The minum PAR fos SPS

[frank88]

Originally Posted by rhys123

Some PAR reading (1 year ago) Perth Australia (nowhere near 2200 that is suggested here) unshaded clear polycarbonate



1 year later shaded reduced 25% if not even shallow water acros (several guys I know are collectors) bleach out

is solar light? your tank is lit by sun?

[dixiedog]

Those look just like MY corals!


Edit: I'm having trouble swallowing 2200 myself. Is there a source for that data?

[shananagans]

Good info. I will be switching over from t5s to leds soon and I am hopeing that I will not bleach things out as they will be stronger. I want to turn more leds on over a few days to help acclimate them.

I currently have a 20" deep tank and run t5s and my sps frags on the sand do well. I actually notice better results down there with increased waterflow.

[rhys123]

Originally Posted by frank88

is solar light? your tank is lit by sun?

Yes for 9 months of the year my tank is 100% lit by the sun (roughly 9 hours per day) under clear polycarbonate (the 250W MH are in their storage position they take up the slack over winter on a light rail)

[rhys123]

2200 par for natural sunlight is a little to high (unless you guys are burning more candles when the sun is facing you)

[frank88]

Originally Posted by rhys123

2200 par for natural sunlight is a little to high (unless you guys are burning more candles when the sun is facing you)

in august...in Hawaii at noon maxim peak is 2200 par..test to measure at noon on a clear cloudless day and tell me

Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is the metric used here to describe sunlight intensity. PAR is usually reported in units called micromole photons per square meter per second (molm²sec). Maximum PAR at noon on a clear day here in Hawaii is ~2,200 molm²sec.

PAR was measured with a WatchDog™ data logger and a water-proofed PAR sensor manufactured by Spectrum Technologies, Inc., Plainfield, Illinois. In order to compare the total number of photons falling upon a given area, we can use the information gathered from the data logger and calculate the Daily Light Integer (DLI). Fortunately, the Spectrum Technologies' software is capable of generating this information in a report and relieves us of tedium involved with manually calculations.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/7/aafeature2

[rhys123]

Originally Posted by frank88

in august...in Hawaii at noon maxim peak is 2200 par..test to measure at noon on a clear cloudless day and tell me

Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is the metric used here to describe sunlight intensity. PAR is usually reported in units called micromole photons per square meter per second (molm²sec). Maximum PAR at noon on a clear day here in Hawaii is ~2,200 molm²sec.

PAR was measured with a WatchDog™ data logger and a water-proofed PAR sensor manufactured by Spectrum Technologies, Inc., Plainfield, Illinois. In order to compare the total number of photons falling upon a given area, we can use the information gathered from the data logger and calculate the Daily Light Integer (DLI). Fortunately, the Spectrum Technologies' software is capable of generating this information in a report and relieves us of tedium involved with manually calculations.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/7/aafeature2

Not a problem I will test PAR on Tuesday (our next clear day we have a cyclone coming in from Sunday) at 12 on a nice clear day for you (today was a nice clear day a little later then 12 but ......)

I have never seen PAR reading here (Perth) at or near 2000

[frank88]

Originally Posted by rhys123

Not a problem I will test PAR on Tuesday (our next clear day we have a cyclone coming in from Sunday) at 12 on a nice clear day for you (today was a nice clear day a little later then 12 but ......)

I have never seen PAR reading here (Perth) at or near 2000

to be precise, not to challenge (because I do not trust you) just to compare the data of Dana Riddle.

you think there may be differences between Honanau (Hawaii) and Perth?

I think you ... Honaunau is much closer to the equator ...I think there are significant differences in climate ...I could be wrong of course

[dixiedog]

Originally Posted by frank88

to be precise, not to challenge (because I do not trust you) just to compare the data of Dana Riddle.

you think there may be differences between Honanau (Hawaii) and Perth?

I think you ... Honaunau is much closer to the equator ...I think there are significant differences in climate ...I could be wrong of course

500 miles maybe. Not enough to explain these discrepancies.

[rhys123]

Originally Posted by frank88

to be precise, not to challenge (because I do not trust you) just to compare the data of Dana Riddle.

you think there may be differences between Honanau (Hawaii) and Perth?

I think you ... Honaunau is much closer to the equator ...I think there are significant differences in climate ...I could be wrong of course

True it is closer to the equator (Honaunau).

Perth Latitude is 31° 60'S - Longitude 115° 50' E and Hawaii latitude is 21º 18' N, 157º 51' W so we are about 10 ° more (but to the south) away from the equator (whether that would make that much of a difference or not who knows)

Climate Perth is definitely hotter, dryer then Hawaii looking at the weather information available on the internet (I having been to Hawaii several times)

Anyhow the next clear sunny day we have I will see if I can get a good par reading at 12 (maybe today maybe not).

[rhys123]

12 o'clock today

The sky 1 or 2 seconds after taking the next picture



Still below the 2200 mark (clear blue sky no clouds in front of the sun)

[NVfishman]

I have a tank with a ton of acros and sps. The minimun acros handle 100 par even lower for garf bonsi and a few deep water acros that have somthing shading them. plating montis and most encrusters are 100 par. Most of my acros do best at 200-300 par. i use 10ks to get more par and better growth

[frank88]

Originally Posted by rhys123

12 o'clock today

The sky 1 or 2 seconds after taking the next picture



Still below the 2200 mark (clear blue sky no clouds in front of the sun)

you are in Summer in Australia?

[rhys123]

Originally Posted by frank88

you are in Summer in Australia?

Right dead smack in the middle of summer (45"C days bite the proverbial big one)

Sun is just about dead smack right over the top of us now

[Ink]

Hello Frank and everybody else.
The more i read on this subject from experimental data and from practical expierence, the more i get convinced that coral photoadatation is fundamental. This is particularly clear when we read that with 400 PAR corals bleach... Nature, and the sea in particular, is quite different from the water we have among those 5 glasses... The water in our tanks is different in many ways and the combination of its parameters heavily affects our results. SPS need not only light, but also food and all the bricks to grow their skeleton. These three elements must be combined togheter to achieve the hoped results. In conclusion we can have good colours without great growing rates, but if we push coral to grow with much light, they need also calcium ad much food. An healthy growing coral willl be surely bright and colorful if the tank is well set up and can manage a good quantity of food. In my tank i haven't found yet the limit for the excess of food: i can put in what i want that inorganics won't increase. But if organic excesses corals consumption, they will get darker. Increasing light (also duration, and that's what i'm doing) they need more food, otherwise they get lighter and then bleach. More light, means more growth and they also need calcium (i keep it at 500 mg/l), but growing rate is very good and tissues are much more thick.

[reefkeeps]

I guess I'm screwed (2) MH 250s

[aqua80]

my readings :

[krshlln300]

I have the stock lighting in my 29 gallon biocube and I have (albeit very minimal growth but good polyp extension) stylophora on my sandbed due to my crabs constantly dislodging them and they have full extension of the polyps good color (stock lighting sucks) and are actually growing minimally and thats under around 100 par MAYBE and thats probably pushing it for pc in the biocube.

[Todd100]

Originally Posted by aqua80

my readings :

I'm curious as to what type of led light this is?

[firsttank]

Most of my sps are at 220-250 Par. Below is a pic



The mad mans blue stag in the back is at about 150 par. It did okay, did not grow as fast.

Now in the new setup I have moved them higher.

[m2434]

Sprung really paved the way for modern reefkeeping. Nevertheless, like most pioneers, he was wrong about a lot of things... Most corals can't really use more than 300 PAR or so, although they may tolerate it. Using reef PAR values isn't the best way to determine what corals do best with. In reality, light adds stress and in our systems, there is a lot of stress to begin with, so, the added stress can be too much. For many of us, keeping PAR levels lower, i.e. closer to the photo-saturation point, tends to produce better results. Pristine tanks can handle a bit more, but, nevertheless, it's only doing more good up to a point.

[Soy]

considering par as only factor, 200 is sufficient to color up nicely and grow 90% of aquacultured acropora species
>200 High
100-199 Moderate
<100 Low
This is my experience with an apogee quantum par meter

[Pallobi]

Ive been growing sps for 18 months, and i still dont know jack about most all of it... but these initial PAR numbers are complete nonsense... the best numbers i get is mid to high 300's, and my growth is jus fine... though first post figures are nonsense...

[defchild84]

Originally Posted by m2434

Sprung really paved the way for modern reefkeeping. Nevertheless, like most pioneers, he was wrong about a lot of things... Most corals can't really use more than 300 PAR or so, although they may tolerate it. Using reef PAR values isn't the best way to determine what corals do best with. In reality, light adds stress and in our systems, there is a lot of stress to begin with, so, the added stress can be too much. For many of us, keeping PAR levels lower, i.e. closer to the photo-saturation point, tends to produce better results. Pristine tanks can handle a bit more, but, nevertheless, it's only doing more good up to a point.

That makes the utmost sense. I stumbled into this thread tonight, and has been quite the read. So my next question naturally would be- what is the photo-saturation, or the ideal saturation PAR for the different sps to not just survive, but to thrive with efficient PAR?

[defchild84]

oh, and I forgot to ask..... so naturally.... it would be safe to assume maricultured species demand higher PAR than the aquacultured specimens, no? Would this be one of the major reasons attributing to the high death polls in the maricultured specimens? The inability to replicate the PAR ??