Refugium question

i wanna poot a mini refugium inside of my bio ball box what kinda under water plant do i use and can i poot any tipe of light bulb under there to grow it?

 

There are a bunch of options, depending on what you want to accomplish with your fuge. If you want to grow pods, chaeto is good, grows under cfl bulb, I have 40watts, 6500k, run on reverse photocycle from DT lights. Mangroves and chaeto will help with nitrates. Culerpa needs to be on 24/7 lighting to grow and not become "sexual" and spread to places you may not want it. Macro algae grown in a fuge will consume excess nutrients in your tank and thus help to limit or stop growth of nuisance algae. Some macro algae types need to root and be in sand and/or mineral mud under sand. Others; chaeto, for example, need a bit of room suspended in water to have a bit of flow around them.

 

all i want is some live sand and some tipe of plant/grass to help keep my tank heathy im only 12 and i do have a bit of algae growing what woad help stop algae growth in my tank? woad macro algae be a good choice? and what light can i use to grow macro algae can it be a regular light bulb? and if i use macro algae is there a down side of useing it, duz it take away nutriants my corals need to grow duz it have a bad side?

 

Come on a need answers!

 

Well, as for your light, if you have a Lowe's store near you, for a bit over three dollars, you can get a spiral flourescent light bulb. It will say 40 watts, daylight bulb, on the side of the package, you'll see a color spectrum, 6500k. Then you just need a holder for it. Go over to lighting in the store and you can find the base that you screw the bulb into. Most have a clip so you can hang it near your refugium. Do you know what kind of algae you have in your tank that you want to get rid of? Also, your corals will be fine with a small refugium with macro algae in it

 

its brown and green im still cycleing a bit so it grows a bit im starting to get allot of coraline algae to tho that pink stuff is growing in circles all over my power heads witch is good right>?

 

To answer more of your questions, if you get some chaeto, it's pretty cheap and you won't need sand. That will help keep your tank nice. If we can figure out what kind of algae is growing that you want to get rid of, there may be some other ideas for you along with your refugium. People on 3reef sometimes sell chaeto and ship it to you.

 

ok i got a holder with a clamp on it ill have my mom swing bye there XD

 

whats cheato and how do i get micro algae?

 

Yes, coralline is good. If you're still cycling, the brown and green algae will start to go away. It just takes some time. Don't worry, your tank is coming right along the way it should be. The refugium will help when you start to add fish and food later. I wouldn't worry too much right now, just take your time and read some more here. Keeping your refugium simple and easy will probably be best. You have the right idea!