teenyreef Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Yes PAR right at the corals. This way you can measure exactly how much each coral is getting based on depth/placement. Totally agree my buddy has a few colonies that are on the sandbed and they are definitely getting in the 80-100 range yet they're already huge. So going forward I have been extremely modest with how much light my corals get. In fact my 250watt halide is only running at 50% so far everything has been growing just fine and the colors are pretty good. Thanks! I assumed that was the case but you never know for sure if you don't ask. When I measured PAR in my 4g tank I found out I was running a lot dimmer than I had assumed. Under 200 PAR at the surface, and less than 100 at the bottom. But the sps colors in that tank have always been pretty good except for that one millepora that never did much Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Np. Im personally amazed at how much par sps actually need to thrive. In the past I always thought they needed really high PAR levels (500 and above) and while this may be true of some species the majority can thrive on much much less. After I started measuring the PAR levels of my tank and other long time reefers the numbers were always surprising. The majority of SPS did extremely well with PAR levels of 200-300. I found an interesting thing when I borrowed my lfs par meter. My readings were extremely high in many areas of my tank- 600+ range and my Sps were still very colorful and thriving but I found the surface disruption of my spin streams caused par to vary up to 300 points. My spin streams kept the surface constantly in strong turbulence so the par was never even but always fluctuating. Especially when they would both be hitting the surface at the same time. It was random and vary greatly every second. I think that's a major consideration when setting par and coral placement. I really like having surface disruption on my tanks so it will be fun to see how the par readings play out in my new 50g. Link to comment
Rehype Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Thanks! I assumed that was the case but you never know for sure if you don't ask. When I measured PAR in my 4g tank I found out I was running a lot dimmer than I had assumed. Under 200 PAR at the surface, and less than 100 at the bottom. But the sps colors in that tank have always been pretty good except for that one millepora that never did much Np I find as long as your corals are thriving the numbers dont really matter that much. Its just really helpful when troubleshooting or trying to find the ideal placement for a particular species. My buddy and I have tried it with mounting the same frags in different areas of the tank and then just giving them time to grow/color up and then later on checking the actual PAR the coral receives in those areas. The results are always surprising I found an interesting thing when I borrowed my lfs par meter. My readings were extremely high in many areas of my tank- 600+ range and my Sps were still very colorful and thriving but I found the surface disruption of my spin streams caused par to vary up to 300 points. My spin streams kept the surface constantly in strong turbulence so the par was never even but always fluctuating. Especially when they would both be hitting the surface at the same time. It was random and vary greatly every second. I think that's a major consideration when setting par and coral placement. I really like having surface disruption on my tanks so it will be fun to see how the par readings play out in my new 50g. Thats a great point sk8n... surface agitation is a huge factor when measuring PAR as the numbers will dance around with strong turbulence. The best you can do is get an average by taking readings over a given period. Again im finding the numbers dont matter as much when all other parameters are stable and there is sufficient water flow (Great article) Slimer under 10K Link to comment
Travis Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 What are your no3 numbers running? My tank is finally under 10ppm. My target is to get it under 5ppm then start to add the first SPS to the tank. Link to comment
Rehype Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 What are your no3 numbers running? My tank is finally under 10ppm. My target is to get it under 5ppm then start to add the first SPS to the tank. My no3 is currently undetectable by modern test kits. However I like to keep a little no3 in my tank...between 1-3 when possible. Link to comment
Travis Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 My no3 is currently undetectable by modern test kits. However I like to keep a little no3 in my tank...between 1-3 when possible. Cool. What about po4? Mine is undetectable (0.00) according to the hanna low range checker. Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Thanks for that link- that will be a good read tonight! I agree taking reading over a short 30sec- 1min. period gives you a good idea to how the values change. Enjoying your pics- keep em coming ? Link to comment
4x5 Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 The colours are incredible under this light. So much sexy. Link to comment
JayPagi Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 What camera lens combo are you using these days? Link to comment
Rehype Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Cool. What about po4? Mine is undetectable (0.00) according to the hanna low range checker. Last time I checked it was at 0.009 but im trying up to 0.02 Thanks for that link- that will be a good read tonight! I agree taking reading over a short 30sec- 1min. period gives you a good idea to how the values change. Enjoying your pics- keep em coming Yea its a great topic I believe theres 7 articles in all....really interesting stuff Thanks alot man will do The colours are incredible under this light. So much sexy. Thanks alot sean its much appreciated! I still have some more work to do but so far so good. What camera lens combo are you using these days? Still an old Canon 7D and 100mm macro Link to comment
Rehype Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Some shots I took when the 20k bulb...the monti frags are still pretty small but they were 1/4" inch frags when I got them so im happy with the progress they made so far. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 What is this one?? M. spongodes Link to comment
Rehype Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 What is this one?? M. spongodes Yep this is the plating variety. There is a branching type as well... looks really cool as it matures. Link to comment
Rehype Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Zoos making a comeback...They were getting choked out but the hair algae outbreak but finally they're opening up again. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Classics! Still beautiful too Link to comment
Rehype Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Classics! Still beautiful too Thanks teeny! Link to comment
JayPagi Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Awesome shots once again. The colours are insane! Link to comment
Rehype Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Awesome shots once again. The colours are insane! Thanks alot jay!Im still working on them. Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Zoos making a comeback...They were getting choked out but the hair algae outbreak but finally they're opening up again. Beautiful - both the corals and your photo Link to comment
Rehype Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Beautiful - both the corals and your photo Thanks alot stella! Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Well, I should've said ALL the photos They're all amazing shots! Link to comment
Rehype Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Well, I should've said ALL the photos They're all amazing shots! Why thank you stella I sincerely appreciate it Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I know we just won't see it til the end, and you love teasing! Link to comment
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