natural coral reef

just out of curiosity what are the light parameters for a typical natural coral reef at typical depths in the ocean for par, lumens, uv, kelvin, cri, and so on. ive searched the web for the last 2 years with no luck. noaa has alot of info, but nothing like this.

 

here ya go...this should answer a lot of your questions..

Ocean Facts

 

that website didnt answer the questions. looking for the light parameters at typical coral depth in the ocean. noaa has oceanic averages for temp, current, basic stuff. lookin for more than that.

 

ok let me find it for you lol I can find ANYTHING!

 

Corals' requirement for high light also explains why most reef-building species are restricted to the euphotic (light penetration) zone, approximately 60-70 m ( less than 200ft depth ) according to Lalli and Parsons, 1995.


or this
Blane Perun's The Sea.Org Your Coral Reef information Resource





here's another one and it's long...I think there isn't much on it because it varies so much as to water clarity, ocean depth, currents, tides, etc..... to many factors and variables

http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/coolresults/papers/Bisset_etal_Oceanography_14-3_p.30-53_2001.pdf

Water Physics

Underwater Cinematography

http://www.biology.duke.edu/johnsenlab/pdfs/pubs/oceanus.pdf

Light and Color - MarineBio.org

Coral Reef Habitat Mapping: A Case Study In Mensanak Island- Senayang Lingga, Riau Province, Indonesia

Coral Reef Habitat Mapping: A Case Study In Mensanak Island- Senayang Lingga, Riau Province, Indonesia

What are Coral Reef Structures? -

 

this isnt an easy task, that site only gave par info at 120m which is to low. average reef depth is 10-25m (30-80ft). ive been at this awhile, so dont take it personal. optimal light decreases at 20m. im looking for specific parameters mentioned in the first entry. the reason for this is the long term controversy over which light better than the next. we try so hard to match nature.

this thread also piggbacks the kelvin poll

 

nah it's cool...Now I'm intrigued!

 

glad to hear, lets find the answer. feel free to ask anyone to join, this has buggin me along time. specific answers would benefit all of us. the second part to this forum would be which mh pc bulb (brand name, k value, par, and so on ) combination would be the exact match in a natural reef enviroment

 

Most of that hasnt been tested to my knowledge.

If you wanna try to recreate what the ocean is like, its almost impossible. There are factors in the ocean that we can not recreate or atleast not on the same scale. MOST corals in the ocean are green,red,yellow or brown. The awesome colors we see in out aquariums are the corals defense against UV light. Thats why people refer to corals "coloring up", they are adjusting to you're lighting and bringing their defenses to the intense lighting up. Thats also why its better to get tank raised coral versus ocean raised because its already colored up.

If you want to do the whole deep sand bed (like the ocean), natural type lighting similar to the ocean and other various conditions that happen naturally be prepared to do these things....

1.Deep sand beds get turned over naturally by hurricanes/monsoons/typhoons, so about once every month or 2 you are going to have stick your hand in the tank swoosh it around a whole dragging your fingers through the sand bed, knocking crap over, cause thats what happens in the ocean.

2.Lighting the natural way, you need to get a bunch of timers, 3000K bulbs, 6500K bulbs, 10,000K bulbs, 20,000K bulbs. Have some kind of controller to simulate morning sky which is 3000K with the sun rising and setting along with the 6500K simulating noon day sun. so on, and so on.

3.You're going to need a hose hooked up to a RO unit with waterhose sprayer on the end of it to simulate rain when you top off your tank.

4.You will also need to have available a school of like 20-30 Tangs to have come through it every few days to help keep the algae down.

5.You will also need Butterfly fish, Parrot fish and other various fish that come through and help keep the corals in check and keep them from over growing.


All of those things people dont like, or dont wanna do, or think is ridiculus, but thats what happens in the ocean. So as far as someone wanting to recreate the ocean in a box in their home, more then likely they are going to do it the way they wanna do it, and not do it the natural way.

I know this doesnt answer your question totally, but their just hasnt been research on all of that because their isnt need for it cause nobody can recreate it in a box in their home without having a 50,000g+ tank.

 

You are a smart man Geek. I think that reefguru has been chasing his tail for the past two yrs and will continue to do so, no offense! We should be so lucky to be able to recreate nature, esp. " in a box " in our homes.