How Important Measuring PAR for Softies?

[EbiAqua]

Being the beginner I am, I do not understand why it is necessary to rent a PAR meter to measure the PAR readings in my nano tank. I was under the impression that when you add corals, you put the tank into an "acclimation mode" of sorts, whether automated or manual, and adjust the intensity of the lighting until the corals seem happy. I know not to blast most corals with tons of light and I know that some, like zoas, are quite versatile in where they can be placed. In a small, beginner friendly, mostly soft-coral dominated tank, how necessary is it to know what your PAR actually is?

 

[billyocean]

Less par is better than too much par for softies. If they are retracting from light then par is probably too much. If they look happy and fluffy then it's probably fine. Don't really need a meter for it unless you just want to know for s and g's

 

[Fish Fan]

Being the beginner I am, I do not understand why it is necessary to rent a PAR meter to measure the PAR readings in my nano tank. I was under the impression that when you add corals, you put the tank into an "acclimation mode" of sorts, whether automated or manual, and adjust the intensity of the lighting until the corals seem happy. I know not to blast most corals with tons of light and I know that some, like zoas, are quite versatile in where they can be placed. In a small, beginner friendly, mostly soft-coral dominated tank, how necessary is it to know what your PAR actually is?

That's pretty much how everyone did it before PAR meters because so widely available. The only thing is that with modern LED fixtures it's really easy to over light the corals and smoke them. Starting low and slowly ramping up while observing the corals is good way to do it. AS mentioned about, less is probably more with softies.

Good luck!

 

[Anna K]

I'm doing mainly softies and lps and still went and got a par meter. I wanted to know exactly what my light settings were at and mapped it out for my tank, so when I bring in new coral I can have an idea on where to place them accordingly.

I've seen some people not do coral light acclimation, along with fish, and not have any consequences.