BMA PAR Values

Corals light demand:
Corals in their natural enviroment show an amazing adaptiviness.
While in a dimly lit area at the reefs fringe the coral can show a leaf-shaped stature, the same coral species can be found in an area with an intensive illumination showing a pillared shape. Likewise each single coral dependance of lower or higher illumination derives with the correlation the coral species has formed with endosymbiotic algae to perform photosythesis.
The lights radient intensity can be measured buy using a quantum meter which measures in units the moles striking an area over the time.
The light that drives photosynthesis in corals is Photosynthetically Active Radiation, or PAR light.
Though PAR light ranges from 400 to 700nm, the corals zooxanthellae or its absorbing and emitting pigments use only a portion of PAR called Photosynthetically Useable Radiation,
PUR with a range from 430 to 500nm depending on the coral species.
While PUR is tough to measure, with a quantum meter the PAR value of an illumination can be easily checked.

Following this idea Blue Moon Aquatics created the following list of the most common keept coral species from A to Z as guidance for their light demand.
Using a quatum meter during set-up will also avoid that a coral suffers from insufficient radiation.

Click here to read more details about light,
PAR, PUR and corals, zooaxanthellae