To much light?

ID-Reefer · Dec 19, 2020

I need to get my hands on a par meter. Do most in the hobby just buy one?

newer tank only a couple months old. Half dozen SPS frags all doing well. Radion X30 Gen 5 on a reefer 900. Have intensity turned to 40%

all SPS looks great but this one piece I worry about. In natural light (morning before radions come on) the color is consistent and looks fine. Mid day with radions I see some discoloration- see photo. Polyps stay out all the time for the most part. Good flow. Parameters good. Located top 1/3 of tank. Worried it’s getting to much light. Thoughts?

Alchameth · Dec 19, 2020

PAR meters aint cheap... You can rent one from BRS, also if you have a LFS around they might also.

RMD_4 · Dec 19, 2020

Yeah, PAR meters are rather pricey. Plus, for the most part you will only use the PAR meter a handful of times when setting up a chart on what PAR reading you have in certain places of the tank. I would definitely see if you can rent one from you LFS before spending several hundred dollars on one just to use it a few times!

ID-Reefer · Dec 19, 2020

Yeah I’ve checked around and haven’t found one to rent. BRS wants $70 to rent theirs so may have to go that route.
Just for comparison here is a shot of that SPS without the LED on. This was a no name coral I picked up so I’m not sure what level of light it likes just wasn’t sure about the color difference on those spots when lights were on.

ryshark · Dec 19, 2020

Is it at the top of your rocks in possibly the most par? It's not an acro, that species should do fine in lower light

Hincapiej4 · Dec 19, 2020

It's a branching monti. Just start low, and slowly bring it up. It'll tell you when it's too much. Monti's are very hardi, for reference, I have two of my monti at the top of my tank.

2x red sea 90 leds