Well that was one part of the presentation and he went in details to show what effects that would have. First off if you have rock on the back wall it makes little to no difference. He also listed the par ratings he got along the painted wall and the list of corals that can live under those par ratings. The difference was not a small amount at all it was approximately 50%I will still continue to paint the back of every tank I ever set up. I have been keeping corals in these tanks for over 10 years, and they have all done excellent. I really can't see that being any significant difference. do we really need that little amount that might be lost??? I think a black painted background looks the best, therefore that is what I will do and recommend. Are we really getting that geeky that we are going to remove backgrounds from our tanks for a small amount of PAR from reflection... I mean seriously, I think we just need to take a deep breath and relax...lol
99% of this hobby is about personal preference. It all works, just go with what you like (lighting, rockwork, sandbed, flow, backgrounds, supplements, testing, etc) As long as we understand the basic principals and fundamentals of the Ocean, research and understand the requirements of the animals we plan to keep, and provide the best environment possible. We will be successful.
He only mentioned these items to explain the reason for the pattern of par readings he got. But it is hard to see from a few post the actual point that was made. His actual point was that you need alot less light than you might think to have a nice reef tank and that T-5s would be sufficient for most corals. He brought the par rating from the output of T-5 lighting in different reflectors and par ratings different corals can grow under together in one presentation.
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