Jamaican reefers need you Randy!AB+/ Par/Lux

[Saintnovakai]

Hey Randy! Us reefers here on the island dont have easy access to a Par Meter. Its pretty costly for us island folk. We know Lux isnt Par, but guys like Dana Riddle have suggested that there is correlation. I know you guys are a business and would prefer to sell a Par Meter but please help the little guy out by giving us an episode using Lux as a ball park measurement tool for intensity with leds. I have Hydra 52 HDs and Im using a lower version of the AB+ spectrum and having hell dialing stuff in and not bleaching stuff on my 17 inch waterline deep tank. Could you tell us like approx Lux at waterline for 24 and 18 inch tanks? Thatd be wicked man.

People will dismiss Lux but it is a measurement which is better than none at all and since AB+ is a (universally-ish accepted spectrum that we almost all can replicate to a point, it would be good to know how much lux there is at difference depths. Pulleeeeease. Its the only thing we have short of you sending our little club one of them there complimentary Par meters. Respect Bredda!

 

[Reefs anonymous]

Cool running’s to mi Breda. Another breadring here in Miami doing a reef. Always wondered if anyone in ja did any reefing. Hope randy will chime in and can help you. You might want to reach out to Sanjay as he’s also quite knowledgeable especially with lighting. Just dropping a line to let you know another ja Breda does reefs but I live in Miami now. Respect.

 

[ROX'S REEF]

Cool running’s to mi Breda. Another breadring here in Miami doing a reef. Always wondered if anyone in ja did any reefing. Hope randy will chime in and can help you. You might want to reach out to Sanjay as he’s also quite knowledgeable especially with lighting. Just dropping a line to let you know another ja Breda does reefs but I live in Miami now. Respect.

Yo last time I was in Jamaica I was wondering if anyone could have got some stuff for me but I couldn't find any aquarium store anywhere do u guys know of any

 

[Saintnovakai]

Cool running’s to mi Breda. Another breadring here in Miami doing a reef. Always wondered if anyone in ja did any reefing. Hope randy will chime in and can help you. You might want to reach out to Sanjay as he’s also quite knowledgeable especially with lighting. Just dropping a line to let you know another ja Breda does reefs but I live in Miami now. Respect.

Yow bless up bossy @Reefs anonymous . Ano nuff a wi still but wi a try a ting zimi. Anyone can chime in with experience. Its all welcome. Im a big fan of @saltyfilmfolks here on R2R as he gives good insight on the use of Lux. We average reefers need this episode. It would advance the hobby a lot by giving us a level of measurement until PAR meters come down a bit. If full spectrum lighting is now the name of the game then Lux should be somewhat useful.

@rox , there are no reef stores here. There used to be one but that died ages ago as the cost of the hobby was more prohibitive and the knowledge base was limited. Currently, there are a few who (bring/sm*g*le) lol a frag or 2 but most of what we have is local. Zoas, Porites, Ricordea, Sun Corals and Rose Brains. Everything else is a frag of a frag. Theres a section of a secluded beach that i secretly plant a frag or two whenever i get stuff. In the long run i hope it helps with the repopulation of the reefs as well as having my own coral bank. Shhhhhhhh. lol

What would really be great in the meantime is to have members download the CrunchyByte Lux app or comparable and post lux at max intensity at Waterline along with water depth. Could we?

 

[Reefs anonymous]

Zoas, Porites, Ricordea, Sun Corals and Rose Brains.

All demya is low lite corals. D sun coral nuh need nuh lite to live. dat is a nonphotosynthetic coral meaning it need only food and live in a deep water or under ledges and need very lickle lite. The Hydra 52 is a powerful lite. So if you start at a low setting and slowly increase your light output you should be good. Me nuh have nuh par meter either and me a run a full blown sps reef. Mi relatively new to LED but mi start low and den move up slowly. But tanks to bulk reef supply and boss man Randy fi a episode using D kessil and coral life combo mi adjust near what him say and tings a biggup now. BRS is mi go to store. Dem quick pon D shipping and dem good. Me Jus start ova but ina D mean time si mi ole tank dat mi tek down and donate to Miami aquarium back a few years ago.

 

[Saintnovakai]

Zoas, Porites, Ricordea, Sun Corals and Rose Brains.

All demya is low lite corals. D sun coral nuh need nuh lite to live. dat is a nonphotosynthetic coral meaning it need only food and live in a deep water or under ledges and need very lickle lite. The Hydra 52 is a powerful lite. So if you start at a low setting and slowly increase your light output you should be good. Me nuh have nuh par meter either and me a run a full blown sps reef. Mi relatively new to LED but mi start low and den move up slowly. But tanks to bulk reef supply and boss man Randy fi a episode using D kessil and coral life combo mi adjust near what him say and tings a biggup now. BRS is mi go to store. Dem quick pon D shipping and dem good. Me Jus start ova but ina D mean time si mi ole tank dat mi tek down and donate to Miami aquarium back a few years ago.

@Reefs anonymous, Yow yu ting shot bredda! Maaad!

Yeah man. Mi have whole heap a research under mi belt and couple reefers here have massive tanks that would rival some of the best over there. Is just the cost yknow.

I think we might chase off a couple people here if we only speak Jamaican Creole. LOL. Its like reefing with a crash course in Jamaican Creole. LOL. Its not that hard at all. Im a Linguist so i find it fun. You can link me on whatsapp (876)326-0792.

 

[Reefs anonymous]

@Reefs anonymous, Yow yu ting shot bredda! Maaad!

Yeah man. Mi have whole heap a research under mi belt and couple reefers here have massive tanks that would rival some of the best over there. Is just the cost yknow.

I think we might chase off a couple people here if we only speak Jamaican Creole. LOL. Its like reefing with a crash course in Jamaican Creole. LOL. Its not that hard at all. Im a Linguist so i find it fun. You can link me on whatsapp (876)326-0792.

Cool, see you on WhatsApp.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I don’t know if Randy can help you but I have 2 hydra 52 HD’s 16” above a 50 gallon cube. I also have a par meter.

 

[Saintnovakai]

I don’t know if Randy can help you but I have 2 hydra 52 HD’s 16” above a 50 gallon cube. I also have a par meter.

Wicked! Im guessing you know your Par at waters surface so could you use a Lux app to give us a ballpark reference?

Water height:
Max Par:
Max Lux:
Spectrum
Percentages:

I like the way you think @Chaswood79. Thanks so much for your contribution.

Ill tell you my stats:
Hydra 52 HD
Water Height:: 15.5
Max Par: N/A
Max Lux: 19000ish
Spectrum: AB+
% Uv-32, V-34, RB-40, B-18, G-3, R,10,W-5

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

What are the dimensions of the tank and water volume? How high above the water is your fixture? If you’re losing sps, based on those settings, I can almost guarantee you that your sps are not getting enough light. 90% of sps nutrition comes from photosynthesis and they need a minimum of 150-200 par. Sps will die from too little light. I found this out when I only had one fixture. I thought I was giving too much because they would turn brown or the tissue would start necrosing, what most ppl call bleaching, but I found out that they were starving because my settings were way too low.
Respect
Bless’d love

 

[Saintnovakai]

What are the dimensions of the tank and water volume? How high above the water is your fixture? If you’re losing sps, based on those settings, I can almost guarantee you that your sps are not getting enough light. 90% of sps nutrition comes from photosynthesis and they need a minimum of 150-200 par. Sps will die from too little light. I found this out when I only had one fixture. I thought I was giving too much because they would turn brown or the tissue would start necrosing, what most ppl call bleaching, but I found out that they were starving because my settings were way too low.
Respect
Bless’d love

Well My tank is 4.5 ft long , 18 high, 17 deep front to back. Its an 80g but total water volume including sump is about 55g. Im not losing SPS. I have a frag of green monti cap and a frag of Red Digitata. The Cap is greener on the shaded side and the side in open light is paler so i figured it bleached a bit and i needed to have less light. This is my first reef so its a work in progress. The consensus is that roughly 6000 Lux is around 100 Par so with a tank this shallow, i figure 300 is Par at waterline would be ok. This is why i posed the question.

Wow, pics look crumby in upload. Tank is much whiter in person. Oh and nobody has been able to tell me the name of that bright green oval coral in the shot above the monti. Its a nuclear green. Brighter than a candy cane. Found it encrusted while diving here in Jamaica.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I’ll check your numbers with my par meter after lunch.

 

[Saintnovakai]

Nice.

I’ll check your numbers with my par meter after lunch.

Id appreciate it man. Lovely tank. Im guessing since im 15inches to sand bed id need to cut down a bit but still in comparison, i need to be much higher.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Those were all taken about 3” below the water surface. Your par will probably be even lower because your fixtures are spread further out.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Sorry I forgot to post your settings

 

[Saintnovakai]

Gaddamit! Ehem...I mean... interesting. Hmm. What would be your approximate recommendations for getting the par to about 250 at the highest point you measured (im guessing it was about 15-18 above sand bed?) using an increase in the modified AB+ spectrum i run and most importantly, what would be the Lux measured on your meter. You are a God send my friend. Im sure many reefers without a PAR meter are running lowered versions of the AB+ spectrum and wondering how much par they are really getting. I thank you most kind sir. @Chaswood79 . You are a scholar and a gentleman.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Gaddamit! Ehem...I mean... interesting. Hmm. What would be your approximate recommendations for getting the par to about 250 at the highest point you measured (im guessing it was about 15-18 above sand bed?) using an increase in the modified AB+ spectrum i run and most importantly, what would be the Lux measured on your meter. You are a God send my friend. Im sure many reefers without a PAR meter are running lowered versions of the AB+ spectrum and wondering how much par they are really getting. I thank you most kind sir. @Chaswood79 . You are a scholar and a gentleman.

I’m happy to help. It would be a shame to spend all this money on my par meter and just use it a couple times.

I’ve learned a lot about the hydras from killing thousands of dollars of acros. The 52 HD’s are not nearly as powerful as many users think they are, but they will absolutely fry your corals because the power they do have is very focused. I think they’re a great light, radions produce much more par with a softer delivery. I would recommend raising your lights as high as possible off the water to reduce/eliminate the hot spots. Mine are 16” above the water. I’ll try to get 250 for you.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

 

[randyBRS]

Not sure when we could get to something like this, but BIG thanks to the community for stepping up and sharing their settings and readings!!