Q' about corals and water depth???

mbunakeith · #1 01/10/2008, 04:09 PM

i have been looking for any information or a table that would describe what corals live at what particular depth. everything i find says something like this: "this coral" likes medium light. what does that mean? does "medium" light mean greater depth than a high light coral? if so what particular depth? or even better...how much measured light does a particular coral normally grow in?
i came accross an article that was talking about light meters and i thought that somebody out there knows how much light OR LUMENS corals are normally found in and we as hobbists could really use that info in a great way. it would clear up a lot of myths about different species out there. at least for me anyway. i know i could buy a MH fixture and "keep" anything, but that is too general for me. i want the cold, hard numbers! anybody have them. this would save me from having to go measure them myself, which isnt really going to happen anytime soon. thanks.

Dave & Monica · #2 01/10/2008, 08:13 PM

I agree - would be good info to know.

great question.

CHARLIE AGUILAR · #3 01/10/2008, 09:13 PM

When your ready ill bring the tape measure LOL

mbunakeith · #4 01/10/2008, 10:22 PM

i'm willing to do the research if someone will pay!

jgonzz · #5 01/11/2008, 12:17 AM

in the juliian sprung book CORALS a quick ref. guide

It shows a aquarium sideview and where the coral should be placed, its kinda generic but it is a type of chart for what thats worth LOL

mbunakeith · #6 01/11/2008, 12:26 AM

what i am really looking for is actual par values for the light that falls on corals in their native habitat. that way we can find bulbs and placement in the tank to match conditions where they are naturally found. i think knowing that would really help keep the corals healty and thriving. do you know what your par levels are throughout your tank? the problem is that we cant trust our eyes to know if we have too much or too little light in the tank. i think we have been doing pretty good with guessing so far, but the scientist in me wants some real numbers.

jgonzz · #7 01/11/2008, 12:37 AM

I don't know any of the par readings in my tank. I'm not really into that lighting science stuff.

good luck on your findings.

Josh

smthnfshy · #8 01/11/2008, 01:14 AM

I'm gunna chime in, but not with answers, just more questions. If you find out how much intinsity there is at what depth, wont you also have to find out what color is also at that depth, and what wave length as well? Every foot of depth will filter out certain colors more than others, right? I mean to say that you can have high intinsity in one spectrum at 15 foot of depth while others spectrums have been greatly reduced. I dont know, just food for thought.

mbunakeith · #9 01/11/2008, 08:12 AM

that is a good point. i have heard that the spectrum isnt as important as the intensity: the proper intensity. this is not my opinion so dont bash me on it. it is something i have heard through many podcasts from "aquarium industry experts". they were saying that you can have 6500k bulbs, 30k bulbs it doesnt really matter to the corals. the only thing is that the light has to be intense enough to feed the zooxanthelae properly. color spectrum is mostly asthetics. i am not sure i totally believe it, but i feel there may be some truth to it.
what light level does a euphylia grow best at? what about some acros? i am sure they are different because everybody says put the acros high in the tank and the lps lower. again what is the number?

jonthefb · #10 01/11/2008, 10:18 AM

the issue that you are going to run into is that there is no constant. A coral found in 15 feet of water on reef A that might be gettign x amount of light intensity, is also found in 100 feet of water on reef B with Y amount of light intensity. Your hypothesis is a good one, however it is a bit too broad to come about with any actual working data. Even such aids as the Corals of the World book series, which is the most comprehensive examination of coral species to date, only lists findings as broad locations such as "Upper reef slopes." The best example would be that of pociliopora damicornis which has been found at many different levels on reefs all throughout hawaii, and unfortunatley, with different lighting intensities, still grows very rapidly, however the shape of the colony is determined by water flow!
cheers~!
jon

mbunakeith · #11 01/11/2008, 10:34 AM

Jon, i am sure you are correct that most corals are found at differing depths and at different light levels. i am also sure that some corals in the wild grow better & healthier than others. the coral is only going to survive in the range of it's tolerances either way. maybe i am making a bigger deal about it than i need to? i have been wondering if we arent lighting our tanks a lot more than we really need to and overlooking the proper flow rates. recently, water flow is definitely becoming more understood and talked about more often.

mbunakeith · #12 01/11/2008, 04:05 PM

regardless, it would be great to hear something like:
acro sp. require a minimum 600 par to 1200 par. (not sure if my made up par numbers are realistic, so dont take that as fact!)
or...
euphylia divisa req. 100-300 par or lumens of light.
again, this is just hypothetical

spstimie · #13 01/11/2008, 10:09 PM

fishbase.com has the depths that fish are found at. that is the info i think you would need on corals as well as par readings on each reef. since i would guess they are not the same in Cozumel as they are in Fiji. i guess ill have to add a par meter to my dive equipment and do a couple testing dives. its going to take me 20 years though