Is 50-60 PAR too low?

[LordJoshaeus]

I got a PAR meter in the mail today and used it to measure the PAR in my reef jars...got only 50-60 umols on the sand bed and about 70 at the top of the rock. Is that high enough for softies, or should I look into upgrading my lighting? Thank you

 

[Dan_P]

I got a PAR meter in the mail today and used it to measure the PAR in my reef jars...got only 50-60 umols on the sand bed and about 70 at the top of the rock. Is that high enough for softies, or should I look into upgrading my lighting? Thank you

It depends on the species.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

You should upgrade IMHO. Some select corals will survive in that par but not thrive. For me it would be frustrating

EDIT. but what do you mean jar? Like a pico tank? My answer would be different for a pico, I’m talking about a regular reef tank.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

You should upgrade IMHO. Some select corals will survive in that par but not thrive. For me it would be frustrating

EDIT. but what do you mean jar? Like a pico tank? My answer would be different for a pico, I’m talking about a regular reef tank.

Yeah, they are actual jars, a gallon jar and a two gallon jar. I can upgrade the light if that would be best for the currently nonexistent corals (I want to get everything right before adding any).

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Wow ide love to see pics when your done but I don’t know about pico lighting good luck.

 

[Hooz]

Assuming that "softies" in jars of that size would mean zoas, mushrooms and the like, then that is probably plenty of PAR for them. If you wanted a bit more, it might just be as simple as moving the light a bit closer to the water.

Also... It's important to note what PAR meter you're using as well.

 

[Jennduhh]

It depends on the species.

Are umols equivalent to PAR or is there a conversion?

 

[PharmrJohn]

As stated, it depends on the PAR meter and species. The PAR reading is low, but you could still have a successful Pico tank with what ya got. How is everything doing? That's really your Guage with success......

 

[Dan_P]

Are umols equivalent to PAR or is there a conversion?

Same thing I think.

PAR defines a range of wavelengths and the “brightness” is measurement in micro mols of photons per square meter per second. I think the world uses “PAR” to mean both, i.e., the brightness of photosynthetically active light in photons per square meter per second.