Hey There!
The default program will populate with a 1 hour ramp up, 1 hour ramp down, and 30% intensity on all channels. This is a safe starting point for most tanks, but it's a starting point, and not where you will settle on after acclimating your corals.
Also consider the intensity of your previous lights and adjust accordingly. Since you have a PAR meter you are in a great position to make well informed changes to your program. I typically recommend recording the PAR from your previous setup, and subtracting 10-20% to add a safety margin when setting up your new lights.
The safest path is to start with all channels at 30-40% power, sometimes 50-60% if your corals are already used to a high PAR environment. You are always better off starting at a lower intensity. Low light conditions may stress corals over prolonged periods of time, but are unlikely to cause any long term issues. High light conditions can quickly bleach corals that aren't acclimated properly.
After a week or so, bump each channel by around 10 points- ie if you are at 40%, go up to 50%. Give it another week or so, and repeat. If you notice any symptoms of high light intensity (shrinking, color loss, anemones/clams moving into shady areas) back off to the last weeks settings, and give your tanks inhabitants more time to adapt before making further changes.
Another thing a lot of folks do is try to chase 100% power, but realistically your average mixed reef tank needs no more than 45-60% peak power. SPS dominant tanks can go higher, typically settling around 70-80% power, and sometimes pushing 100% if you're an expert reefer.
Most mixed reef tanks see a marginal benefit at most from increased light intensity. You're usually better off increasing the photoperiod instead. For example, if you are at 10-12 hours, add an hour a week until you reach 14-15 hours of total daylight. That will add grow time without introducing overly intense PAR levels.
If you can provide some more details about your setup, that would be helpful as well for program recommendations.
1) Which lights were you using before, and do you know their settings? If so, a screenshot of the settings is helpful.
2) How high are your lights above the waterline?
3) What size lights are you using, and what size is your tank? (I assume 6x2x2 since you said a 180, but dimensions are always helpful!)
I can assist with the program in a couple different ways.
A) I can create a program for you and share it via community settings. I need to know your lights exact model to do so correctly. What kind of reset button do you have on your photon? (ie, small gold button not really visible inside button slot, or black button with silver background inside reset slot?)
B) Create a temporary password for your profile in the ReefBreeders app, and share that along with your login email. I can then with your permission login and create and apply a new program to your light.
