Surprising par numbers for Ai Hydra 26 HD

[mpekoske]

just wondering if I’m doing something completely wrong... I have a Biocube 16 with a hydra 26HD mounted 10 inches above water level, I used a apogee 210 par meter and I had to max out UV,Violet, blue and RB and have whites at 40% to get par around mid 200s at mid level of tank... a lot of people said this light would be to much for this tank but based on the numbers it might not be enough for all sps... anyone else do a par reading on the 26 HD?

 

[Crabs McJones]

just wondering if I’m doing something completely wrong... I have a Biocube 16 with a hydra 26HD mounted 10 inches above water level, I used a apogee 210 par meter and I had to max out UV,Violet, blue and RB and have whites at 40% to get par around mid 200s at mid level of tank... a lot of people said this light would be to much for this tank but based on the numbers it might not be enough for all sps... anyone else do a par reading on the 26 HD?

@HotRocks and I have been running 26's over our sps dominant tanks using the modified AB+ schedule and we both had to raise our lights up. I'm around a foot off the waters surface and I believe he has his around 11.5 inches (we both are using T5's along with it though) but depended on your settings that light alone is more than capable of growing sps corals

 

[hart24601]

I have used and done a lot of PAR readings on the 26s. FYI I think that PAR level is perfect for sps. Your measurements sound about right to me, were you expecting more? What is the total distance from light to the 250 PAR? I think your measurements are also pretty close to the values on AI website. They have around 200 PAR at 24" total distance from the light, and keep in mind this is with whites at 100% so expect a bit less at that distance which is probably pretty close to the bottom of your tank.


http://www.aquaillumination.com/lighting/hydra/

 

[bluprntguy]

If you used the "MQ-210" note that Apogee states "The meter is excellent for all light sources, except LEDs, where post-measurement correction factors need to be applied to achieve accurate readings."

You'll want to apply those corrections (especially when running high blue), which should significantly boost your PAR level readings.

 

[mpekoske]

Thank you guys for the response... just wanted to verify that the par sounded about right which it seems like it does... I also used the conversion of par x 1.08 ... I’m happy with the light I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t missing something and going to fry my sps

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Thank you guys for the response... just wanted to verify that the par sounded about right which it seems like it does... I also used the conversion of par x 1.08 ... I’m happy with the light I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t missing something and going to fry my sps

You’re readings sound about right after the conversion. I have the apogee 510 par meter and 2 hydra 52 HD’s over my 50 gallon cube delivering 550-600 par to my sps, so don’t worry, you won’t fry them. I have an old ai Vega, 95 total watts, 12” above my 29 gallon biocube frag tank with red and white 40% and everything else at 100% and I’m getting 220 par in the middle of the tank.

 

[oreo54]

Thank you guys for the response... just wanted to verify that the par sounded about right which it seems like it does... I also used the conversion of par x 1.08 ... I’m happy with the light I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t missing something and going to fry my sps

don't think that is quite what others meant..
If running a lot of blue 1.08 isn't enough..
Note the falloff starting at 500nm..

 

[mpekoske]

don't think that is quite what others meant..
If running a lot of blue 1.08 isn't enough..
Note the falloff starting at 500nm..

Thank you as you can tell I’m just trying to get a close reading to what pat I have so are you saying that if I max out the UV, Violet, blue and RB channels it is actually quite a bit more the. The par value showing x 1.08? If so I will adjust accordingly... just thought a par meter would help but seems like it only complicated things

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Thank you as you can tell I’m just trying to get a close reading to what pat I have so are you saying that if I max out the UV, Violet, blue and RB channels it is actually quite a bit more the. The par value showing x 1.08? If so I will adjust accordingly... just thought a par meter would help but seems like it only complicated things

My par meter is designed for leds, so your original readings are pretty accurate. Like I said, my acros and even some Monti’s are receiving more than 500 par from led only for 9 hours, so you don’t need to worry about frying them.