Ok didn't get pics taken because i was lazy after work but i did get some new measurements !
ok just about every Acro colony i have sits in PAR values of.... let's see.... at the lowest part of the biggest colony i have (it's about 10" to 12" tall) it averages about
290 µmol m-2 s-1
and that is being shaded by the top .... with the pumps on (figured this made the most sense to take them this way)
at the top of this large colony i get readings that jump from about
350µmol m-2 s-1 to 480µmol m-2 s-1 (489µmol m-2 s-1 was the highest it jumped) now when this Acro grows another few inches it's growing tips will be in the low to mid 400µmol m-2 s-1 to low to mid 500µmol m-2 s-1
so if you want say the mean of that would be about 415µmol m-2 s-1
and a few colonies i forgot about
I have a beautiful hairy yellow with bright blue tips Acro that gets bathed in the 300µmol m-2 s-1 to approximately 400µmol m-2 s-1
and a Blueberry Acro that is about the same ... a little less because it is off to the side ....
my Frag rack (which is the main thing i was curious about seeing as how i haven't taken any measurements of it yet) To my surprise wasn't as intense as i thought with readings only in the upper 200µmol m-2 s-1 to lower 300µmol m-2 s-1.... hmmm I'll have to play with that
stupid reflectors ... don't have very good spread and sit probably too close to the water's surface ... don't know why parabolic reflectors are just now starting to get noticed in the Reef hobby world... they have been proven winners in indoor horticulture when it comes to spread and reflecting as much light as possible .... but I'm ranting ... that's a different subject all together .... lol
of course you can take averages of all these readings if you like. Figured I'd let you do the math
lol
and of course ALL these measurements jump up significantly when you shut off the circulation pumps!
which i do do when i do water changes and sometimes it's like that for and hour or so !
hope that was good enough for ya!