PAR and time

[ThunderGoose]

I am next on the list to borrow my local club's PAR meter :D and I starting thinking - different people run their lights for different lengths of time. It seems to me that the amount of light and the duration of the light both combine for a total PAR/day value. For example: if I run low PAR (say 100) for 12 hours does that equal the amount of photosynthesis possible if I ran high PAR (say 600) for 2 hours? (I know corals have a limit to how much intensity they can tolerate, this is a theoretical example)

Am I totally off the mark here? Should I only pay attention to PAR and run my lights as long as I like? Does duration of light have a significant effect? And is it a good effect or a bad one?

I want to grow corals, not algae ;)

I welcome any insight. Thanks.

 

[Nano sapiens]

Understanding DLI (Daily Light Integral) will help answer your questions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_light_integral

You can also search for Dana Riddle's articles on DLI and related material over at Advanced Aquarist.

 

[ThunderGoose]

Understanding DLI (Daily Light Integral) will help answer your questions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_light_integral

You can also search for Dana Riddle's articles on DLI and related material over at Advanced Aquarist.

Awesome. Thanks for this.