xenon lite for sump???

[DMK]

just went to pick up last minute items at HD before tank goes up sunday(pushed back again). was looking for some kind of light to illuminate under stand while working in there, or just to show off:D bought a cool xenon light fixture for $29. it's abot 18" long x 6" wide w/ windows for 40W light. being that xenon is such a bright white light could i also use this to light sump after lights out, just to maintain night time ph?

[electric130]

i use 3-20W under cabinet halogen lights to light my fuge. macros grow like crazy. this is exactly what i have:

halogens (http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=48507-1390-G9163-WH-I)

[DMK]

i just am thinking of using it to light sump @ night to avoid ph changes @ night. will i be safe from algae in the sump? any problems i could run into using this instead of aquarium lights????

[electric130]

how do you expect it to help stablize your pH unless you have something photosynthetic down there to produce oxygen? any time you have light on for extended periods, you'll have algae growth. i have coraline growing in my sump and skimmer from these lights. i'm not sure i see your purpose.

[Rafa_Sant]

electric130
What macros you keep in your sump ?


Rafa

[electric130]

i've got mostly calerpra. i know, i know, it's evil poisonous stuff. well, it's been going great for me and i got mine from my frien who's been using it in his system for over 3 years now without problems. i've probably got at least 5-6 different kinds. hard to tell though, it's so thick.

[Rafa_Sant]

Interesting, I have some caulerpa as well, but I'm strugling with spagheti algae. I've tried diferent lights with no luck, it's just don't grow it used to.

Thanks

[DMK]

electric 130 i simply may want to keep some light on either tank or sump @ all times to avoid ph fluctuation. i'm going by what alot of people on RC state - keeping sump lit at night will help stabilize ph, also will help if 1 wants to drip Kalk 24/7 to replace evaporation like i will.

[DMK]

anyone else...:rollface:

[electric130]

Originally posted by DMK
i simply may want to keep some light on either tank or sump @ all times to avoid ph fluctuation. i'm going by what alot of people on RC state - keeping sump lit at night will help stabilize ph, also will help if 1 wants to drip Kalk 24/7 to replace evaporation like i will.

keeping a light on will only help if there's something in the sump that will be photosynthesizing. if not, you'll just be wasting your electricity. the reason your pH stays high in the day is because corals, algae, etc is going through photosynthesis due to the lights on your tank. they consume CO2 and release O2. at night, the lights are off and photosynthesis stops. your fish keep breathing and release more CO2. as CO@ builds up, pH drops. so you need something going through photosynthesis to eat up the CO2 and produce O2, that's how you stabilize your pH. if you don't have anything in your sump to go through photosynthesis, it won't help your pH by leaving a light on. all that's down there is water and water doesn't go through photosynthesis.

[DMK]

thanks for clearing that up. how much of a ph fluctuation can 1 expect w/ no sump light?

[electric130]

couple of tenths of a point. most people don't even worry about it.