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monicalooze
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I have no idea how to scape with real live rock besides...a pile? I have some purple "real reef rock" in my basement that I can fill in with if necessary...
Monica's Nano Build: 21g ADA-Inspired NPS Tank
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My Tank Thread
Awesome! Looks like it's coming together!
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monicalooze
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The rock is in! It's cycling! I'm a brittlestar mom!
After several delays...mostly mine, not KP Aquatics...I received the rock at the airport last Tuesday. Apologies for the delay on this post, but I've been doing a lot of water changes! Soft cycling isn't for the faint of heart. I am a person who gets extremely upset when a snail dies, so I am watching the ammonia like a hawk. I've been doing 30% water changes daily, but today I will do a second 30% change because the ammonia is nearing 1ppm (Red Sea Test Kit).
Excuse the cloudy water. It's cycling. I'm pretty happy with the "scape" I came up with since gluing live rock is out of the question.
The goods
Even in a cold Minnesota winter, the live rock arrived warm and it was really well-packaged. I will say I was disappointed with the diversity of life on a little over half the rocks. They seemed a lot more like their base rock rather than the premium live rock I paid for. I am currently talking with KP about this and will keep you posted. I do have at least five brittle stars (one of which is huge, and might actually be a problem...see photo below), many fan worms, macros, sponges, some scallop type filter feeders, something that looks like a little porcelain crab (haven't seen him since the first day), and I think I have a bad crab. It is red and has pointy claws, but I haven't seen him since the first day either. I have a few astrea snails as well. And I removed a baby Eunice worm (UGHHHH EW) and removed a flatworm from the glass just in case.
In the tank
Small (maybe harlequin?) brittle star
I'm a little worried about this brittlestar....that stance tells me it might be predatory. Any thoughts on this? The oral disc is about the size of a quarter...
There are tons of fan worms. This was the easiest to photograph.
I'll keep you posted on how the cycling goes...I'm mixing saltwater like a maniac. How long has everyone else's ammonia spike lasted with KP rock?
xoxo
After several delays...mostly mine, not KP Aquatics...I received the rock at the airport last Tuesday. Apologies for the delay on this post, but I've been doing a lot of water changes! Soft cycling isn't for the faint of heart. I am a person who gets extremely upset when a snail dies, so I am watching the ammonia like a hawk. I've been doing 30% water changes daily, but today I will do a second 30% change because the ammonia is nearing 1ppm (Red Sea Test Kit).
Excuse the cloudy water. It's cycling. I'm pretty happy with the "scape" I came up with since gluing live rock is out of the question.
The goods
Even in a cold Minnesota winter, the live rock arrived warm and it was really well-packaged. I will say I was disappointed with the diversity of life on a little over half the rocks. They seemed a lot more like their base rock rather than the premium live rock I paid for. I am currently talking with KP about this and will keep you posted. I do have at least five brittle stars (one of which is huge, and might actually be a problem...see photo below), many fan worms, macros, sponges, some scallop type filter feeders, something that looks like a little porcelain crab (haven't seen him since the first day), and I think I have a bad crab. It is red and has pointy claws, but I haven't seen him since the first day either. I have a few astrea snails as well. And I removed a baby Eunice worm (UGHHHH EW) and removed a flatworm from the glass just in case.
In the tank
Small (maybe harlequin?) brittle star
I'm a little worried about this brittlestar....that stance tells me it might be predatory. Any thoughts on this? The oral disc is about the size of a quarter...
There are tons of fan worms. This was the easiest to photograph.
I'll keep you posted on how the cycling goes...I'm mixing saltwater like a maniac. How long has everyone else's ammonia spike lasted with KP rock?
xoxo
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monicalooze
Active Member
The cycle is complete!
It took 12 days, which was longer than I anticipated, but also didn't take 6 weeks, like my nano started with dry rock. It's just a lot more stressful to keep inverts alive during an ammonia spike. I only tested nitrates twice, just to see what was going on...I don't believe you need to test nitrite and nitrate during a cycle. Ammonia is really the only thing that matters, as nitrite is not toxic to marine life. Nitrates are sitting at about 2ppm. I'd like it to sit at about 5-10ppm. I have better luck with that when growing soft corals. Keeping macros while keeping nitrates up might prove to be a challenge. Oh, and the water is unbelievably clear. I will never start a tank with dry rock again.
The bad news
Obviously I've had some sponge and coralline die-off; it makes me so sad that the more brightly colored stuff doesn't last as long. I hope I will be able to keep more difficult filter feeders as the tank matures while feeding live phyto, roti-feast, and oyster feast, but we'll see. I lost a couple tiny scallops (no surprise), the big brittle star didn't make it (but I have at least five others!), I lost a small mithrax crab, what I think was a snapping shrimp, and an astrea snail. I hate losing any life, but I keep reminding myself that shipping stress and living in a tank during a nitrogren cycle is not easy.
The good news
I have one larger red mithrax crab who my father-in-law ceremoniously named after himself: "Ken the Krab." I really hope naming it this early doesn't spell doom as it has for some of my inverts in the past. The larger brittle stars that survived are doing great. They eat voraciously and one that lost a few leg tips in the stress of shipping is already growing them back, which I think is a good sign. There are certainly smaller micro-brittles I see all over the place as well. And the fan worms! They're everywhere. I love them, so I already started feeding phyto + oyster feast to keep them happy. There are spaghetti worms, medusa worms, bristle worms, tons other unidentifiable worms and things in the sand keeping it clean. The spaghetti and medusa worms freaked me out at first because when they pull food off the sand, it looks like the food is levitating. The halimeda started to bleach and die, but I reduced the photoperiod and it's doing better. There are tiny sprouts growing to replace the dead stuff! I also have a snapping shrimp/pistol shrimp who has not graced us with his presence besides digging obvious burrows and snapping loud enough that it wakes me up. I already love him just the same. Finally, I have some sort of tiny crab that I believe is a sally lightfoot crab, but I'm not entirely positive. They are rather nondescript when they're small. I'm going to have to get that one out of the tank somehow, but man, she's fast.
Here's Ken:
Things I can't identify... @ReefSquad
This stuff looks like some sort of algae, but I suppose it could be a sponge? They grow on thick stalks and sort of look like a lotus pod at the top, with little pores in a circular/flower-like pattern. I've never seen anything like it, and I can't find it on any of the live rock forums.
I think these orange things are sponges, but could they also be tunicates?
Lighting
I still need to understand what it means to run the light at 6500K, since I have zero experience with it. I need to rent a par meter, but first I need to understand the lighting requirements of certain macros + gorgonians. More research.
Filtration
The canister filter has taken a bit of getting used to. The Oase (and maybe all canisters) require a very specific "order of operations" to open them, and I learned the hard way that I need to take the pre-filter out before opening the canister. I made a mess. The double tab valves have been great at preventing water from spilling out of the hoses. It's a little frustrating to deal with, but I have to remind myself that getting used to my AIO with the ATO and the things and the stuff was also an ordeal. Once I got a routine down, water changes and cleaning got a lot easier.
I also added a surface skimmer to the Aquario lily pipes. It is an extremely minimal/simple design. it floats on the surface while a pipe still keeps it in place. As a designer, I love it. And it actually works!
Stay tuned for my stocking list. I have it figured out, and while it's a bit controversial, I'm excited for the challenge.
xoxo
--m.
It took 12 days, which was longer than I anticipated, but also didn't take 6 weeks, like my nano started with dry rock. It's just a lot more stressful to keep inverts alive during an ammonia spike. I only tested nitrates twice, just to see what was going on...I don't believe you need to test nitrite and nitrate during a cycle. Ammonia is really the only thing that matters, as nitrite is not toxic to marine life. Nitrates are sitting at about 2ppm. I'd like it to sit at about 5-10ppm. I have better luck with that when growing soft corals. Keeping macros while keeping nitrates up might prove to be a challenge. Oh, and the water is unbelievably clear. I will never start a tank with dry rock again.
The bad news
Obviously I've had some sponge and coralline die-off; it makes me so sad that the more brightly colored stuff doesn't last as long. I hope I will be able to keep more difficult filter feeders as the tank matures while feeding live phyto, roti-feast, and oyster feast, but we'll see. I lost a couple tiny scallops (no surprise), the big brittle star didn't make it (but I have at least five others!), I lost a small mithrax crab, what I think was a snapping shrimp, and an astrea snail. I hate losing any life, but I keep reminding myself that shipping stress and living in a tank during a nitrogren cycle is not easy.
The good news
I have one larger red mithrax crab who my father-in-law ceremoniously named after himself: "Ken the Krab." I really hope naming it this early doesn't spell doom as it has for some of my inverts in the past. The larger brittle stars that survived are doing great. They eat voraciously and one that lost a few leg tips in the stress of shipping is already growing them back, which I think is a good sign. There are certainly smaller micro-brittles I see all over the place as well. And the fan worms! They're everywhere. I love them, so I already started feeding phyto + oyster feast to keep them happy. There are spaghetti worms, medusa worms, bristle worms, tons other unidentifiable worms and things in the sand keeping it clean. The spaghetti and medusa worms freaked me out at first because when they pull food off the sand, it looks like the food is levitating. The halimeda started to bleach and die, but I reduced the photoperiod and it's doing better. There are tiny sprouts growing to replace the dead stuff! I also have a snapping shrimp/pistol shrimp who has not graced us with his presence besides digging obvious burrows and snapping loud enough that it wakes me up. I already love him just the same. Finally, I have some sort of tiny crab that I believe is a sally lightfoot crab, but I'm not entirely positive. They are rather nondescript when they're small. I'm going to have to get that one out of the tank somehow, but man, she's fast.
Here's Ken:
Things I can't identify... @ReefSquad
This stuff looks like some sort of algae, but I suppose it could be a sponge? They grow on thick stalks and sort of look like a lotus pod at the top, with little pores in a circular/flower-like pattern. I've never seen anything like it, and I can't find it on any of the live rock forums.
I think these orange things are sponges, but could they also be tunicates?
Lighting
I still need to understand what it means to run the light at 6500K, since I have zero experience with it. I need to rent a par meter, but first I need to understand the lighting requirements of certain macros + gorgonians. More research.
Filtration
The canister filter has taken a bit of getting used to. The Oase (and maybe all canisters) require a very specific "order of operations" to open them, and I learned the hard way that I need to take the pre-filter out before opening the canister. I made a mess. The double tab valves have been great at preventing water from spilling out of the hoses. It's a little frustrating to deal with, but I have to remind myself that getting used to my AIO with the ATO and the things and the stuff was also an ordeal. Once I got a routine down, water changes and cleaning got a lot easier.
I also added a surface skimmer to the Aquario lily pipes. It is an extremely minimal/simple design. it floats on the surface while a pipe still keeps it in place. As a designer, I love it. And it actually works!
Stay tuned for my stocking list. I have it figured out, and while it's a bit controversial, I'm excited for the challenge.
xoxo
--m.
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monicalooze
Active Member
Oh, also, how come bubble algae has to be so pretty!? They look like jewelry for a mermaid. But seriously, there are two bubbles, and the mithrax crab hasn't touched them. How do I get rid of them before they go bananas?
MartinM
Valuable Member
Just read this whole thread, very similar to my thoughts and approach to the hobby! I also a, constantly solving aesthetic challenges…and then instructing my staff to build it haha.
thank you so much for using live rock, I do not know why anyone would ever use dry rock. When you get quality live rock and you feed the tank a variety of micron sizes, you get lots of life and none of it grows to pest levels. Your bubble algae almost certainly won’t take over the tank because it’ll be competing with dozens of other species for the space. after years I still have sponges, tunicates, worms, oysters, macro, zooa, encrusting SPS, etc that all came on the rock. it’s colorful, full of life, and super neat. And nothing can take over because it’s all held in check. Just feed well And a variety of micron sizes!
thank you so much for using live rock, I do not know why anyone would ever use dry rock. When you get quality live rock and you feed the tank a variety of micron sizes, you get lots of life and none of it grows to pest levels. Your bubble algae almost certainly won’t take over the tank because it’ll be competing with dozens of other species for the space. after years I still have sponges, tunicates, worms, oysters, macro, zooa, encrusting SPS, etc that all came on the rock. it’s colorful, full of life, and super neat. And nothing can take over because it’s all held in check. Just feed well And a variety of micron sizes!
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monicalooze
Active Member
Thanks so much for reading!
I will never use dry rock again. I cannot get my 10g to thrive no matter what I do, and I started it with dry rock. I love all the hitchhikers and inverts that came in on the rock, too. It's way more interesting, and the tank is already doing better than the other one. I'm going to restart my 10g with more aesthetically pleasing equipment and live rock. I'm tired of looking at a sad tank, despite trying literally everything. The only thing I can blame at this point is the dry rock. The coral is growing, but not thriving. The colors aren't great. At least half of the LPS have died, but not all of them. There's no coraline. Parameters are really good. Nitrates might be a bit high @ 15ppm, but I';m reducing it slowly.
Currently feeding a cocktail of Reef Nutrition Roti Feast, Oyster Feast, Live Phyto, Reef Roids, spirulina brine shrimp and Nano reef frenzy. I think that covers all the micron sizes, at least according to my research. I'm still not sure exactly how much to feed or how often.
I did have more die off than I wanted. I guess I'm not sure what I should expect to survive, but I know things in the ocean are surprisingly resilient, so perhaps some things will come back? I probably have to adjust lighting, but I'm not sure what the macros etc that have half died in the tank need yet. I'm new to that.
My mithrax crab found the bubble algae last night and the halimeda. Halimeda is totally gone, which I'm sad about, but that's life, I guess.
Anyway, thanks again for reading. Also....You have a STAFF? Please elaborate. haha
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monicalooze
Active Member
I forgot to ask...Where did you get your live rock? I see that you're in Japan, so that might not even be a relevant question for me. I had hoped for more encrusting life than I got...
MartinM
Valuable Member
Halimeda always always dies off IME, sometimes it comes back though! It doesn’t seem to like very bright light. More die-off than you want is always how it is, but yes you’ll have a lot come back, but in different ratios. I feed about .1 mL/L of my liquid food mix (very similar to yours) every day, but I also have several goniopora colonies. I totally understand what you mean, love rock to me is more interesting than most coral. I believe the reason people have so many problems with overgrowth of various organisms liken Dino’s, etc, as well as mystery problems like your 10g, is from not using live rock.
Check out live rock from Florida, it’s amazing! My sources aren’t available in the USA but the Florida rock I’ve gotten is arguably better.
I am blessed (and sometimes cursed, haha) to own what has grown into an international enterprise. So yep I have quite a few staff to handle the things I’m bad at, like building stuff
Please keep us updated!
Check out live rock from Florida, it’s amazing! My sources aren’t available in the USA but the Florida rock I’ve gotten is arguably better.
I am blessed (and sometimes cursed, haha) to own what has grown into an international enterprise. So yep I have quite a few staff to handle the things I’m bad at, like building stuff
Please keep us updated!
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monicalooze
Active Member
The Stocking Plan
(formatting is not working for me today, so imagine this text is bigger...hah)
Fish:
10-15 Threadfin Cardinalfish
1 starry blenny (maybe)
Inverts:
Fire shrimp
Fighting conch
Snails (variety)
Scarlet hermit crabs
Flame scallop(s)
Sea apple
Coco worms
Fan worms
Bubble Tip Anemone (maybe)
Yellow Ball Sponges
Photosynthetic plating sponge
Orange Tree sponge
Corals (NPS + photosynthetic):
Corky Finger Gorgonian
Giant Slit Pore Gorgonian
Candelabra Gorgonian
Gorgonia Ventalina (extremely difficult to get)
Basic purple gorgonian (don't know the name - already have it in other tank)
Orange Sea Whip (NPS)
Yellow Finger Gorgonian (NPS)
Red Finger Gorgonian (NPS)
Solid Blue discosoma mushroom
Solid rusty red discosoma mushroom
Solid purple discosoma mushroom
Zoas that look nice under 6500K ie. cheap
Macros:
Blue Hypnea
Blue Scroll Algae
Will I ultimately add this entire list? Probably not. The inverts, fish, and macros are pretty set, but I won't be able to fit all the corals in the tank.
(formatting is not working for me today, so imagine this text is bigger...hah)
Fish:
10-15 Threadfin Cardinalfish
1 starry blenny (maybe)
Inverts:
Fire shrimp
Fighting conch
Snails (variety)
Scarlet hermit crabs
Flame scallop(s)
Sea apple
Coco worms
Fan worms
Bubble Tip Anemone (maybe)
Yellow Ball Sponges
Photosynthetic plating sponge
Orange Tree sponge
Corals (NPS + photosynthetic):
Corky Finger Gorgonian
Giant Slit Pore Gorgonian
Candelabra Gorgonian
Gorgonia Ventalina (extremely difficult to get)
Basic purple gorgonian (don't know the name - already have it in other tank)
Orange Sea Whip (NPS)
Yellow Finger Gorgonian (NPS)
Red Finger Gorgonian (NPS)
Solid Blue discosoma mushroom
Solid rusty red discosoma mushroom
Solid purple discosoma mushroom
Zoas that look nice under 6500K ie. cheap
Macros:
Blue Hypnea
Blue Scroll Algae
Will I ultimately add this entire list? Probably not. The inverts, fish, and macros are pretty set, but I won't be able to fit all the corals in the tank.
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monicalooze
Active Member
He encouraged me to give it time and said that most of the big encrusting species don't make it anyway.
I am happy there's no aiptasia and the rock is really porous and light, but I think I will try one of the gulf places for my other tank. I've seen pix here of other rock that's been in tanks for a while with so much more life.
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monicalooze
Active Member
Crabs!!! SO MANY CRABS
So I thought I had two crabs hiding in my live rock. hahahahahah. I didn't feed the tank for a couple days (just two), and when I fed it again, like ten different crabs came out. I *think* have at least 3-4 red mithrax crabs, I saw two small gorilla crabs (I think they're gorilla crabs), one that was reddish with skinnier spidery legs than the mithrax crabs, but it moved so fast I can't be sure. There are also teeny tiny crabs I can't identify yet...
Most of them look like they don't have the sharp black tipped claws, but they are so hard to see. What I *think* are Gorilla crabs are bright red and the legs look hairy, but I haven't been able to get a good look at the claws.
I know I need to go crab fishing because I can't have anything bad in my tank when I put corals in it. I'm even worried the Mithrax crabs will chop right through gorgonians. Something mowed down ALL the halimeda overnight, and since they aren't the smartest (lol), I feel like the gorgs will be toast.
I'm going to try the bottle trick with the inverted top and a piece of shrimp, but some people have mentioned this is only sometimes successful. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas about how to make sure my tank isn't infested with really bad hitchhikers?
On another note, I'm starting to think there has been too much die-off on the rock...A few of them are almost totally bare. Is this normal? It's making me awfully sad. This isn't what I expected I guess?
I've been feeding reef frenzy nano, spirulina loaded brine shrimp, oyster feast, live phyto, and roti feast.
My params are fine...
Alk: 8.5dkh
pH: 8.0
NO3: 8ppm
PO4: .05
NaCl: 1.0255
Temp: 77
Haven't started testing Ca +Mg yet.
Thoughts on crab fishing and live rock die-off?
@ReefSquad
So I thought I had two crabs hiding in my live rock. hahahahahah. I didn't feed the tank for a couple days (just two), and when I fed it again, like ten different crabs came out. I *think* have at least 3-4 red mithrax crabs, I saw two small gorilla crabs (I think they're gorilla crabs), one that was reddish with skinnier spidery legs than the mithrax crabs, but it moved so fast I can't be sure. There are also teeny tiny crabs I can't identify yet...
Most of them look like they don't have the sharp black tipped claws, but they are so hard to see. What I *think* are Gorilla crabs are bright red and the legs look hairy, but I haven't been able to get a good look at the claws.
I know I need to go crab fishing because I can't have anything bad in my tank when I put corals in it. I'm even worried the Mithrax crabs will chop right through gorgonians. Something mowed down ALL the halimeda overnight, and since they aren't the smartest (lol), I feel like the gorgs will be toast.
I'm going to try the bottle trick with the inverted top and a piece of shrimp, but some people have mentioned this is only sometimes successful. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas about how to make sure my tank isn't infested with really bad hitchhikers?
On another note, I'm starting to think there has been too much die-off on the rock...A few of them are almost totally bare. Is this normal? It's making me awfully sad. This isn't what I expected I guess?
I've been feeding reef frenzy nano, spirulina loaded brine shrimp, oyster feast, live phyto, and roti feast.
My params are fine...
Alk: 8.5dkh
pH: 8.0
NO3: 8ppm
PO4: .05
NaCl: 1.0255
Temp: 77
Haven't started testing Ca +Mg yet.
Thoughts on crab fishing and live rock die-off?
@ReefSquad
MartinM
Valuable Member
Any update?
I love the light, but after the youtube video PAR measurement, it won’t be powerful enough for maximas even in a very shallow system. I want to go with a UNS 75S, but unsure what to use yet to illuminate it…
I love the light, but after the youtube video PAR measurement, it won’t be powerful enough for maximas even in a very shallow system. I want to go with a UNS 75S, but unsure what to use yet to illuminate it…
OP
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monicalooze
Active Member
Going to post soon! Just added some thread fin cardinals, mushrooms, first macros, a rock full of zoas, and some macro frags.
Good to know, re: Maxima. Obviously I would have learned that's before purchasing, but I didn't realize they needed quite that much light.
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monicalooze
Active Member
I'm actually on a waiting list to rent a PAR meter at my local reef store. Should have it this week. Happy to test PAR numbers at different intensities.
What does a maxima need? Roughly what kelvin values would you be running? I'm running 6500K, but I know that's not common. Can check anything between 20000K - 6500K. Frankly, I have no idea if the spectrum affects PAR. I have a very tenuous grasp of PAR in the first place, lol.
MartinM
Valuable Member
Crash course,
PAR: Photosynthetically active radiation (the whole gamut, the previous simple definition was the visible light spectrum, now we know it’s broader, from UV to IR) but PAR meters measure between 400 and 700 nm
PUR: Photosynthetically useable radiation (depends on the animal, generally only a little bit lower than the PAR measurement in hobby use cases). For example, a light source may emit 300 PAR, but it may be emitting very little PUR for one species, but a lot of PUR for another. (because PUR typically doesn’t differ very much between reef organisms, PAR/PUR are typically used interchangeably)
Kelvin temp: an SI unit, it’s complicated (it’s more of measurement of energy radiation), but for hobby purposes, it’s basically the way the color of the light looks to our eyes. In the visible light portion of kelvin temperature, PAR won’t change all that much, but PUR can. It might be easiest to think of it as the ‘weighting’ of the relative wavelength energy (for example, in 6500k, you’ll have more energy in green/red wavelengths, at 20k, more in blue/violet)
Spectrum: for hobby purposes, the wavelength(s) and the relative energy of each of those wavelengths (As you can see, it ties in with PAR/PUR). Spectrum is plotted a graph with the energy on the Y axis and the wavelength on the X axis. Visible light is a narrow spectrum band between 400 and 700nm.
Also note that our eyes are not as responsive to blue light, therefore a higher kelvin temp appears dimmer, even when emitting an identical amount of energy.
Disclaimer: it’s been a long time, for advanced lighting info, refer to Dana Riddle
I saw in the video he has the whites dialed down to only 25%, so the fixture is likely able to produce nearly double the PAR he’s showing. I also didn’t realize his tank was 24” deep (I should have finished the video before commenting!)
I’ve been keeping clams for 20 years, IME clams do best under a ‘warmer’ color temperature like you’re running. This tank is also shallow, so I think achieving 350+ PAR won’t be a problem. Just know that in a small system, clams drop ca/alk levels quickly, so I always do 24 hour dosing schedules on smaller systems with clams (especially larger clams). Clams are very easy to care for as long as you give them a lot of light and stable ca/alk. Where most people go wrong is not giving them enough light, because most hobbyists don’t have a use for 350-1000 PAR. I consider 350 the bare minimum, 400-500+ is ideal for maxima/croceas.
Btw, I recently ordered a UNS 90L (75S was 75cm, such an awkward length to find a light for) and the same light, as well as some VolxJapan LED’s and Giesemann T5’s. We’ll see what I end up sticking with for it!
PAR: Photosynthetically active radiation (the whole gamut, the previous simple definition was the visible light spectrum, now we know it’s broader, from UV to IR) but PAR meters measure between 400 and 700 nm
PUR: Photosynthetically useable radiation (depends on the animal, generally only a little bit lower than the PAR measurement in hobby use cases). For example, a light source may emit 300 PAR, but it may be emitting very little PUR for one species, but a lot of PUR for another. (because PUR typically doesn’t differ very much between reef organisms, PAR/PUR are typically used interchangeably)
Kelvin temp: an SI unit, it’s complicated (it’s more of measurement of energy radiation), but for hobby purposes, it’s basically the way the color of the light looks to our eyes. In the visible light portion of kelvin temperature, PAR won’t change all that much, but PUR can. It might be easiest to think of it as the ‘weighting’ of the relative wavelength energy (for example, in 6500k, you’ll have more energy in green/red wavelengths, at 20k, more in blue/violet)
Spectrum: for hobby purposes, the wavelength(s) and the relative energy of each of those wavelengths (As you can see, it ties in with PAR/PUR). Spectrum is plotted a graph with the energy on the Y axis and the wavelength on the X axis. Visible light is a narrow spectrum band between 400 and 700nm.
Also note that our eyes are not as responsive to blue light, therefore a higher kelvin temp appears dimmer, even when emitting an identical amount of energy.
Disclaimer: it’s been a long time, for advanced lighting info, refer to Dana Riddle
I saw in the video he has the whites dialed down to only 25%, so the fixture is likely able to produce nearly double the PAR he’s showing. I also didn’t realize his tank was 24” deep (I should have finished the video before commenting!)
I’ve been keeping clams for 20 years, IME clams do best under a ‘warmer’ color temperature like you’re running. This tank is also shallow, so I think achieving 350+ PAR won’t be a problem. Just know that in a small system, clams drop ca/alk levels quickly, so I always do 24 hour dosing schedules on smaller systems with clams (especially larger clams). Clams are very easy to care for as long as you give them a lot of light and stable ca/alk. Where most people go wrong is not giving them enough light, because most hobbyists don’t have a use for 350-1000 PAR. I consider 350 the bare minimum, 400-500+ is ideal for maxima/croceas.
Btw, I recently ordered a UNS 90L (75S was 75cm, such an awkward length to find a light for) and the same light, as well as some VolxJapan LED’s and Giesemann T5’s. We’ll see what I end up sticking with for it!
Last edited:
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monicalooze
Active Member
Crash course,
PAR: Photosynthetically active radiation (the whole gamut, the previous simple definition was the visible light spectrum, now we know it’s broader, from UV to IR) but PAR meters measure between 400 and 700 nm
PUR: Photosynthetically useable radiation (depends on the animal, generally only a little bit lower than the PAR measurement in hobby use cases). For example, a light source may emit 300 PAR, but it may be emitting very little PUR for one species, but a lot of PUR for another. (because PUR typically doesn’t differ very much between reef organisms, PAR/PUR are typically used interchangeably)
Kelvin temp: an SI unit, it’s complicated (it’s more of measurement of energy radiation), but for hobby purposes, it’s basically the way the color of the light looks to our eyes. In the visible light portion of kelvin temperature, PAR won’t change all that much, but PUR can. It might be easiest to think of it as the ‘weighting’ of the relative wavelength energy (for example, in 6500k, you’ll have more energy in green/red wavelengths, at 20k, more in blue/violet)
Spectrum: for hobby purposes, the wavelength(s) and the relative energy of each of those wavelengths (As you can see, it ties in with PAR/PUR). Spectrum is plotted a graph with the energy on the Y axis and the wavelength on the X axis. Visible light is a narrow spectrum band between 400 and 700nm.
Also note that our eyes are not as responsive to blue light, therefore a higher kelvin temp appears dimmer, even when emitting an identical amount of energy.
Disclaimer: it’s been a long time, for advanced lighting info, refer to Dana Riddle
I saw in the video he has the whites dialed down to only 25%, so the fixture is likely able to produce nearly double the PAR he’s showing. I also didn’t realize his tank was 24” deep (I should have finished the video before commenting!)
I’ve been keeping clams for 20 years, IME clams do best under a ‘warmer’ color temperature like you’re running. This tank is also shallow, so I think achieving 350+ PAR won’t be a problem. Just know that in a small system, clams drop ca/alk levels quickly, so I always do 24 hour dosing schedules on smaller systems with clams (especially larger clams). Clams are very easy to care for as long as you give them a lot of light and stable ca/alk. Where most people go wrong is not giving them enough light, because most hobbyists don’t have a use for 350-1000 PAR. I consider 350 the bare minimum, 400-500+ is ideal for maxima/croceas.
Btw, I recently ordered a UNS 90L (75S was 75cm, such an awkward length to find a light for) and the same light, as well as some VolxJapan LED’s and Giesemann T5’s. We’ll see what I end up sticking with for it!
OMG thanks for all the info. It's written in layman's terms. I still haven't mastered PAR, plumbing, and some of reef chemistry. I would rather not master plumbing.
Even though I love clams, I might skip one TBH. I like having nanos that I can keep stable with water changes rather than messing around too much with two part, etc. Since I want to keep NPS/filter feeders, I'm already going to have enough going on, lol. I'll see where I end up.
Still - I'm happy to check PAR for you since I also have the 90L. Let me know what you need.
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