1/20/2024 0 Comments Negative space aquascapeOn the other hand, if you have an NSA aquascape with open areas and islands, you're going to see these effects in your tank's total PAR. A rock wall or large pile of rocks covering a majority of the back wall will really negate most of this effect on your tank's PAR. In this case, up to a 28% drop in PAR toward the bottom of your tank if your tank has a black background.Īs a hobbyist, consider your aquascape here. Without water in the tank, this clear panel would otherwise allow a majority of the light to pass through as opposed to reflecting it back into the tank.īy looking at the average PAR from the middle and bottom rows, we start to see how this PAR drop becomes more severe the deeper you go into the tank. We were surprised to see how the clear background acts just like a painted mirrored surface in terms of reflection. Black absorbs light, less light is reflected into the tank which results in less total average PAR. The results were not surprising in that the black background resulted in up to 10% less average PAR throughout the entire tank. We used a 24" cube aquarium and recorded measurements using 7 different backgrounds.Īfter averaging all of the results for each using a total of 75 individual PAR measurements, we plotted the averages onto the bar graph above. We used the same Kessil A360X LED light mounted 8" from the water's surface for each and every test. We set this up just like one of our BRStv Investigates lighting tests, taking a grid of PAR measurements from the top, middle, and bottom area of the tank. PAR Measurements Using Different Colored Backgrounds We then set up an experiment to test the severity of this effect using different colored tank backgrounds including black, blue, light blue, white, and even a mirrored look to help all of you make the best choices for your own tank background. Since having a black or otherwise colored (blue) background is so common among aquarists, we are taking this a step further to find out exactly how and why that PAR drop occurs. This is because the tank we use to take those measurements has a black background. We also see this phenomenon in all of our BRStv Investigates light testing videos where we consistently get lower PAR values on the back half of the tank. Watch BRStv Investigates: Have You Been Misled About Your Reef Tank Light’s PAR? Biggest Light Testing Mistake: Water vs Air We demonstrated how this works with a laser in our previous BRStv Investigates where we explored how reflection and refraction alter the output of our aquarium lights, specifically PAR measurements. Rather than reflect the light back into your tank like the transparent glass walls, the black wall absorbs the light resulting in lower PAR values. Painting the back wall of your aquarium black will result in up to 33% less PAR in the back area of your tank.
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