Light PAR for different types of corals
- Thread starter revhtree
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Sarcazian
Active Member
I am surprised that no one mentioned a seneye - it seems like they existed in 2015?
I know that they are not perfect, but it seems like they serve a purpose to make sure you are within the range.
I know that they are not perfect, but it seems like they serve a purpose to make sure you are within the range.
Dkmoo
Valuable Member
so... r we really reviving this thread? maybe now more people have access to par meters? here's mine:
All of the below are what's in my tank and doing well and growly/spreading nicely. You will also see some that are thriving in ranges out side of the norm - key for these is SLOWLY acclimating. too fast is how they burn.
1) Monti cap - 300
2) Monti Digitata - 300
3) Birds nest - 275
4) Leptastrea - 300
5) Aveopora - 100
6) Oddball Goni - 125
7) Ricordea (florida) - 150
8) Cyphastrea - 100
9) Gorgonia - 250
10) Lobo - 100
11) Leptoseris - 100
12) Duncan - 125
13) Euphilias - both torch and frogspawn - 200
14) Acan lord - 150
15) Psammocora - 250
16) Loadstool - 150
17) Interstella Discosoma - 50
18) Blasto - 75
19) Sunburst Chalice 150
20) Dragon Soul Favia - 150
The ones below are problematic ones b/c they were in the WRONG par. Im currently in the process of correcting but do not have results to confirm if they are correct yet.
1) Acropora (purple candlestick, forest green, and toxic green) - was at 200PAR before i realized the light was a problem, caused a lot of browning. Currently slowly acclimating to 350PAR. haven't seen much different yet since it's only been 3 weeks, but at least it didn't brown more.
2) Rainbow BTA - was at 225 and doing GREAT but lost bubble (showing long and wavy tentacles), however since the light upgrade it's been not opening up as much and the tentacles have shriveled a bit. but.. more "stubby" and "bubbly". currently sitting at 325. Very new development so not sure the full PAR impact yet. Also it hasn't moved yet so not sure if its truly unhappy where it is, or if it's trying to adapt in a healthy way.
3) One pink goni has not been happy anywhere - tried 350 par, 200par, 50 par and various flows. currently in half shaded 100 PAR, no difference yet. it opened up nicely in LFS, still investigating cause. may not be PAR related. (it's been in my tank for 1.5 years, so not acclimation related)
All of the below are what's in my tank and doing well and growly/spreading nicely. You will also see some that are thriving in ranges out side of the norm - key for these is SLOWLY acclimating. too fast is how they burn.
1) Monti cap - 300
2) Monti Digitata - 300
3) Birds nest - 275
4) Leptastrea - 300
5) Aveopora - 100
6) Oddball Goni - 125
7) Ricordea (florida) - 150
8) Cyphastrea - 100
9) Gorgonia - 250
10) Lobo - 100
11) Leptoseris - 100
12) Duncan - 125
13) Euphilias - both torch and frogspawn - 200
14) Acan lord - 150
15) Psammocora - 250
16) Loadstool - 150
17) Interstella Discosoma - 50
18) Blasto - 75
19) Sunburst Chalice 150
20) Dragon Soul Favia - 150
The ones below are problematic ones b/c they were in the WRONG par. Im currently in the process of correcting but do not have results to confirm if they are correct yet.
1) Acropora (purple candlestick, forest green, and toxic green) - was at 200PAR before i realized the light was a problem, caused a lot of browning. Currently slowly acclimating to 350PAR. haven't seen much different yet since it's only been 3 weeks, but at least it didn't brown more.
2) Rainbow BTA - was at 225 and doing GREAT but lost bubble (showing long and wavy tentacles), however since the light upgrade it's been not opening up as much and the tentacles have shriveled a bit. but.. more "stubby" and "bubbly". currently sitting at 325. Very new development so not sure the full PAR impact yet. Also it hasn't moved yet so not sure if its truly unhappy where it is, or if it's trying to adapt in a healthy way.
3) One pink goni has not been happy anywhere - tried 350 par, 200par, 50 par and various flows. currently in half shaded 100 PAR, no difference yet. it opened up nicely in LFS, still investigating cause. may not be PAR related. (it's been in my tank for 1.5 years, so not acclimation related)
stephanjupillat
Active Member
Anyone running radion g5 xr15 blue lights? I have 2 of them over a 36” tank using coral lab lps template. They are at 61% and Par shows about 100-110 in middle, 80-100 on sand, about 150 near top. I have mostly LPS and softies with few sps lepto and stylos. It doesn’t look like I can push much higher par on some of these coral. I am just wondering since I am running mostly blue if my lower par levels are similar to higher par numbers using T5 lights or something else. Even corallab ab+. Just seems my lower par levels are really much higher. Using a apogee 210.
Dkmoo
Valuable Member
I'm not sure i understand you comparison - but par is par - doesn't matter what spectrum it is. As far as comparing a low Par "blue only" vs a higher par broad spectrum T5 - while its true that the blue spectrum is the more important one, it doesn't mean they don't need the rest of the spectrums even tho the "blue component" may be similar in both. As long as the "higher PAR" is not out side of the specific coral's safe range, the higher/broader spectrum will generally be better than a lower narrower spectrum.
an analogy is you can think of the PAR as calories - assume your safe range is betwee 1500 to 2000 calories - which one would you think is better for you - a 1500 calory diet of bread only (blue light only), or a 2000 calory diet of a full sandwich with meat, bread and veggies (broad spectrum) - even if you end up with the same amount of bread under both options.
stephanjupillat
Active Member
Thanks for the info. I completely agree that par is par. I guess I’ve read online that PUR is the really important number, and since I don’t have a PUR meter I was assuming few things. Since my light emits mostly blue, which is what coral uses the most of, another light that emits more white and less blue could have the equivalent par level but be considered inferior to mine as the coral uses more of my light. White light may be needed in small amounts but aren’t blues used the most of?
So I assumed my 120 par with mostly all useable blue spectrum would be better than another light with less blue. Could compare it to an incandescent bulb with similar par. You would never grow anything under an household incandescent bulb but the par is the same.
I tried the ab+ template and i had to turn it down to 45% to equal the same par. I currently do 61% for the LPS/softy template.
Par is par but isn’t the quality of the light more important?
Dkmoo
Valuable Member
Yes I think it pretty much depends on what the actual numbers looks like. Agree 120PAR of pure blue is better that 150 par of "mix" with 80par of blue and 70 par of white spectrum, but, that same 150par of 120 par blue and 30 par of white will be superior.
Also something else to consider for spectrum is both terms of growth vs coloration.
For growth, yes blue (and some red) are the peak spectrums bc those are the spectrums that the chlorophyll found in coral zooxanthellae respond to the most.
However, for coloration, especially the eye popping flouresence, a broader spectrum is better bc what dictates color is less about the zooxanthellae and more about the color pigment proteins and the fluorescent proteins. Laboratory experiments on acroporas have identified more than a dozen different fluorescent proteins that while some respond best to blue light and gives the "pop", there are also many that respond best to the other spectrums. This is where a broader spectrum T5, or even the "whiter" LED, has the upper hand and gives you more vibrant colors. With a narrow band LED, I think you will find that over a long period of time, many of your corals will shift to a similar color/flouresence pallette
Many people find success with a hybrid approach of mixing broad spectrum fill light light strip + a "hot spot" blue heavy LED to add to the pop.
Also something else to consider for spectrum is both terms of growth vs coloration.
For growth, yes blue (and some red) are the peak spectrums bc those are the spectrums that the chlorophyll found in coral zooxanthellae respond to the most.
However, for coloration, especially the eye popping flouresence, a broader spectrum is better bc what dictates color is less about the zooxanthellae and more about the color pigment proteins and the fluorescent proteins. Laboratory experiments on acroporas have identified more than a dozen different fluorescent proteins that while some respond best to blue light and gives the "pop", there are also many that respond best to the other spectrums. This is where a broader spectrum T5, or even the "whiter" LED, has the upper hand and gives you more vibrant colors. With a narrow band LED, I think you will find that over a long period of time, many of your corals will shift to a similar color/flouresence pallette
Many people find success with a hybrid approach of mixing broad spectrum fill light light strip + a "hot spot" blue heavy LED to add to the pop.
Uncle99
7500 Club Member
I think “quality” in terms of spectrum is very important to both the corals needs for energy and what we do to make them show best.
stephanjupillat
Active Member
Makes complete sense. Just makes you wonder when you’re given an average par level to provide certain coral, now you have to take into consideration par levels just for coloration. Haha. I downloaded and saved the template for lps from world wide coral. Hence they do all growth, so they have very little white. And their video states 80 to 120 par using radion xr15 is the perfect number. Now I have always pushed everything to the limit and want keep pushing higher and higher, but I know that’s not the way to do it. I just got a fight the urge to always want to push it up few more percentage points. Haha.
May change to the ab+ as it was kinda nice to see everything in the tank. And hope there’s enough par for a digitata near the top.
Thanks for the info and sorry for my rambling. Always learning and also on second manhattan.
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