DIF 30 c Refugium LED Pendant

DIF 30 c Refugium LED Pendant

ORPHEK Announces Their New DIF 30 c Refugium LED Pendant

orphek DIF 30 C

The use of refugiums by marine aquarists has become increasingly popular over the last few years as they offer a refuge for growing macroalgae as well as an area away from the display tank to keep invertebrates that otherwise would not co-exist with certain tank mates in the display tank, notably the beautiful Mantis Shrimp.  The three most popular macroalgae that serve the purpose of absorbing dissolved nutrients are species of Gracilaria, Caulerpa, and Chaetomorpha.  Mangroves are an interesting addition but not quite as efficient at removing nutrients as macroalgae. Macroalgae are also good bio-indicators, showing signs of degrading water quality, often before your livestock.




Chaetomorpha


A Gracilaria species


Caulerpa taxifolia
Photos courtesy of Bob Fenner                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                        

Marine plants grown under the right conditions also offer a replenishing food source for tank inhabitants requiring macroalgae in their diet.  The requirement to grow macroalgae is sunlight or light of the correct spectrum and food source.  This food source is in the form of nitrogen and phosphates which are produced by fish waste and uneaten foods.  Most green macroalgae of the types beneficial to our systems are found in estuaries, shallow lagoons and offshore waters where the light spectrum is higher in the orange, red, yellow, and infrared wavelengths.  These spectrums are not found in conventional refugium lighting now being advertised and sold as refugium lights.



Orphek DIF 30 C LED

Reef aquarists strive to keep nitrate and phosphate levels low in their systems as many sensitive fish and invertebrates do not tolerate high levels of these elements, although trace amounts of these elements are beneficial to some corals and clams.

With the present boon of companies producing LED fixtures for marine aquariums, no company has produced a LED fixture specifically designed for growing macroalgae until now.  Orphek has stepped forward and used their DIF Pendant LED technology to develop a multi chip LED array to cover the spectrum most beneficial for growing marine macroalgae.  This pendant uses the same housing as our DIF 30-XP which includes the highly efficient Meanwell LED Driver.  The DIF 30 c incorporates four different multi chips with the following percentages.



30% 660 nm – orange/red

40% 730 nm – red

20% 850nm – infrared

10% 3,000K – yellow



One DIF 30 c Pendant will efficiently cover an area of 24”x24”and can easily be mounted inside a cabinet by use of an eye bolt.  As in our present DIF Pendant series, the DIF 30 c is self contained and uses no cooling fan.  The energy used by the DIF 30 c is lower than some of the refugium lights produced by other companies, and using spectrums that are not beneficial for healthy and fast macro algae growth.



What you will see in using our Refugium DIF 30 c Pendant is a lush, healthy, and vibrant growth of your macro algae.  Macroalgae that are nourished by lighting in the correct spectrum to grow faster and absorb more nutrients which thereby reduce dissolved nutrient levels much more efficiently.