Do I need a light Upgrade?

[MadDog2229]

My tank is a Nuvo ext Mini. Right now I mostly have Zoas, but they seem to be stretching. I'm running a Maxspect Ethereal. Concerned with the Zoas, I rented a par meter from my LFS to see how much light is actually getting to the bottom of the tank. What I found was a par of about 50 at the sand. I even cranked the Ethereal up to 100 at across the spectrum, and I didn't get much better.
My question is, is this just what I can expect to get out of the Ethereal, or am I better off running say, two AI Primes?

 

[Eric Cohen]

Mad-Dog was what my football coach used to call me back in High School...so that's cool. Lighting is a broad topic so you'll get a lot of opinions for sure....but zoa's typically are shallow water and can tolerate a lot of light. Of course there are many types of zoa found deeply embedded in branch rock with a lot of shade....so trying to guess if your zoa need tons of light or not is trial and error along with doing your research. My take on lighting is to go with the reputable brands that have a lot of adjustable features.....you'll have them a long time and could be used on other builds....shop wisely, and wish you best of luck!

 

[MadDog2229]

Mad-Dog was what my football coach used to call me back in High School...so that's cool. Lighting is a broad topic so you'll get a lot of opinions for sure....but zoa's typically are shallow water and can tolerate a lot of light. Of course there are many types of zoa found deeply embedded in branch rock with a lot of shade....so trying to guess if your zoa need tons of light or not is trial and error along with doing your research. My take on lighting is to go with the reputable brands that have a lot of adjustable features.....you'll have them a long time and could be used on other builds....shop wisely, and wish you best of luck!

That's just it, I'm running a MaxSpect Etheral now...just don't know if I'm getting enough par to the bottom of the tank. I'd like to start adding some LPS and SPS in there...if the light is that low...I don't think it would support something that needs that much light.
I already have a prime for my quarantine tank. So I Could really swap those out with out a problem and just get another Prime...

 

[bnord]

Mad-Dog was what my football coach used to call me back in High School...so that's cool. Lighting is a broad topic so you'll get a lot of opinions for sure....but zoa's typically are shallow water and can tolerate a lot of light. Of course there are many types of zoa found deeply embedded in branch rock with a lot of shade....so trying to guess if your zoa need tons of light or not is trial and error along with doing your research. My take on lighting is to go with the reputable brands that have a lot of adjustable features.....you'll have them a long time and could be used on other builds....shop wisely, and wish you best of luck!

Erik Cohen is what I used to call my friend Erik Cohen, so that's cool too - smile

 

[bnord]

I would try to swap out and see what the PAR meter does for you... seems like an easy fix... lt us know what I reads

 

[MadDog2229]

So I swapped out the Etheral for a Red Sea ReefLED 90. Instantly, I got par of 150 at the bottom of the tank. Plenty up top. While I love the look of the Etheral...there's no way I'm going back...incidentally...there will be a new listing for an Ethereal on Ebay soon...

 

[Eric Cohen]

So I swapped out the Etheral for a Red Sea ReefLED 90. Instantly, I got par of 150 at the bottom of the tank. Plenty up top. While I love the look of the Etheral...there's no way I'm going back...incidentally...there will be a new listing for an Ethereal on Ebay soon...

Nice going Mad Dawg!