PAR target?

[Jon Fishman]

So I got a PAR meter, but I am lost. PAR as the tank sits is about 60 on the bottom, and 175 mid-level depth in tank.

I have my lights mounted high, ready to start lowering etc gradually but I have no idea what PAR to shoot for

Mixed reef. Thanks!

 

[Kevin Duprey]

What type of coral are you trying to keep? It's really hard to make blanket statements, but in general, SPS like high light (200+ PAR - I keep some of mine in 300+)). LPS can vary greatly, and most are pretty adaptable. Clams like a lot of light as well. The numbers you have now are definitely low for most coral that typically inhabit bottom and mid areas of a tank, so lowering the light is a good move.

Also, what type of lighting? If they are LED spots, lowering the units too much to achieve PAR might cause a spotlight effect and throw some areas of the tank into shadow. It's a tricky balance, and the more information you can provide, the easier it will be for people to help.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Mixed. Like Montis and some digis but I also have hammer, torch, elegance, duncans etc

They are 3 32” wide Black Box LEDs. The tank is narrow front-to-back so I get good coverage (20”)

I moved the lights down, and will retest, but last test was at 10% white and 40% blue. Would it be better spotlight wise to have them 30-80% etc and higher up?

I prefer the look at 12” above the water or so, they were at 18-20” before

 

[Jon Fishman]

Ok At my current setting, I have 450-500 at the surface, 250 or so mid level, and 100 at the bottom middle, to 50-ish along the front edge of the tank.

I have to send the PAR meter on to the next person in the club (loner) so before I do, are these good numbers to run with, or should I shoot for a higher PAR?

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

Ok At my current setting, I have 450-500 at the surface, 250 or so mid level, and 100 at the bottom middle, to 50-ish along the front edge of the tank.

I have to send the PAR meter on to the next person in the club (loner) so before I do, are these good numbers to run with, or should I shoot for a higher PAR?

Those look like good numbers to me. In fact you may not even want them that bright. 500 PAR is a lot so you might want to come down a bit then slowly raise it if you want it that high. I run the top of my SPS tank around 500 but I acclimated very slowly.

 

[Joedubyk]

Ok At my current setting, I have 450-500 at the surface, 250 or so mid level, and 100 at the bottom middle, to 50-ish along the front edge of the tank.

I have to send the PAR meter on to the next person in the club (loner) so before I do, are these good numbers to run with, or should I shoot for a higher PAR?

That should work really well for a mixed tank. Outside of that, the next thing you need to master is flow...Which is a bit more tricky w/ a mixed reef IMO, but very doable!

 

[Jon Fishman]

That should work really well for a mixed tank. Outside of that, the next thing you need to master is flow...Which is a bit more tricky w/ a mixed reef IMO, but very doable!

How do I effectively measure it?

 

[Joedubyk]

How do I effectively measure it?

Eye ball test. SPS are going to like it higher, and softies medium/low (general guideline) .Flow is the blood of the tank IME.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Eye ball test. SPS are going to like it higher, and softies medium/low (general guideline) .Flow is the blood of the tank IME.

I have five MP40’s running 20-100% reefcrest mode depending on the time of day. I lower down the flow when lights are off