Best PAR for zoas?

[Reef Peep I]

Hi, I am a new member on here but I have been in the hobby for a while. I am starting to keep zoanthids and would like to know at what PAR is everyone keeping theirs at?

Also, what kind of lighting are you using? I am using a dimmable 120w Chinese LED. I'm thinking of switching to full spectrum, but I'm not yet convinced there is any benefit to it, other than growing algae with the red LEDs.

Any guidance would be appreciated!

 

[garias]

i am interested as well

 

[ERivera65]

I believe every coral to be different, I have some zoas I keep high and others I keep low. I believe its always best to place a coral in low light and work your way higher to more intense light, for acclimating purposes. the coral will show you if it likes the light or doesn't. For example, I received a frag of Rasta zoas from my friend who had his in low light, around 100 par and I placed mine higher in around 150 par and my polyps are great and multiplying. Hence the reason I say every coral is different. Also lighting is different in every tank, hence the reason you should always acclimate corals to your lighting and slowly. polyps (zoas or plays) usually extend upwards toward light and get bigger when they want a little more intense lighting. Always remember as well, less light is actually better than too much light. Corals will retract, shrink in size, and expose their zooxanthellae when exposed to intense lighting they are not used to. hope this helps you guys from my experiences. Generally, in polyps tanks, I think anything under 200 par is more than enough for zoas and palys. I get around 80 par at my sand bed and 200 on the upper rocks in my tank.

 

[liven learn]

Every zoa and paly is different like he said. I've seen some of the same zoas high light vs low light and they grow the same. There is alot to counter in besides light. Like water parameters and coral respiration.

 

[jda]

I have some Utter Chaos and Gonzo Space Monsters at the highest point in my SPS tank at about 520+ PAR and they do very well. A also have some in a frag tank at over 800 PAR and they grow like crazy. Many people have melted both of these under 250 PAR and some LED lights... so I might suggest that you pay attention to type of light as much as you do PAR. ...there are so many variables here.