So, how do we measure PAR? Note that, there is no doubt that PAR plays the role of a vital measurement. But, it does not necessarily mean that it gives us a full view. It just narrates half of the story of the situation. Green range nanometers , for example, is absorbed by plants in a small quantity.
This is the time when comes the role of the second factor, the light spectrum. You must take the reading of the light spectrum into account along with the PAR reading to determine to what bandwidth and to what extent those most micromoles get generated.
By the way, how do you measure the spectrum? Usually, you will require a spectrometer to get the correct spectrum reading. Long story short, PAR stands to portray the strength of the LED fixtures and the Spectrum gives an idea about how this strength works with the proper wavelength proportion to let the plants collect their food from photosynthesis. PAR and the Spectrum help us know not only about the emitted color or wavelength from the LED lights but also about the absorption value of any specific wavelength.
When you have both the PAR and Spectrum graph at your hand, you can determine whether your light is efficient enough to supply the proper amount of light maintaining the proper wavelengths.
You should understand by now that If you want to ensure robust plant growth and correct absorption peaks for photosynthesis, you must analyze the PAR and Spectrum of your LED fixtures. It will help you to get the PAR in the right areas instead of the wrong ones and at the appropriate wavelength so that the plants get the desired spectrum.
Every tank is different. The lighting period for your reef tank depends on a variety of factors such as type of corals, amounts of algae, and the position of the tank and the lighting fixtures. Though the reef aquarists vary in their opinion about reef tank LED timing.
Here I am going to give you some general recommendations about LED lighting hours. Total Photoperiod: Total photoperiod consists of lighting with full intensity, ramp-up time, and ramp-down time. Reef aquarists differ about the total photoperiod time. While some argue that a tank can run even if the total photoperiod is as low as 4 to 7 hours, some increase the range from 8 to 12 hours.
The total photoperiod depends on the types of corals you have in your reef tank and the PAR and spectrum that the tank is receiving. However, I recommend you to use about 9 hours of total photoperiod.
Allocate the other two hours for ramp-up and ramp-down. Core Spectrum Period: The core spectrum period indicates the amount of light with the highest intensity. The PAR also remains at a peak at this period. A core spectrum period in a reef tank should not exceed 7 to 8 hours. I recommend keeping one hour of ramp-up period for the reef tank. When it comes to the ramp-down period, I prefer it to be 1 hour.
Dark Period: Like any creature on the earth, the fishes and corals need to have some dark atmosphere around them to take rest. The dark period in the reef tank lets the corals get rid of CO2 created by the photosynthesis. Types of Corals: You must consider the dominated types of corals in your tank to determine the hours of LED lighting in the reef tank.
When it comes to mixed reef tanks, the PAR amount can be as low as 75 and as high as And finally, the soft corals dominated tanks need only 50 to PAR of light to keep the corals healthy. On the contrary, low PAR and low with medium or low spectrum will require more hours of lighting.
In case you have high-intensity lighting, that will fit best with LPS and SPS corals whereas low-intensity lighting is ideal for soft corals. Softies or blue lights use the lowest intensity. Those can be used for the longest period without causing any negative impacts on the corals.
And when it comes to using the white lights, you have to be the most careful. It is because if you use them for a longer period than necessary, they might cause coral bleaching.
On the contrary, if the LEDs are in a raised position, the water will take time to consume the temperature and the PAR. So, if you place the LEDs at a higher position, you will need to ensure more hours of light. On the other hand, LEDs at the lower position might require 1 or 2 fewer hours of light a day to keep the corals and fishes healthy. When it comes to using T-5 or metal halide lights, you just need to think about the duration and intensity of running the lights.
However, times have changed and in case you move to LEDs, you have to think about how you can program the multiple channels of lights that come with different colors. You also need to figure out the length of time, brightness, PAR, spectrum, and the right color while you set LEDs for a modern reef tank. Using lights of the blue spectrum can be viewed as the foundation of coral lighting.
Lighting provides nutrition to your aquatic plants and corals. If you have plants or corals the amount of light and the lighting schedule is more critical than with a fish-only tank. Here are our recommendations for fish-only, freshwater planted-tanks and reef tanks. Even though the sun is up far longer than this, the sun does not shine at full strength all day.
Leaving lights on for extended periods will lead to excessive algae growth. If your light does not have a timer , then consider adding one to make sure that the lights are on for a consistent amount of time each day. Make sure that your lights are only at their peak intensity for no longer than 8 hours, as longer light periods can lead to algae. Most lights with multiple cords will have two or three cords for different color light bulbs.
Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Featured Video. Dimmers are usually built into the light fixture and are configured either by a digital display, app, or online dashboard. These dimmable units may seem pricey but when light plays such an important part in the health of your coral, they are worth it!
The control you can get from the online and app dashboard for your lights is phenomenal! The amount of things you can do is truly mind-blowing and warrants a whole article all to itself. Sunrise, sunsets, coral acclimation programs, lightning storms, moon tracking, are all but a few of the features most dimmable LED and T5 fixtures are capable of. As coral owners, there are two measurements of light that are of particular importance to us. Corals only produce energy from certain bands within the color spectrum.
Ensuring there is enough light within the correct wavelengths is very important. The color spectrum also dictates what color our tank water will appear. The intensity of light is defined by a metric known as PAR. As the name implies, PAR is a metric related to the support of photosynthesis, the process that the Zooxanthellae algae in the coral tissue use to convert light to energy — Very similar to plants.
In general, aquarium lights with higher wattage have higher PAR and therefore higher light intensity. PAR value decreases with water depth, so knowing what your PAR levels are at various depths throughout the aquarium can help you decide what corals to place where in the tank.
Most good-quality lights designed for reef tanks will have spikes in certain wavelengths to ensure the corals get the required amount of correct PAR. Cheaper, no-name lights generally lack this and are one of the reasons why corals will not grow, even though to the naked eye the light looks nice and bright. This is why I always recommend buying the best you can afford and buy it once. Color Spectrum is measured in Kelvin or K rating. This is a light metric that has to do with the ambient feel of light in the aquarium.
This is also referred to as color temperature. The higher the K rating, the bluer the light. A good gauge for K rating would be the K rating of a noon day sun which is about 5,K. The light of the ocean depths can be recreated by using lights with a rating of 20,K. Some aquarists prefer a higher K rating for reef tanks because of the attractive ambiance of the bluish light.
High K ratings also penetrate deeper into the tank allowing corals to derive more benefit from the lighting.
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