Moved kessils up, lighting effect

[Thor2j]

So I realized that I've had my 3 Kessil 360WEs too low. They were about 6 inches off water on my 59x22x22. Saw some shadows. Moved to 8 in and have much better coverage. I had the intensity at 55%, what would the loss be going up 2 inches?? How much if any should I turn them up to compensate?

 

[twilliard]

In this situation a PAR meter is the best tool to have to set the par back to normal at the bottom.

 

[Thor2j]

In this situation a PAR meter is the best tool to have to set the par back to normal at the bottom.

Any guess since I don't have one now

 

[dbrewsky]

Sorry there isn't a set intensity we can provide since it varies dramatically depending on surface agitation, turbidity, etc. My recommendation is wait a bit and see if the corals react, then determine if the intensity needs to be increased.

 

[twilliard]

Yup guessing with led can prove to be futile

 

[mcarroll]

Any guess since I don't have one now

It's hard to believe this still doesn't get recommended in cases like this....

Get a $free [HASHTAG]#lux[/HASHTAG] [HASHTAG]#meter[/HASHTAG] app for your phone's camera. "Galactica luxmeter" is one on IOS that people seem to have good luck with, but there are a lot on Android and IOS.

Double check your first readings here to make sure it's working (not all apps work equally well with all cameras), then you can make a comparative reading at the water surface between where your lights WERE hanging and compare to where they ARE hanging.

EASY AND FREE.

Sorry I didn't stop by sooner, or you probably could have had this done already.

FYI, while you're waiting for the app to download, I'd go order a $15 handheld loud meter like the "LX-1010B" from some place like Amazon, eBay....

The app will work fine while you wait for shipping, but the handheld is much better....not to mention safer around your tank!!

 

[twilliard]

It's hard to believe this still doesn't get recommended in cases like this....

Get a $free [HASHTAG]#lux[/HASHTAG] [HASHTAG]#meter[/HASHTAG] app for your phone's camera. "Galactica luxmeter" is one on IOS that people seem to have good luck with, but there are a lot on Android and IOS.

Double check your first readings here to make sure it's working (not all apps work equally well with all cameras), then you can make a comparative reading at the water surface between where your lights WERE hanging and compare to where they ARE hanging.

EASY AND FREE.

Sorry I didn't stop by sooner, or you probably could have had this done already.

FYI, while you're waiting for the app to download, I'd go order a $15 handheld loud meter like the "LX-1010B" from some place like Amazon, eBay....

The app will work fine while you wait for shipping, but the handheld is much better....not to mention safer around your tank!!

Oops yes I will admit I forget about lux

 

[twilliard]

It's hard to believe this still doesn't get recommended in cases like this....

Get a $free [HASHTAG]#lux[/HASHTAG] [HASHTAG]#meter[/HASHTAG] app for your phone's camera. "Galactica luxmeter" is one on IOS that people seem to have good luck with, but there are a lot on Android and IOS.

Double check your first readings here to make sure it's working (not all apps work equally well with all cameras), then you can make a comparative reading at the water surface between where your lights WERE hanging and compare to where they ARE hanging.

EASY AND FREE.

Sorry I didn't stop by sooner, or you probably could have had this done already.

FYI, while you're waiting for the app to download, I'd go order a $15 handheld loud meter like the "LX-1010B" from some place like Amazon, eBay....

The app will work fine while you wait for shipping, but the handheld is much better....not to mention safer around your tank!!

Sorry but what does 13k lux equate to?
I forgot your conversion

 

[mcarroll]

13000/50 is the rough conversion I use....so about 260 PAR.

Coincidentally, that's about what I run my low-light stony coral tank at.

 

[twilliard]

13000/50 is the rough conversion I use....so about 260 PAR.

Coincidentally, that's about what I run my low-light stony coral tank at.

Thank you!

 

[reefaboo]

my experience is Kessils are awful when it comes to lux/par meters .. them being a multichip they never register correct values on par meters ..

having said that it also depends on the color you are running .. i had run all blue at 100% on a 10 gallon nano with light at about 12 inches high with no problems .. if you are using a whiter spectrum then you can use upto 70-80% guess ...

 

[mcarroll]

(You can always get a PAR meter later if that seems like a good idea.)

Thank you!

Any time!

(BTW, and not to anyone in particular: I could have clarified sooner that these lux readings are all measurements at the water surface. You have to spend a bit more for a submersible sensor and I haven't found that to be needed so far. Surface measurements work fine.)

 

[dbrewsky]

Agreed i never had luck with lux apps and my kessils. Lux may be useful in this case where a 13000k lux reading at 6" could be referenced for correcting intensity at the new height assuming spectrum does not change. Lux is a very ballpark rating because different spectrums, let alone meters will give different ratings at the same intensity setting.

 

[Thor2j]

So I checked with an android lux meter. At 6" 10k at 8" 6k. These are rough numbers as it bounces around but pretty close. Color at 55%

 

[mcarroll]

Sounds like a potentially good reading to me. 120-200 PAR, roughly speaking.

Definitely on the "low light" side of reef tanks.....from what I can tell, most corals' compensation point falls somewhere between 5000 and 10000 lux, or so...which is good. Below that, they are merely surviving. But there's also probably room to bring intensity up closer to 15000 if you wanted.....I'd just do it very slowly, as usual.

FYI:
Generally, you should be aiming the sensor/camera at the light and trying to pick up the maximal number you can from whatever location you are sampling.

The bouncing around is normal and a realistic (perhaps accurate too) representation of the flux inherent to light. This flux is one reason I like sampling in air vs in water....water takes an already complicated subject (light) and makes it even more difficult to sample or understand because there is even more flux. The attachment is pretty interesting.

Now you know as closely as you need to about your light's intensity....and you've got your first light meter!

 

[Thor2j]

Ok, I'll slowly ramp it up