Dumb question!!!! How much is too much par?

[salty_dawg]

So I’m gonna try to keep this as short as possible
I’m getting a hydra 26 for very cheap.

trying to decide what to do with it

currently I have a reefer 250 with a 36” hybrid t5 with 2 ai primes in it . I can add the hydra to the middle of that ..

Or
my sons tank has a single ai prime 16hd 18” cube I can swap out his for this hydra and put his into my t5

what do you guys think is the better set up ?would the hydra be blasting my corals with too much light ? I think if I give my son the hydra it would probly help him out a little and the prime 16 would make a more even distribution for me

thoughts?

 

[KrisReef]

You could use a par meter for better answers.

 

[Bpb]

The 3 prime/hybrid on your tank and the single hydra on his is the arrangement I’d opt for.

To answer the question, there’s not really an absolute answer for too much par or too little. It depends on both the animals receiving the light, and how well they have been acclimated. People on here boast their tanks receiving 800-1000+ par and lps corals tolerating it fine. There are some who keep their tanks at or under 100 par and do fine as well. It just depends on how you acclimate your livestock, your ph levels, flow, and nutrient levels. Some corals thrive in near zero light or pure dark conditions, whereas things like clams can relieve a near infinite amount of par (within reason, don’t use high powered red lasers on clam mantles and expect good things lol). With 3 primes in a t5 hybrid, I don’t imagine you’ll overdo it, nor will you be deficient

 

[mike550]

The Hydra 26 on your son‘s tank and adding a Prime to your setup is the route I’d take as well

 

[alain Bouchard]

I dont think there such thing as "too much" as long as you dont surpass the sun. The important thing is to have a good acclimation; not going from total darkness to 500par instantly.

 

[Waters]

Depends on the coral....some can handle insane PAR levels....a lot can't.

 

[Troylee]

I just added a hydra 26 last night to my tank which was only lit by a g6 xr15 I can say visually this light is super bright compared to the radion.. I don’t have a par meter but gonna barrow one here soon hopefully and see what exactly the difference is.. I started it off low at 40% and turned the radion down 20% in hopes to not cook stuff lol

 

[Jessefishes]

I just added a hydra 26 last night to my tank which was only lit by a g6 xr15 I can say visually this light is super bright compared to the radion.. I don’t have a par meter but gonna barrow one here soon hopefully and see what exactly the difference is.. I started it off low at 40% and turned the radion down 20% in hopes to not cook stuff lol

Are they set at the same height? Hydra should be set a lot higher to operate at what the radion g6 is. You can and I have set them lower but they will stand out in a mixed light system as brighter and more par.

 

[Troylee]

Are they set at the same height? Hydra should be set a lot higher to operate at what the radion g6 is. You can and I have set them lower but they will stand out in a mixed light system as brighter and more par.

Set at same height.. about 7” off the water and butted up to each other.. it blends really well honestly.. I have 60gal cube 2x2x2 so I didn’t want them high off the water and light spill in the room..

 

[Jessefishes]

Set at same height.. about 7” off the water and butted up to each other.. it blends really well honestly.. I have 60gal cube 2x2x2 so I didn’t want them high off the water and light spill in the room..

I did same with my radions and works great! Just gotta dial back compared to my radions and kessils.

 

[Troylee]

I did same with my radions and works great! Just gotta dial back compared to my radions and kessils.

I was running my radion at 85% I turned it down to 65 and put the hydra at 40 for now on blues and uv with cool white at 10… I’m 80%Sps dominated so will see if they take off or not now! They’ve been growing good so far but I feel it could be better..

 

[mike550]

Sorry for a second post. I still think your lighting change for your son and yoru tank makes complete sense — especially since you can control the intensity of these lights. I’d also prefer to run them lower than over-driving them to get more light out of them.

As to how much PAR? Just my opinion but it seems like all corals are okay with 100. So I try to keep my sand bed around 100. So that’s where I put softies and LPS. Then whatever the highest points are will have more intensity so that’s where I’ll lean towards SPS.

 

[Cyanohater]

So I’m gonna try to keep this as short as possible
I’m getting a hydra 26 for very cheap.

trying to decide what to do with it

currently I have a reefer 250 with a 36” hybrid t5 with 2 ai primes in it . I can add the hydra to the middle of that ..

Or
my sons tank has a single ai prime 16hd 18” cube I can swap out his for this hydra and put his into my t5

what do you guys think is the better set up ?would the hydra be blasting my corals with too much light ? I think if I give my son the hydra it would probly help him out a little and the prime 16 would make a more even distribution for me

thoughts?

BRS allows you to buy a par meter and then return it. you only pay a small restocking fee. In regards for SPS coral I'd never push 350. For an SPS tank I'd keep it at 200-300. Softies-LPS tank I'd keep 75-175. I tend to stick around 135 there.

 

[Cyanohater]

So I’m gonna try to keep this as short as possible
I’m getting a hydra 26 for very cheap.

trying to decide what to do with it

currently I have a reefer 250 with a 36” hybrid t5 with 2 ai primes in it . I can add the hydra to the middle of that ..

Or
my sons tank has a single ai prime 16hd 18” cube I can swap out his for this hydra and put his into my t5

what do you guys think is the better set up ?would the hydra be blasting my corals with too much light ? I think if I give my son the hydra it would probly help him out a little and the prime 16 would make a more even distribution for me

thoughts?

And Regards to this I'd put the hydra on his tank.

 

[salty_dawg]

So when I bought the hydra the people gave me a seneye par meter with it . I think I will just put the hydra on my sons and grab his prime better distribution for the both of us I think