PAR good?

[Macsreefs]

I've recently utilized a PAR meter to assess the lighting in my aquarium and have gathered some interesting data. I'm curious if tweaking my light settings could further enhance coral growth. Here's an overview of my tank layout, the specific PAR levels for each coral, and my current lighting schedule. My lights gradually intensify into high blues in the morning, shift to white during the day, and then return to blues for a soothing nighttime effect. I noticed during the test that the PAR stays about the same throughout the whole day even with the high blues and whites.

Notably, my gold indo torch coral has shown remarkable growth, expanding from a single head to five in just over a year. However, I haven't observed similar progress with my other corals. I'm considering increasing the light intensity by about 10%, but I'm also open to the idea of reducing it, if that might be more beneficial.

My current schedule is a mixture of other reefers tanks similar to mine with similar corals. I. haven't had luck of finding a tank similar to mine with the same lights and corals there's some tweaking I did and experimenting.

In terms of feeding, I currently administer 1-3 drops of Phyto-Feast roughly 2-3 times a week and Reef Roids every other week. Additionally, I maintain a phosphate level of around 0.1 mg/l, nitrate 3.3 mg/l as I have heard this can aid in coral growth.

I'd deeply appreciate any insights, suggestions, or experiences you could share, especially regarding light settings and nutrient balance for optimal coral growth. Thank you in advance for your help!"

 

[TX_REEF]

I think your PAR on the left side looks low, you might want to add another fixture depending on what you plan to grow on that side. All your corals looks happy though, and that's the true measure of success here.

 

[Troylee]

Par seems very low… if you can crank that light more I would! Torches thrive in 300par as does hammers and frogs etc.

 

[Macsreefs]

Par seems very low… if you can crank that light more I would! Torches thrive in 300par as does hammers and frogs etc.

I thought so too, glad I got the par meter. What % increase do you think? I can go up alot higher but worried about the others. I think they could tolerate a 10-20% increase. The nice thing about my light to is I can put it in acclimation mode to minimize stress on them (ai prime 16hd)

 

[Troylee]

I thought so too, glad I got the par meter. What % increase do you think? I can go up alot higher but worried about the others. I think they could tolerate a 10-20% increase. The nice thing about my light to is I can put it in acclimation mode to minimize stress on them (ai prime 16hd)

Start raising it 10% a week or so and see how they respond… here’s my par numbers. All my torches and hammers along side all my sps sit in 300+ par.

 

[Macsreefs]

Start raising it 10% a week or so and see how they respond… here’s my par numbers. All my torches and hammers along side all my sps sit in 300+ par.

Perfect thank you! I just tuned it up roughly 15% with an acclimation period of 20 days with a start intensity of 85% that way it starts around my current par levels and every day should increase about 1%. This way i will watch and see how they react to the higher par.

 

[twentyleagues]

I'd agree with another light on the left side seems very low. I think bumping it up is a good idea just dont know how much that will effect the drop off on the left.

 

[Macsreefs]

I'd agree with another light on the left side seems very low. I think bumping it up is a good idea just dont know how much that will effect the drop off on the left.

currently I have my light fixture favouring the right side (offset by half an inch), I thought the torches and hammers would need it more but I guess I need to center the light and just turn it up 10-20%. Got worried of burning the left side corals. Thank you!

 

[twentyleagues]

currently I have my light fixture favouring the right side (offset by half an inch), I thought the torches and hammers would need it more but I guess I need to center the light and just turn it up 10-20%. Got worried of burning the left side corals. Thank you!

You will want to acclimate them to that level of lighting. Maybe move it slowly over then increase the output slowly or drop intensity and move it and slowly raise it to your desired level.

 

[Macsreefs]

You will want to acclimate them to that level of lighting. Maybe move it slowly over then increase the output slowly or drop intensity and move it and slowly raise it to your desired level.

Yes I agree. As previously mentioned with the AI prime 16 hd im able to set an acclimation period thankfully. This way they will be increase at little under one PAR per day for the next 20 days. Gonna monitor how they like the increased light.