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.
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.
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