What to grow on my fuge?

[kkaz642]

My tank is a 55 gallon, I have a custom made 10 gallon tank fuge with mud and sand, I have a little
bit of plant in it but it's almost non existent due to poor light when I first set it up, I'm not sure what it was came out if my
brothers fuge when he broke down his 90gl to move., i'd like to know what I should put in it, and if anyone
has any extra for sale or freebee. Also another question do I need to turn the light off during the day and on at night, opposite of the tank light, or just leave it on 24/7. I have a 60w grow bulb in the tank now. I'm sorry new to the plants... Thanks in advance
for the help, KaZ

 

[batt600]

You can get a flood light a homedepot a 15w it a 5500k with a light clip ,you will only spend light $20 . I had the same problem ,poor light and my cheto was almost dead I bought the light and in a week it doubled it size . A you can keep the light on 24/7.

 

[Master Shake]

+1

 

[tomtoothdoc]

My tank is a 55 gallon, I have a custom made 10 gallon tank fuge with mud and sand, I have a little
bit of plant in it but it's almost non existent due to poor light when I first set it up, I'm not sure what it was came out if my
brothers fuge when he broke down his 90gl to move., i'd like to know what I should put in it, and if anyone
has any extra for sale or freebee. Also another question do I need to turn the light off during the day and on at night, opposite of the tank light, or just leave it on 24/7. I have a 60w grow bulb in the tank now. I'm sorry new to the plants... Thanks in advance
for the help, KaZ

hey kaz,
where did your brother move to? is he setting up the tank again? i got a light you can have....fits over a 10 gal. perfectly. you've been to my house with ed once. pm me for p/u if interested.
-tom

 

[SevTT]

My tank is a 55 gallon, I have a custom made 10 gallon tank fuge with mud and sand, I have a little
bit of plant in it but it's almost non existent due to poor light when I first set it up, I'm not sure what it was came out if my
brothers fuge when he broke down his 90gl to move., i'd like to know what I should put in it, and if anyone
has any extra for sale or freebee. Also another question do I need to turn the light off during the day and on at night, opposite of the tank light, or just leave it on 24/7. I have a 60w grow bulb in the tank now. I'm sorry new to the plants... Thanks in advance
for the help, KaZ

I'd run at least two T5NO tubes above a (normal macroalgae-centric) fuge. You can get a two-tube fixture from Home Depot for like twenty bucks. You can go ghetto-style and make your reflector out of aluminum foil. (You would, however, be well advised to keep the contacts away from salt spray/creep/immersion or replace them with waterproof endcaps.) You can use a spotlight, but it's about the same price, and you'll get less useful light and pay more to run it.

I like Chaeto for a fuge, 'cause it's noninvasive and doesn't grow runners. When you have too much you just scoop it out, and it provides wonderful surface area for pods and such.

I'd suggest running your 'fuge opposed to your DT's light cycle -- when the DT is dark, your fuge should be lit. This helps to minimize pH swings and provide additional oxygenation/CO2 removal to the system. However, this also depends on the type of "plants" (more likely they're algae) that you've got in it. Most require a light/dark cycle. The current attitude towards caulerpa, however, is that most of them should be lit 24/7 to inhibit them from going sexual.

 

[tomtoothdoc]

The current attitude towards caulerpa, however, is that most of them should be lit 24/7 to inhibit them from going sexual.

let's..get..it..on...(to the tune by marvin gaye)....lol. what that means is they will release spores/gametes and die...ewwww....which will cause a big mess in the tank.

good article and pics
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/nftt/index.php

hence many people use only chaeto....they don't go "sexual"

 

[fishman1069]

I have a mix of culerpas in my fuge with a clamp-on reflector and a 5500k cfl and run it 24/7, works great for me. How long has the tank been setup? It took about 2 mnths after my tank cycled for me to grow anything in my fuge, I guess there wasnt enough nutrients in the water.

 

[kkaz642]

Tank has been set for almost 2 years, fuge for about 6 months. i know it can grow, just need to get somestuff to grow, the reef encounter store by me does not have any cheto left... thanks for the info guys.