Lighting question

[saltnewbie101]

I have 6 36w LED Cetus2 lights. How do I tell if my lighting is to strong or to weak?

 

[saltnewbie101]

I have 6 36w LED Cetus2 lights. How do I tell if my lighting is to strong or to weak?

I should probably add that they are on a 125G tank, 72"X18"X26"

 

[fishyjoes]

You can purchase, rent, or borrow a par meter - or maybe find some published measurements on depths similar to your tank
Or you can infer by how your corals react to the light - bleaching, browning, stretching, etc

 

[jda]

You have to get a light meter... there is really no other way to tell. Weak lights can look strong to our eyes and strong lights can look weak.

 

[CasperOe]

Are you experiencing any issues in your tank that you think may be related to your lights? if so, please share them and we can help accordingly.

As for the "strength" of your lights, this thread has a PAR chart attached for the same lights as yours. Give it a look ; chances are that it is useless for you though!

As the others say, borrow or rent a PAR meter either from a fellow reefer or from your LFS.

 

[saltnewbie101]

I appreciate all of the help. I bought one last night and will check it. I feel that the lights are strong enough but we've been having issues with some of our stony corals.

 

[CasperOe]

I appreciate all of the help. I bought one last night and will check it. I feel that the lights are strong enough but we've been having issues with some of our stony corals.

A feeling is never quite enough when it comes to light sadly; if you are struggling with your corals you're struggling for a reason. It may not be the lights- but the only way to rule it in or out is to measure it!

I hope you manage to get it all dialled in!

 

[saltnewbie101]

A feeling is never quite enough when it comes to light sadly; if you are struggling with your corals you're struggling for a reason. It may not be the lights- but the only way to rule it in or out is to measure it!

I hope you manage to get it all dialled in!

So I bought a PAR meter and sure enough 6" below the light PAR is 500. Lights are mounted 6 1/2" above water line. Tank is 21 1/2" deep.

16" below the waterline par is 60 give or take. About 19" par is 50. Bottom of the tank PAR is 35 to 45 depending on whether or not there is film buildup on top of the water.

All Figures used were based on 100% power in all modes combined to achieve this result. 100% power in just the blue/purple or white/red/green setting cuts these numbers in half. The white shade is a little stronger than the blue shade.

I used 6 32W CETUS LED lights I bought off of Amazon.

Going to 3 165W rectangular lights, I'll check back in with my findings and post a picture of them after installed.

Posting this info because this would have been useful to me before I bought the lights.