Enough PAR for SPS or to much?

[PirateMonkeyReefer]

So I'm feeling pretty good about how much PAR I'm getting from my current set up of a 40g breeder with an Ocean Revive T-247 and x2 ATI Blue Plus 12 inches above the water. I'm just wanting some more experienced eyes to take a look. Everythings in the 350-150 range that is advised in the WWC/BRS but there are some peaks that I'm worried are too high.

All the numbers in red are 3 inches above the below numbers in orange. And the numbers at the top are maybe an inch below the surface. Measurements were taken with the Apogee 510

These are the measurements with the blues and whites

These are the measurements with just the blues

 

[Malifry97]

Shouldnt be a problem for sps! Most reefs in the wild get 1-2k PAR+.

 

[PirateMonkeyReefer]

Shouldnt be a problem for sps! Most reefs in the wild get 1-2k PAR+.

Seems about right! I took the PAR meter outside and got 1-2.5k PAR in the sun and 300-1000 even in the tree shade!

 

[Malifry97]

Seems about right! I took the PAR meter outside and got 1-2.5k PAR in the sun and 300-1000 even in the tree shade!

Yeah, its definitely hard to give our corals too much light! Imagine the par on an opean ocean, in the summer, near the equator!

 

[RCS82]

Seems about right! I took the PAR meter outside and got 1-2.5k PAR in the sun and 300-1000 even in the tree shade!

I wonder what you would get 10ft below the surface and then again at 20ft below on a natural reef.

 

[oreo54]

I wonder what you would get 10ft below the surface and then again at 20ft below on a natural reef.

answers here..

Imitating Natural Light Quality, Intensity, and Dosage in a Reef Aquarium – Do We Really Want To?

When it comes to reef aquariums, Mother Nature has always been the de facto benchmark aquarists aspire towards. Dana investigates in great detail the quality and quantity of light over natural reefs in order to lay the groundwork to answer the age-old question: what is the best light for...

reefs.com

The total light dosage, or DLI, under these conditions would be:

• Summer DLI (sunny) @10 feet = 33.7, or an average of 780 µmol photons·m²·sec in a 12-hour photoperiod
• Summer DLI (cloudy)@10 feet = 22.9, or an average of 511 µmol photons·m²·sec in a 12-hour photoperiod

Obtaining light intensity of 511 or 780 µmol photons·m²·sec (light levels needed to reach a DLI of 33.7 or 22.9, respectively, in an aquarium lighted for 12 hours) is certainly possible, but is it desirable?

 

[oreo54]

Here is the formula for calculating DLI with a quantum meter.

1. μmol m-2s-1 x (,3600 x photoperiod) / 1,000,000 = DLI.
2. - μmol m-2s-1 is a reading, or averaged readings, from the quantum meter.
3. - 3,600 is the number of seconds in an hour.
4. - Photoperiod is the period (in hours) of light exposure per 24 hours.

@10ft dli 33.7

33.7 = x X (3600 X 12)/ 1000000
33.7 = x X .0432

780 PPFD on/off light over 12 hours.

@ 22.9 (cloudy day @ 10ft) 530 PPFD..

Technically not that difficult...

To complicate things a bit the "natural" light at 10ft is 50% lower PUR blue-green to yellow-green not the like 70-80 "blue" many reef tanks run at..i.e higher PUR w/ equal "PAR"

As I understand it this means one can tax the photo-system w/ less "PAR" than found in normal sea light..