Neptune Aquatics

Standard PAR conditions

It's hard to set a firm guideline on this, because you're trying to cover such a broad range of corals that are frankly in categories that really don't even exist. Lot's of folks swear that many types of what we call SPS thrive at 450-550 PAR and wouldn't put it at less -- and they have tanks full of corals to prove it. A lot of folks categorize Chalices as SPS, but you many need to be keph at 50-100 PAR (and even less.) All zoas aren't alike -- some like more than your range and some like even less.

So how do you figure it out? First, find out where the coral came from both in a reef tank and in the wild. Corals generally have a niche in the wild they've adapted themselves too. At what depth do we find them and considering the location what would the normal PAR be there? Also, where were they thriving in the tank they came out if?

Second, you have to consider quality of light. While in some respects a photon is a photon when it comes to coral quality matters. PAR from a Chinese black box is completely different than PAR from a T5 -- not just in dispersion but in frequency. Just last week I was reminded of this myself. I grabbed a nice little frag of Watermelon Zoas and stuck it next to another little colony of them in my tank where they were doing well. New colony completely melted in 48 hours. The difference (that I forgot about) was that I put them under my Kessil's and they came from a tank with T5's.

So PAR is a tool, but it's not the end of the consideration of where to put your corals. Truthfully, the best way to figure it out is move them and see what works best in some cases. I moved my favorite chalice from a spot where the PAR was "right" foir it and put it into a different area and it's finally starting growing. It didn't grow for 6 months and now has started growing in just three weeks with the move. Corals talk -- watch and listen.
 
I feel it's less about raw "PAR" value and more about allowing corals to acclimate to those levels. Had one club member who had acan lords (back when they were acans :D) fairly high in his tank under 400W metal halides, and damn they looked good.
 
Worry less about PAR and more along the lines of consistency and same applies to water parameters. The coral will adjust as long as the light is decent.

I have a SPS frag that came from a T5 setup that I acclimated on the sandbed and then tested it in an area with really high PAR just to see how it does. It sat on the sandbed in ~100-130 PAR and then got moved up after about 2 weeks into 770 PAR. It glows from the light and is slowly starting to encrust and grow out with good polyp extension.

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