Quote Originally Posted by MizTanks View Post
Otherwise what your saying is, any led under 3w would pretty much be just for show? I'm asking cause I was thinking of adding a strip light myself.
Pretty much.
Everything that emits light will emit some with a par value although that value varies greatly. If you look at the design of the first sunbrites it used 1 watt leds at 90 per foot so a 4foot strip would have 360 leds. As a stand alone light source you needed 5-6 strips to light an average 4 foot tank like a 75g. Hope that puts it in perspective a little. It really has a lot to do with lumens and radiant flux the brightness and the power the light gets "pushed" at to deliver that PAR to the corals. It gets more technical then I know how to explain really. Does the light create PAR? Yes. Would I reduce my lighting schedule because of this strip? No They are great for aesthetics and maybe it will add something to the overall spectrum or PAR levels. I am not saying they are bad.