Acan and platygyra PAR

Fishfinder · Sep 17, 2017

whats a good PAR range for these? I was running cheap old LEDS and swapped over to some new good lights. I'm getting paling in my platys and chalices, acans not fully opening. What's a good range to shoot for with these?

DSC reef · Sep 17, 2017

As far as par numbers I can't help, never measured par a day in my reefing life. What lights did you upgrade too? It could just be an acclimation to a new spectrum as well.

Fishfinder · Sep 17, 2017

I'd prefer not to say a name unless you'd be able to give me settings advice. I don't want it to be a bashing thread. I'm very happy with the way everything else looks in my tank.

DSC reef · Sep 17, 2017

In no way would I bash you for any choice of lighting my friend. For the record, I'm growing corals with halides and another tank with the cheapest led fixture to date. No judgement here. I was just trying to get an idea of lighting to see how much intensity increase you might have.

Fishfinder · Sep 17, 2017

No, not bashing me. They are reef breeders V2. I really like the lights my SPS is better than ever just hurting most of my LPS

DSC reef · Sep 17, 2017

Those are really nice lights, I've seen them in person. Trust me, I hate the lighting wars man so I understand. I truly believe those lights most likely have a better spectrum and higher intensity so I'd give them time to acclimate. Congrats on the new lights

aKlevans · Sep 17, 2017

I don't know about numbers but chalices need low light. If they are bleaching then they need to be moved lower in the tank.

Ranjib · Sep 17, 2017

100-200 should do just fine, acan have relatively low par requirements. I am guessing this based on how we place acan in the tank and corresponding pars as I have observed in brs videos for that location

aKlevans · Sep 17, 2017

I don't know about numbers but chalices need low light. If they are bleaching then they need to be moved lower in the tank.

Fishfinder · Sep 17, 2017

Then idk, maybe I'll have to stick them under a ledge. My old lights were just that bad. Lol they are within a couple inches of the sand bed. Ya I love the lights, stuff has more color than I've ever seen in my tank.

DSC reef · Sep 17, 2017

For what's it's worth, any time I change bulbs or different spectrum my LPS will fade a little but I leave them be and within a month they acclimate and color back up. My chalice are mid to low level. I honestly caused more damage constantly moving corals around. Being that you switched an entire fixture I would run less intensity and give the corals time to acclimate in there current position. Moving them now will also mean they have to get used to new flow patterns.

Fishfinder · Sep 17, 2017

Will this paling kill them? Or will they slowly adjust?

Fishfinder · Sep 17, 2017

Ok thanks for the help... unfortunately I already moved 3. I'll leave the rest alone. Either lower the intensity or raise the lights up.

Would the decrease in intensity negatively impact my SPS?

DSC reef · Sep 17, 2017

A little pale in LPS is normal from what I've seen in my own tank. I could tell a difference when a coral is acclimating or dieing. Not saying to much light won't kill them, I'm just saying to keep an eye on them. I recently changed out all my T5 bulbs at once and almost every LPS in the tank paled quite a bit. Now years ago I'd have knee jerk reaction but now I'm much more patient on my intervening. Even the lepto colored back up and that has always been a sensitive coral for me.

DSC reef · Sep 17, 2017

Fishfinder said:
Ok thanks for the help... unfortunately I already moved 3. I'll leave the rest alone. Either lower the intensity or raise the lights up.

Would the decrease in intensity negatively impact my SPS?

I don't think so. Just do it slowly and steadily. Changing lighting is going to affect the tank no matter what, just go slow with the changes.

Fishfinder · Sep 17, 2017

I will definitely be monitoring them, hopefully they start filling out again soon. My chalices and platys are my favorite corals.

Fishfinder · Sep 17, 2017

DSC reef said:
I don't think so. Just do it slowly and steadily. Changing lighting is going to affect the tank no matter what, just go slow with the changes.

How slow? 5% a month?

DSC reef · Sep 17, 2017

I'm hoping an led guru will chime in. I'm not great with the light intensity changes, I'm an on or off lighting kinda guy, lol. @saltyfilmfolks, any suggestions?

saltyfilmfolks · Sep 17, 2017

Fishfinder said:
How slow? 5% a month?

DSC reef said:
I'm hoping an led guru will chime in. I'm not great with the light intensity changes, I'm an on or off lighting kinda guy, lol. @saltyfilmfolks, any suggestions?

Lol.

Here's the thing. A % is relative to the output of a fixture. So it might be totally differeant than mine or another. So it's a guess. So sure 5% might be fine.

A lux meter measured at the top of the tank is an easy way to do it.

For most led 6000 lux is around 100 par(usually less). So 3000 is 50. And 50 par a week is not terrible

Oh hey! Look what's on sale!!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E...-15&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=lux+meter