Quote:
Originally Posted by ReefRockerLive
I'm with Sleif on this one. There's no need to run it at 100% all out. On my tank, I do have the LX7 set to 100% HO for the Energy Settings, but on the schedule itself, I don't push the intensity beyond 80%.
I think PAR numbers are grossly overrated and don't really tell us whether a coral is getting "enough" light or not. There are so many other variables to consider such as nutrient levels, flow, bacteria content, organic deposits, etc. I measured my PAR just for the heck of it and was getting between 170-210 on the sandbed with 2x LX7s over a 3ft long tank. If I were to test a single fixture, I'm sure it would have fallen to the mid 100s. PAR numbers used to heavily influence my LED color adjustments, but not anymore, especially after seeing how much my colors have improved under this light compared to my previous ATI Hybrid which threw out lots of PAR by the way, 300 at the sand!
My schedule is primarily on the bluer-end of the spectrum:
UV 385nm - 60%
HV 425nm - 100%
RB 455nm - 100%
BW - 100%
B 475nm - 80%
White 7500k - 40%
White 6500k - 18%
Green 528nm - 12%
Red 656nm - 12%
I run this spectrum for about 7 hours and have the PB feature set to 130% with HV, RB, B, BW.
It's been working well for me. I posted a few photos a couple pages back.
|
My corals looking good, and light is nice in many aspects, just think it is not so bright. if I run at lower modes as you suggest ( I started with that) I can see on the pH response that there is considerable lower photosynthesis, as an indirect indicator of lower PUR. I simply have to run att max, to get what I want. If I lower, pH lowers and corals even darker. Could it be due to lack lenses as a cause of lower PAR and PUR??. I simply have to measure, and as you say, take care so I have a PAR meter which in a fair way measures also the blue properly. I agree with you that PAR chasing is not good, but too low is of course not good either. And, of course there could be other factors in my tank explaining dark corals, like higher N and P than I think I have. Absolutely that could be the cause. Just this observation surprises me. I have a st.pist 20 cm under a cluster and this coral is very dark, but very very healthy. That is strange. I shall admit that I have not measured N and P since maybe a month, but I think I have seen this trend quite long time back. In many other aspects I like the light.