I seem to have the best polyp extension with LPS in general (acans, blastos, Euphyllia, Favia/favites, Duncans, caulastrea, Goniopora, you name it) under PAR levels of 100-180.
That said, I've read in countless places and heard from many people including those that are in the business of growing and selling coral, that they keep their LPS anywhere from 50-100 PAR. One person even told me 40 PAR. Recently I tried an experiment for a couple weeks and I dropped my lights to 75-100 PAR. Colors looked good but I saw very little growth (and had very little alk and calcium consumption) and didn't get great polyp extension. Left it like this for a few weeks, then went back to the 100-180 I had before and everything has opened up again and is looking fantastic.
I would love to be able to keep them at lower light for a few reasons including not having to overdrive my LEDs and lowering film algae on glass, but things just don't look as good at lower light levels in my tank. Mainly there is just much less polyp extension. I also like the look of a dimmer tank with the fluorescent pop the corals give. Wondering what other folks have found, and if anyone has any advice on keeping LPS at lower light levels, or if the 100-180 level I'm having the most success with is pretty common and I should shut up and just be happy.
That said, I've read in countless places and heard from many people including those that are in the business of growing and selling coral, that they keep their LPS anywhere from 50-100 PAR. One person even told me 40 PAR. Recently I tried an experiment for a couple weeks and I dropped my lights to 75-100 PAR. Colors looked good but I saw very little growth (and had very little alk and calcium consumption) and didn't get great polyp extension. Left it like this for a few weeks, then went back to the 100-180 I had before and everything has opened up again and is looking fantastic.
I would love to be able to keep them at lower light for a few reasons including not having to overdrive my LEDs and lowering film algae on glass, but things just don't look as good at lower light levels in my tank. Mainly there is just much less polyp extension. I also like the look of a dimmer tank with the fluorescent pop the corals give. Wondering what other folks have found, and if anyone has any advice on keeping LPS at lower light levels, or if the 100-180 level I'm having the most success with is pretty common and I should shut up and just be happy.