretty much made this one plugnplay and for a decent price. Yould have to spend at least $100 in PC's for the same amount of light and it would not be concentrated like the grow light, rather dispearsed along the length of the bulbs. If you went with the kit just dont put the bulb too close as it does burn a bit hooter than a MH but with that wattage (150) you should be just fine. I hope this has helped you to get that macro growing!