Help with PAR readings; any suggestions?

[playapixie]

I finally rented a PAR meter to find out what’s really going on in my little mixed reef (which is 7 years old but recovering from a near-total crash in March.) Anyone willing to look at a photo with readings and offer suggestions?

Tank is a 34 gallon 20X20X20” cube with internal sump in the back. It’s under a Radion G4 Pro. Currently the highest output in the course of the day is 60%, and that’s when these readings were taken. For the most part, the PAR seemed to be even throughout the tank by depth, with only slight drop-off on the corners/edges, not counting for shading/shadows, of course.

Currently for SPS I have one acro (new last week and what prompted me to finally measure), one seriatopora, 4 varieties of montipora, and one unknown encrusting SPS. LPS include euphelias, acans, duncan, plate coral, goniastrea (or favia?), leptosiris, cyphastrea, blasto, trumpet, candy cane. Montis are growing quickly, and all of the other stony corals are growing at varying speeds. Softies include Xenia (yes, I have to prune them like mad, but everyone loves them,) zoas, ricordea Florida & Yuma, GSP, finger leather. Lots of happy mini-maxi and rock flower anemones as well.

I recently made a lot of room in the top 1/3 of the tank to start trying some acro & other branching SPS, so I’d like to optimize for those without blasting out the existing corals with lower demands. The one acro currently in place (sold as Pink Lemonade) is at about 250 PAR and the polyps seem to be extending nicely, no signs of stress.

I keep this tank on the Red Sea Coral Pro accelerated growth parameters and it’s super stable, with low phos (0-0.02) and low nitrate (1-2...I don’t do anything special to make it so, I think I’m just lucky, it’s been like that from the beginning.) So I think I’ve pretty much maximized for coral growth and want to make sure my lights are in line.

Any thoughts? Leave it as is? Gradually increase? To what level? PAR immediately below the surface at the center is 500. I’d be happy to share my Radion profile (which is controlled by Apex) if that’s helpful.

Thanks!

 

[ndrwater]

Your mapping looks about perfect to me. SPS generally like higher oar and LOTS of flow. Put your new SPS wherever you'd like it to be but... Keep an eye on it. Any sign of bleaching, move it down and give it a chance to acclimate.

 

[Firemanreefkeeper]

If there was only a 'run this par for this coral'. You have to 'listen' to your coral. My highest par level in my tank is 225 and I grow acros just fine. I have a tyree pink lemonade at 180 par and it has great color and PE. They adapt but it's better to start low and go up.

 

[jda]

Which PAR meter did you use? The numbers might need massaged depending on the model. It matters.

 

[playapixie]

If there was only a 'run this par for this coral'. You have to 'listen' to your coral. My highest par level in my tank is 225 and I grow acros just fine. I have a tyree pink lemonade at 180 par and it has great color and PE. They adapt but it's better to start low and go up.

Super helpful, thanks. This “pink lemonade isn’t really yellow or pink anywhere for me (except yellow tips, otherwise it’s quite dark) but the mother colony did look more like photos I’ve seen of pink lemonade. Apparently it came from a MH tank and had only been under LED for maybe a month when I got it, so I’m curious to see what it does in my tank.

 

[playapixie]

Which PAR meter did you use? The numbers might need massaged depending on the model. It matters.

Good question; I should have snapped a pic. The only instructions it came with were “turn it on and stick it underwater.” I’m guessing it was Apogee; it looked like this:
https://www.apogeeinstruments.com/mq-200-quantum-separate-sensor-with-handheld-meter/

 

[jda]

That sensor needs a 1.32 immersion factor applied, so take your readings and multiply them by 1.32, if you have not already. Then, remember that the sensor in that thing over samples the middle of the visible spectrum on LED... so just know that it is a tad high. It also forsakes a lot of the lower blue and violet, which can be a problem for Actinic Bulbs of blue-only readings, but not such a big deal with full-daylight LEDs. In any case, once you multiply by 1.32, then you will have a pretty good idea.

If you had one of the newer Apogees, like the 510, then it does not need the immersion factor applied.

 

[playapixie]

That sensor needs a 1.32 immersion factor applied, so take your readings and multiply them by 1.32, if you have not already. Then, remember that the sensor in that thing over samples the middle of the visible spectrum on LED... so just know that it is a tad high. It also forsakes a lot of the lower blue and violet, which can be a problem for Actinic Bulbs of blue-only readings, but not such a big deal with full-daylight LEDs. In any case, once you multiply by 1.32, then you will have a pretty good idea.

If you had one of the newer Apogees, like the 510, then it does not need the immersion factor applied.

Wow, thanks for this. Very helpful. I’ll call and ask them what model number it was.