Usually this is the general consensus for PAR value. Details from Planted Tank forum.
"Low light - 15-30 micromols of PAR - CO2 is not needed, but is helpful to the plants
Medium light - 35-50 micromols of PAR - CO2 may be needed to avoid too many nuisance algae problems
High light - more than 50 micromols of PAR - pressurized CO2 is essential to avoid major algae problem"
I have used HC in my ADA IAPLC competition tank some 11 years ago. This is how thick it grew when I submitted the photos. I was only using a PL 18w light, mid light.
So an ADA type aquasky LED like Twinstar, NANA LED etc are over 120 PAR at a depth of 35cm. If for 2 feet tank including substrate of 5-6cm, you will be looking at close to 150+ at maybe 28-30cm. If HC only needs 50-80 micromols of PAR to grow well, wouldn't 150+ be too much?
That being said, ADA, Twinstar and NANA has the best Color Rendition Index in the market, that's why it's expensive. Green looks super green and red really pops. Too bad, locally we don't experiment with passive dimmers for these LEDS. In the UK, hobbyist DIY their own dimmer controllers for the ADA Aquasky, infact, they already have dimmers for Twinstar E series last October. Bet it will also work on NANA LEDs.
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