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I'd like to start a discussion based on a few things I've been reading lately regarding optimum daily light integral, PAR and photosaturation in our reef tanks and with the advent of this new lighting forum.
For those of you with PAR meters and the ability to continually monitor PAR via an APEX, or otherwise, what sort of DLI values are you targeting? How did you come up with your optimal DLI?
I'm hoping to learn about achieving optimal photosaturation, the effects of increasing PAR and decreasing the photoperiod as well as decreasing PAR and increasing the photoperiod.
How do nutrient levels, alkalinity and flow impact your choice of DLI?
DLI is calculated by multiplying the instantaneous PAR values (the number of photons falling upon 1 square meter per second, reported as µmol·m²·sec) by the number of seconds in the photoperiod and dividing by 1,000,000 to arrive at mol·m²·photoperiod. (Source: article linked below)
If PAR reads 350 and there is 7 hours of full lighting would the formula be (350*(3600*7))/1,000,000? This gives a DLI of 8.82. I'm unsure if this is optimal but I think it's close to what I'm working with in my system with it's current setup.
I've read @Dana Riddle's article here: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/12/lighting but it's lengthy and quite a bit over my head! Has anyone poured over that data and simplified it a bit for us common folks?
So... Discuss!
For those of you with PAR meters and the ability to continually monitor PAR via an APEX, or otherwise, what sort of DLI values are you targeting? How did you come up with your optimal DLI?
I'm hoping to learn about achieving optimal photosaturation, the effects of increasing PAR and decreasing the photoperiod as well as decreasing PAR and increasing the photoperiod.
How do nutrient levels, alkalinity and flow impact your choice of DLI?
DLI is calculated by multiplying the instantaneous PAR values (the number of photons falling upon 1 square meter per second, reported as µmol·m²·sec) by the number of seconds in the photoperiod and dividing by 1,000,000 to arrive at mol·m²·photoperiod. (Source: article linked below)
If PAR reads 350 and there is 7 hours of full lighting would the formula be (350*(3600*7))/1,000,000? This gives a DLI of 8.82. I'm unsure if this is optimal but I think it's close to what I'm working with in my system with it's current setup.
I've read @Dana Riddle's article here: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/12/lighting but it's lengthy and quite a bit over my head! Has anyone poured over that data and simplified it a bit for us common folks?
So... Discuss!