• Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

meschaefer

One to Ignore
Location
Astoria
Rating - 100%
30   0   0
OK folks these number come with lots of caveats, but I thought I would share some of the first numbers I got.

First thing I did was try to make some sort of wand so that I could hold the meter in place while I took the reading. I used a piece of wire hanger, wich is less than ideal as it kind of bounced around a lot. I also noticed that if I turned the sensor around a bit, facing towards the light, slightly away etc. etc., I got wildly different readings. It is also hard to place the sensor in my tank as the lights are kind of in the way. The best thing to do would be to move the lights (there on pulleys) place the sensor, lower the lights and take the reading. I will need to come up with a better way to take measurements and then we can start a real thread on this.

For those that don't know I keep an all sps tank, and I have less lighting than some others would recommend. I would expect my numbers to be lower than what others will get. My current set up is 2 x 250w 10K Reeflux bulbs (8 months old) on HQI ballasts with luminarc reflectors (old style), and 2 x55w actinic VHO on a Icecap 660.

At the top of my rock work I get PAR values over 500. I have a A. Nana and an A. Millipora where I took the readings that are doing very, very well with great growth. I had a an A. Austera that was probably getting over 600 PAR as it was in a prime spot, that I recently moved as it didn't look like it was doing good there. I also have an ORA Hawkins that has been there for a couple of months and has just started to put down a base and color up.

In the mid range of the tank I get between 200-300, where I have an A. Miliopora, A.prostrata (Doing beautifully; my favorite coral), and a couple of pociloporas doing very well.

On the bottom portion of my tank I have Montipora Cap and Digi doing fairly well at about 100-150 PAR. (I say fairly well as the Digi took a big hit a few months back and is just starting to bounce back, same for the cap.)

On the bottom of my tank in the center, sits a 5 inch clam that appears very happy and it gets about 75 PAR at the mantle.

Those are just the first set of numbers, and these may be way off when I figure out how to take better readings, but its a start.
 
Last edited:

Bob 1000

Advanced Reefer
Location
Staten Island
Rating - 100%
122   0   0
Good info.. I don't think your lighting is that bad I have one 400watt 12k se on a 6ft tank..
My colors are all great.. I still haven't seen a garf bonsai with deep purple all the way down to the stem 5" from tip to base... 20" away from the light... This piece colored up after I got it much like the more difficult Sps I keep..
Love to hear about other reading you guys get also... Thanks for sharing..
 
Rating - 99.1%
225   2   0
On the bottom of my tank in the center, sits a 5 inch clam that appears very happy and it gets about 75 PAR at the mantle.

Interesting numbers.

How's the clam doing? How long it has been there? What type is it? Do you feed your tank? Would you consider your water very clean, clean or dirty? People mentioned clams need strong light. 75 Par is kind of low to me. No wonder, my crocea clams are growing even under just 2 x 55W PC at 18" deep
If your clam is thriing that could mean good news to me, as I can get ~150+ Par with ~17W power last year in the swap. So may be I can just use 30W of my light to grow couple clams in my nano.

Can't wait til my meter comes in.
 
Last edited:

meschaefer

One to Ignore
Location
Astoria
Rating - 100%
30   0   0
It's a crocea, and it seems to be doing well and growing. That being said it is the first clam I have ever kept that didn't die within the first few days of introduction. I have had it since last April, but I just moved it to that location about two months ago. I took a PAR reading in the old location as well and it was pretty much equivalent.

I found the PAR reading at that location in the tank to be somewhat suprising. I wouldn't be suprised if that number turned out wrong due to a shadow or having the senor turned slightly away from the light when the reading was taken. It should be an ideal location, although located on the bottom of my 24" tall tank, it is located directly between the two MH lamps.

The other thing, is that although clams are thought to be high light this could be because many people keep them very low in their tank and you need strong lighting to penetrate to the bottom of the tank. The one thing I noticed is that the PAR readings dropped from over 600 at the top of the rockwork (about 5-7 inches below the water line) to 75 or so at the bottom of the tank. PAR drops out very quickly as you get deeper in the tank.
 
Last edited:

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top