Does a protein skimmer use up more water?

[BlueAbyss]

Ah, nice. This is all good to hear... yeah, the algae need light And I don't think any of your fish would bother the algae too much, if you did decide to grow it in the display... BUT, now you need a bit of info about macroalgae.

Macros are mostly seasonal in nature, and are known to go 'sexual', meaning that the plant releases male and female gametes that come together to form new plants. When they do this, they empty all of their cytoplasm (the squishy stuff inside), which if it happens in a tank will have 2 effects... the first is that the water will cloud, like milky white. The second is that all that cytoplasm will fuel a bacterial bloom (sort of like dumping a large canister of flake food into a tank, as I read on a thread here somewhere) which will devour all of the dissolved oxygen in the water, choking off anything else in the tank.

People that keep macros in a fuge with 24/7 lighting and occasional heavy pruning seem to experience this less, though it's not a common occurance even in marine planted tanks. People that have experienced this have attributed it to a sudden change in the environment and a lack of nutrients, together, but the evidence is sort of anecdotal.

Just know, about this particular algae... it can be invasive on your rock, though pruning it regularly will probably keep it from taking over. If you do decide to plant your FOWLR, there's an excellent resource for information about this sort of thing... www.marineplantedtanks.com

Oh, lastly (there's always something more I want to say ) you don't need any fancy lights for the macro in your fuge, a decent wattage CFL will be fine. Just leave it on all the time.

[paddyob]

The daylight bulbs in your basement are not actual spectrum. i used to work for Phillips lighting. they are simply an imitation. i would not want to rely on those for anything but sterile looking white/blue lighting in your home.

[BlueAbyss]

I was thinking the regular CFL twist bulbs, the 3500 K ones. People have had success with them when just growing macroalgae.

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by paddyob

The daylight bulbs in your basement are not actual spectrum. i used to work for Phillips lighting. they are simply an imitation. i would not want to rely on those for anything but sterile looking white/blue lighting in your home.

I wouldn't doubt that, but many reefers have been using "daylight" or "6500K" bulbs for refugiums very successfully and they sure look a hell of a lot better than "soft white" CF bulbs.