Par Measurements Overrated? Should you really care?

[chaoticreefer]

Yes but it's a $500-$600 deposit to rent one.

You can rent one at Bulk Reef Supply for like $60 I think it is, for a week.

 

[SAWFISH]

I always try to take measurements of the PAR in my tank. I have had too much trouble in the past with bleaching corals under high intensity lights. I feel like PAR meters are one of the benefits of joining a local club, as at least in my area most local clubs have a shared PAR meter which gets passed around

 

[Macey’s Reef]

I didn’t think it was important until I rented a par meter out of curiosity. Par was way too low and once I turned it up my coral growth skyrocketed. I think it’s important to get your tank dialed in then just leave it alone.

 

[reeffreak911]

Do you ever feel like lighting par ratings are overrated? I'm not talking about a light manufacturer over promising here. I'm talking about us, as hobbyists, putting too much effort and value into the par levels over our beloved corals.

PAR in relation to aquariums is the amount of light that penetrates the water column and is available for corals to use in photosynthesis.

I'm not trying to stir controversy here but I feel like we spend so much effort getting that LED, or whatever light it is, at just the precise "spot" so the par reading is exactly where we want it. I remember back in the day we didn't measure that stuff. We purchased lights and hung them over the tank, and they worked! I had beautiful corals and I never knew what the PAR was at all. If the corals stretched we moved the light a little closer. If they retracted we moved the light a little further away. Or we moved the coral!

I may be off my rocker here today so either somebody put me back on it or agree with me. I'm also not knocking knowing what your PAR levels are as I have tracked mine as well.


Do you think that knowing the lighting PAR over your tank is overrated or not?

Do you know what your PAR levels are?


@ESH PAR levels on his reef

People with leds probly need to have an idea of par ive always used halides no need to know par

 

[725196]

I got a par meter for this very reason. I have been debating upgrading from an AI Hydra 26 HD to the new blue Radion G5. I am just reluctant to make changes as my tank is running so well.

 

[Acrocrazy725]

So many reason to use a par meter that can be helpful to a hobbyist. You can rent one for 50 bucks. You can absolutely get by without one. There are thousands of accounts, I am sure of people who have never used one.
not me !!
I like know what my levels are at top and bottom and in between. Just reading through these posts here. there are countless people who found them very helpful. For lists of different reasons.
I feel it’s another arrow in our quiver to make the hobby better and I am glad I have that option when and if I need to use it.

 

[ichthyoid]

The human eye can only detect about 1/10th as much light in the blue part of the spectrum, as it can in the green.

Anyone that thinks they can look at a light source and tell with that eye, how well a coral might respond to that light, is just fooling themselves.

Corals love blue light & not so much green. In fact, many corals reflect green light, which is why we see so many green corals.

Get ahold of a PAR/PUR meter & tune your lights to suit your specific types of corals, within the aquarium you are housing them. Once you are done, record the settings and store that in a safe place for future reference.

You can buy, rent or borrow meters. You might even get assistance from fellow reefers that own them. Just ask, many experienced reefers derive a great deal of satisfaction from helping you get started right. It’s one way of paying it forward.

 

[design.maddie]

I have a LED fixture that was setup exactly as my setup and tested by BRS on dang near same tank as I have. That is the numbers I go off of.

 

[gabrieltackitt]

Do you think that knowing the lighting PAR over your tank is overrated or not?

I think that it’s good to have a general idea of what the lighting levels are in any tank. I would definitely not be obsessing over them by any means. Just a good idea to know that you aren’t going to burn a coral at the top or starve one at the bottom.

Do you know what your PAR levels are?

I do have a general idea, about 250 at the tops of rocks, 100-150 in the middle, depending on how close to the center of each light, and between 50-100 on most of the sandbed and bottoms of rocks.

 

[Dw79]

I would love to know what my Par is, but am not willing to pay the price for a Par meter and rental is not an option in my parts. I do the best that I can by watching my corals, they are my Par meter.

 

[Kingston]

I am planning on doing a par test on my tank next week to get general idea before I start placing my corals from QT. In the meantime corals are not happy in the QT at all.

 

[Darren in Tacoma]

In such a science heavy hobby it seems par/pur would be something most people would want to know. Knowledge of chemistry and biology can help so much, I wouldn't want to ignore the details of one of the most vital aspects of reef keeping. I have never measured my light, but I certainly would if I could.
I suspect that when the prices come down a par meter will be a normal part of most reefers test kits.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

I really have no clue what my par levels are, but it would be nice to know. But then again, it seems like corals have a broad range for par levels anyway. One place says 300 par for anemones when another says 200 or something like that. For now I'm going to focus on getting the corals extended, then the growing commences.

 

[Nhjmc]

You can rent one at Bulk Reef Supply for like $60 I think it is, for a week.

Thank you for info, I was aware of that but thing that sucks is you have to put down a $500 or $600 deposit that's locked up for I'm assuming the week of rental then the shipping time both ways so call it two weeks. I'm gonna buy a Seneye monitor well I want to anyway $199 that I can swing.

 

[Maximitsurugi]

I bought a new but returned amazon seneye home for cheap then upgraded to reef a while later. I bought it because like everyone with leds, i was trying to follow someone elses tank to get their results and the variable i could never measure was light intensity.
Even if youre doing well, there is a fault in every reefer; the urge to infinitely optimize and squeeze a litlle bit more growth or colour out of our corals.
Some people say 250-350, then one vendor says 400-500, others just say high light and these are all the same corals but without a par meter for leds, you dont even know where your level is at.

Also, its a great way to get frags. Good day sir, i heard you have a par meter. Good day to you my good man, i heard you have acro colonies.

Lol. My friends and i just team up for everything and share. Good fun.