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Thank you very much for this post. Ive been trying to wrap my head around why certain light sources are so different when it comes to intensity. I really have been trying to follow the discussion and read up on whatever I can and make sense of that. Ive seen @jda post on this quite a bit but have to admit I don't understand or haven't wrapped my head around it lolKeep in mind its not just about the par number... the right spectrum is just as, if not more, important for acro colors. Not all blue light is created equal. You will want as broad a range as possible that covers all the peaks from 480nm-500nm all the way down to 380nm-400nm. Compared to, for example, the common "actinic" blue which is only a single peak at around 420.
Goal here is that different fluorescent proteins have peak activation at specific par AND spectrum so you will want cover as many basis as possible to give you the best chance to maintain color.
Not sure what light you have, but most high end reef leds should have that covered
Otherwise I think you got some great suggestions here. Many things with the green/cyan as the primary flouresence should do well. Its just how well some of the secondary flouresence colors will hold, which depends on what I mentioned above.
My myagi tort has very popping greens but unfortunately lost the secondary purple (which is basically red + the brown regular zoox + the nature blue light). I havent figured out why yet bc acro color is such a loaded topic and hard to master.
I think at some point you just want to start with some inexpensive frags just to test it out bc every tank is going to be slightly different and how certain coral colors react is going to be unique to your own tank, which is a function of par, spectrum, nutrient, flow, temperature, and possibly other factors that as a hobby we haven't fully understood.
Right on.You’ll find most acros will do fine in 200 par, as long as water parameters are consistent and photoperiod is long enough. I have montis growing in as little as 50-75par, and some variety of tort doing well at about 100. I have no proof, but personal experience is feeding the tank some sort of sps food helps too. Acros in lower light will tend to shift towards green IME.
Oh yeah. Even WWC has mentioned here or there that some of their acros get as little as 50 par in their big holding vats.Right on.
I seen a well respected vendor post a disclaimer in live sale thread not to long ago. That all corals seen in pictures where grown in 250 or less par and there was plenty of acros in it.
Hey Jda thanks for taking the time to write that up. I am most likely going to reread and circle back to this post pretty often until it all finally soaks in. The seeds have been planted and alot of what you just wrote up made alot that I have been reading on the subject make sense.If you are running Photons, find Therman's for sale and other threads. No reason to run them any other way that he does. He has perhaps some of the best looking acropora under any LED. If you don't want to read, it is all channels near 100%. Do yourself a favor and look at the photos, at least.
Forget about low PAR, IMO. While some can do fine, nearly all will do better with more. Keep in mind that light is the only thing that gives acropora energy (through the zoox). People wrongly think that dosing N and P are food and then keep their lights low which is actually providing food. Get that light up and get those corals some sugar. I don't have a single acropora that is not healthier nor grows faster with more high quality light - none... even bounce & jawbreaker mushrooms and BTAs (Colorado Sunbursts) will do better under 500+ PAR of MH than 100, even though they do OK with 100 PAR.
The few-sentence answer to different light sources has to do with spectrum, mostly. Mercury based sources will deliver UV and IR to some extent - MH more than fluorescent tubes. Corals can use these waves too for energy, pigmentation, excitation and for energy transfer between photosystems... LEDs don't have them since the diodes that they borrow are mostly for visible light in the 400-700 range, but waves from 350 to 850 nm are beneficial for corals.
PAR from different light sources is not the same. The PAR meter only reads from 400-700nm (visible light) and it is soft on the edges. It cannot capture all of the spectrum from a good light source... so 100 PAR of LED is going to be less light than 100 PAR from MH. PAR is a good swag and a good tool isolation, but it is not a great comprehensive measurement of actual input or from tank to tank.
Lastly, don't be a reefer who believes what vendors tell you. If they are telling the truth, they are keeping corals just long enough to sell them and have different goals than a hobbyist does. Most massage the truth to sell more corals... not really lies, but not really the whole truth either. I trust WWC and Vivid the least... maybe Adam at BC the most. In any case, listen to hobbyists and you will be better off.