How much do you care about PAR and how are you measuring it?

[robert teseo]

i bought a 6 bulb t-5 light unit, hung it 8 inches over a 75. all i know is corals grow well enough i have to cut them back and give them away

 

[DeniseAndy]

Back a long time ago, I borrowed a meter and tested par in my tank. Since then, I do not worry about it. Mainly because I still have the same dimension tank and the same light set up I did back 15+ years ago. MH and T5s are pretty constant and I do not need to worry much. I just have them changed out as needed (usually annually) and go from there.

I guess I could be curious in my frag and lps tank, but the T5s are fine and corals good, so not worried.

 

[Buckster]

I have never checked PAR with a meter. I watched the BRS video regarding the AI 26-32 placement and what PAR values they achieved. I placed my AI's 26 - 32 - 26 as recommended in the video . I used one of the recommended lighting schedules and bleached out the few corals I had. I produced my own schedule and not only are those corals coming back with growth and color but all additional corals are doing fine. Maybe I'm lucky!

 

[ca1ore]

Honestly I thought the point I was making was crystal clear. I reccomend par meter to anyone setting up new lamp to use a par meter and get familiar with said lamp and new powerful leds.
I asked you what kind of lights are you using was just curious is all. Guessing something your super familiar with and most likely been using a long time. Def wasn't trying to put you on spot just think people could learn.
I gotta say though your on absolute God status in my eyes if you can come over and tell me where my par is reading under my lamp under my new photon v2+.
Realisticly if I had those powers I'd quit my job and rent myself out to reefers dialing in lights and probably be doing alot better off.

oh I see ... stream of conscious points kind of lost me. Never claimed I could guess PAR, maybe my post confused you which I guess makes us even LOL. A rather limited skill even if I could. My point was that measuring PAR is a waste of time - has been for me at least. I got a meter a few years ago, and essentially never use it. I’ve been able to grow LPS/SPS corals for 20 years without one. If folks need one (or want one) that’s fine.

I’ve swapped lights around quite a lot. MH in the early days, then a few photons (v1 though) and now an army of radion and Kessil.

 

[ssunthar]

Back in the day we never measured lighting PAR. We looked at how the coral was doing and either moved it up or down in the tank. I Got a suggestion from a member that we should ask about PAR and measuring PAR so let's talk about it today and how much you consider it!

From World Wide Corals: What is PAR? Photosynthetically active radiation, otherwise known as PAR, is roughly the number of light particles penetrating the surface of the water and saturating your tank. These particles supply photosynthetic organisms such as corals and plants with the energy they need to break down sugars, produce food, and cycle toxins out of their bodies. As such, they’re key to maintaining the health of your tank inhabitants and keeping the ecosystem in check. However, you must regulate the amount of PAR you allow in your tank to ensure your specimens are neither over- nor undersaturated with light. This is why reef tank owners often use PAR meters during the building process to find the proper light range for their specific aquariums. Read More Here

1. How much do you really care about the PAR values in your reef aquarium?

2. If you do care then how are you measuring your par values?


image via @Joe Batt

Guilty of not doing enough here... this is a topic that i am interested in learning and applying to my tank... hoping that this forum will help me.

One question i have is... do i need to be aware where/which ocean the coral came from as well while placing them based on PAR?

Thanks.

 

[WhiteTailFish]

I used the PAR values from the BRS light tests done last year to install the fixture properly over my tank. I have been placing corals where I think they would do well based on these metrics and for the most part I have been right. I have been tempted to get a PAR meter to test my tank with but since I have no issues with bleaching or anything like that I've lost interest.

 

[DC Reefer]

I have the Apogee SQ 520 and the Apex meter. I didn't trust the apex on a couple of lights in my coral QT and frag tank so I got the apogee to compare. The apex was pretty close but it did identify a worn out Kessil. I like having the par meter on hand. Sometimes I will have the same or similar corals in two different tanks and in one tank it will be doing better than in the other and I like being able to see how close the PAR is between the two to rule that out as a possible issue. I find it helpful but I wouldn't call it a necessity for most.

 

[paul barker]

I do care about par but it still all about the right colors I check per to make so I do Blass my tank with to much light

 

[waynel]

For those that have it/tried it, is the Seneye a good PAR meter?

 

[Rubberfrog]

No

 

[rtparty]

PAR is awesome and also super over rated and over used in the hobby. I care much more about spectrum. Once we know the spectrum is proper, then PAR becomes important to measure. However, many of the numbers being thrown out these days seem to be tailored to LEDs and their less than ideal spectrum. We ran way higher PAR numbers with halides and T5s for decades without all the bleaching and death.

I would rather have the near perfect spectrum and lower PAR than high PAR and less than ideal spectrum.

 

[Saltysocks]

Don't care about PAR. PAR is just a measure of light. It can't read if the color is blue,green, yellow or anything else. It just reads photons. So..... One can have the right PAR over their tank with the wrong colors.

This is why I give a big thumbs up to seneye.. the par meter in the seneye reef measure blue light and gives you a spectrum reading. It was as accurate as a 1,200 apogee par meter for 200 bucks! Can't say enough good things about it

 

[n21benson]

I cared enough to upgrade my lights to ReefLED's about 12 months ago.

Utilising their preset program; set and forget, right?

 

[tamanning]

I care because I want my corals to do well. My lfs did not have one to rent or loan so I researched the lights i'm using at depth and i'm using those numbers with a schedule of rotated tube changes.

 

[Techno10]

It’s on my list to burrow the par meter from the local reef club. Would like to know what it is to better place corals at the right depth.

 

[Laith]

I care enough that I bought an Apogee 510

Like he said. ;Happy

 

[Mickeyt1reef]

I would like to measure my tank. I mostly rely on measurements others have done with similar lighting and past experience. Currently running 4 bulb t5 with 2 OR3 light bars on my shallow 75. Someday I will rent a par meter. I think it’s more important with the new adjustable led lights. They can burn some stuff. Again experience.

 

[Mickeyt1reef]

I would like to measure my tank. I mostly rely on measurements others have done with similar lighting and past experience. Currently running 4 bulb t5 with 2 OR3 light bars on my shallow 75. Someday I will rent a par meter. I think it’s more important with the new adjustable led lights. They can burn some stuff. Again experience.