General sps placement in relation to par numbers.

[3mm3]

I got my hands on a par meter and want to map out my tank.
I have a variety of diferent sps and want to place them where other people have found to be the sweet spot for the types i have.
If you have any I list can I have the par numbers you have found to be the best.
Not listing all just a few i would like to provide best placement for.
Montipora undata and sunset monti
Palmers milli, rainbow milli
Ora red planet

thank you

 

[BarbH]

:bump2:

 

[Ace25]

That really isn't a question that can be answered. PAR is different on everyones tank. 400 PAR on one persons 250w Radium 20k MH is completely different than 400 PAR from a certain combination of LEDs due to the different spectral output. PAR is only helpful to you in your tank. I have spent many years mapping out PAR ranges for my tank, but none of the work I have done is translatable to anyone elses tank.

As one example, I have seen an sunset monti under skylights get over 2000 PAR and do fine, but I have seen them bleach out in a couple days under 800 PAR of LED lighting, and that is because the LEDs provided 10x more blue/455nm spectrum than the sun does on my particular test.

 

[3mm3]

Thanks for the input. I know spectrum changes from bulb-bulb ballast-ballast led-led and such. I still am looking for what people find to be the sweet spot for some sps to par numbers. If the type of lighting could be mentioned that would be sweet. Not looking for a debate just par.

 

[Ace25]

Well, I have many years of data for MH, T5, and a couple years with LEDs for most types of corals. You listed some corals that I can answer but I need to know what lighting/bulbs you are using. Otherwise you are going to get a very large range of numbers thrown out like I did for the sunset monti.

Sunset Montipora - SolarTubes - 2000 PAR, 250w 10k MH - 500 PAR, 14k MH - 300 PAR, 20k MH - 250 PAR, T5HO 2:1 blue:daylight - 300 PAR, 1:1 mix of CW/RB LEDs - 150 PAR.

 

[3mm3]

Looks like the sunset does good everywhere. Thank you.
I am looking for these numbers to help finish out placement in tank. I have 2 tanks. One runs 250hqi 14000k plus actinics. The other runs Led pendant.
In the halide tank, areas that are available for placement run 150 par in lowest light up to 330 par for higher lit areas.
In the led tank my numbers range from 55 up to 296. One thing about the led that i dont like is the furthur from center you go the numbers drop off significantly. On my halide tank the numbers are pretty close front to back side to side.

 

[Ace25]

That is correct, the sunset has one of the largest ranges in PAR out of any coral I have seen.

So now knowing your lighting, I can offer my suggestions.

Montipora undata - lower lighting monti - MH I would suggest 150-200, on LED tank I would suggest 80-120. I nuked mine under LEDs, very sensitive to higher lighting.
sunset monti - anywhere above 100. Acclimation is key though, this one can handle a ton of light, but if put under a giant leap in intensity quickly it will bleach out, but not die.
Palmers milli - MH 250-275, LED 150-175
rainbow milli - same as Palmers
Ora red planet - MH - 225-250, LED 125-150. This is a lower light acro that retains a nice green base in lower light, in higher lighting it will loose the green base.

On your MH tank at 330 PAR, since it is a 14k plus you run actinics, you have a lot of good spectrum for growth, so 330 PAR would be considered "high light" at that reading. I can't think of any coral that wouldn't be able to grow at that PAR in the high light family, like an Oregon Tort, at the top where it hits 330.

Just my opinion, but I have owned and tested all those on your list and then some. When I bought my PAR meter I bought every 250w MH and T5HO bulb I could get my hands on to do testing.

 

[3mm3]

That is correct, the sunset has one of the largest ranges in PAR out of any coral I have seen.

So now knowing your lighting, I can offer my suggestions.

Montipora undata - lower lighting monti - MH I would suggest 150-200, on LED tank I would suggest 80-120. I nuked mine under LEDs, very sensitive to higher lighting.
sunset monti - anywhere above 100. Acclimation is key though, this one can handle a ton of light, but if put under a giant leap in intensity quickly it will bleach out, but not die.
Palmers milli - MH 250-275, LED 150-175
rainbow milli - same as Palmers
Ora red planet - MH - 225-250, LED 125-150. This is a lower light acro that retains a nice green base in lower light, in higher lighting it will loose the green base.

On your MH tank at 330 PAR, since it is a 14k plus you run actinics, you have a lot of good spectrum for growth, so 330 PAR would be considered "high light" at that reading. I can't think of any coral that wouldn't be able to grow at that PAR in the high light family, like an Oregon Tort, at the top where it hits 330.

Just my opinion, but I have owned and tested all those on your list and then some. When I bought my PAR meter I bought every 250w MH and T5HO bulb I could get my hands on to do testing.

Ill use these numbers for placement and see how they turn out. Thank you for all your information.