PAR Value Pros

[jtroxel1]

TL;DR: - an 8 year old reef/ fish store specializing in a wide range of exotic to household name corals with multiple display tanks (gorgeous ones) and at least 8 frag tanks in the customer side of the store (and a dozen more in the back), and they don't know a single PAR value for what they have set up OR what the corals need. They'd (very successfully) been in business almost a decade. Is this normal? Have I been overthinking PAR this whole time?

The longer version: I went to an LFS outside my local area - we made a road trip of it and drove about 3 hours to get there. Totally worth it! The store had more corals and like 8 dedicated front of the store frag tanks - I found oh so many that I now love and am trying to map out how they would fit into my up and coming mixed reef tank. So, to make sure I knew about what height and under which light to put them I started to ask them about the PAR value that would be best for each of the types, starting with a stick that I fell in love with (blue with yellow pokadots - totally an eye catcher), as well as for a few softies I was eyeing.

The store rep knew a lot - names, origins, etc. But when I asked him what PAR value they run or recommend for the different species he said he had no idea. They don't use a PAR meter because they couldn't find one they trust. Now, who am I to judge - and again, their displays were GORGEOUS! So, is all this PAR value stuff much ado about nothing? Why would a pro grow shop, with regional recognition, and a great deal of exotic corals not care about their PAR values enough to even know what they have over their own tanks, let alone what their customers should use?

 

[Ron Reefman]

IMHO, as a guy who knows lighting pretty well and worked for an aquarium light company for a couple of years, I think most people over think PAR.

It is a bit more important since leds fixtures came into the market. And most LFS are keeping corals long term, so PAR as it applies to growth rates, just isn't that important. And then there is the ability of corals to adapt to different PAR levels. What works in my tank may not work nearly as well in yours.

 

[Joedubyk]

It depends. If you just have a t5 fixture the simple "put coral high, low or middle," is probably fine.

MH - same thing


If you have LEDs, you have a MUCH greater chance of either having too little or way too much par. I know that from experience.


This isn't a hobby to cut corners, stop looking for successful outliers, IMO