A new refugium bulb?

melev — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 01:51:24 +0000

A new refugium bulb? melev Wed, 12/14/2016 - 04:51

During a recent trip to Home Depot, I looked through the LED bulbs seeking a new refugium bulb to use on the frag system's fuge. I found this one rated 5000 Kelvin, and the shape of the bulb looks promising. The bulb cost $14 and uses 8 watts.

I'll be testing it out shortly and see how it works out. I wanted the light to shine directly down and not spread outwards, and this flat lens may do just that. I picked up a clamping light socket for $5, but will end up only using the socket and cord. I'll secure it to the underside of the wooden stand's top section to keep the light in the right position.

If necessary, I'll add some black foam to create a shade barrier so the light doesn't grow nuisance algae in the rest of the sump or skimmer.

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Rinsing out used aquarium sand

melev — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 23:07:08 +0000

Rinsing out used aquarium sand melev Sat, 07/30/2016 - 02:07

Rinsing out used sand saves money, and you can safely put that clean sand in your next tank without concern. It's a good project to tackle in the warmer months, best done outdoors. Easy, sort of.

More reading here: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28952-Rinsing-used-sand-for-the-new-setup

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Necessary shade

melev — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 11:51:30 +0000

Necessary shade melev Tue, 06/21/2016 - 14:51

For many years, I've used foam sheets from Hobby Lobby (most hobby craft stores have these) to keep the refugium light off the rest of my gear. People often think they need colored or black acrylic in their sumps to avoid algae growth in other compartments and within their skimmer / reactors. However, that's really not the case. While we can see light in the other zones, what happens initially is the light bounces off the acrylic baffle and goes back into the refugium zone.

And as the macro algae grows and fills the zone, even that is obscured.

What is best is to block the way the light shines sideways through the air, above the baffles and waterline. Back in 2011, I found this foam and it was dirt cheap. $0.99 each, and I only needed three pieces for my project. The velcro cost more than the foam sheets. It held nicely, and I was done.

However, the heat of the light fixture weakened the glue of the velcro strips and they began falling off. You can see how it was looking in this picture.

From time to time, I tried to just press it back on the light which was a temporary fix. I didn't really like the idea of using new velcro since the light fixture was already gummy from the old glue and I knew it would do the same thing again in 9-12 months.

This time, I decided to try something different. I cut out a couple of black pieces of polycarbonate 48" long x 2" tall first, edged them so they were nice and smooth, and used a hot glue gun to affix new sheets of foam to one strip. Once done, I glued the second strip on top, sandwiching the foam. The reason for the acrylic was to keep the sheets hanging straight.

Next, holes were drilled for hanging 7" from each end. The doubled black acrylic will stay straight, avoiding a big bow in the center even as it stands the test of time.

Thinking like the King of Overkill, I bought a spool of 50lb test fishing line. Using fishing line, I could hang it from under the stand invisibly, and knew it would never rust like wire cabling. The sturdy fishing line was thicker too, just easier to work with.

The fishing line was tethered to the same connection the light uses, but now the shade barrier won't touch the light. No more heat issues and melting bonds. I used a type of boy scout knot that would allow me to raise or lower the shade barrier, which also helped me get it perfectly level. We all love it when something looks perfect, right?

Much better.

I did this project June 2015. It's a year later, and it's still in great shape. I need to clean off the foam of salt creep, but more importantly all my gear in the rest of the sump is algae-free. The refuguium was completely drained, cleaned out and reset a few months ago and looks much cleaner.

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