$5 PAR Meter Wand

[jda]

...not that this is genius or anything, but it is what I came up with since $60 seemed ridiculous. Hope that it helps somebody.

3' 1/4 Aluminum Rod - Lowes, Home Depot or your local Hardware Store should have these. Mine was $3.99.
4 or 5 Small Zip Tips
Hammer
Anvil or Vise
Drill and Bit

Get your anvil and BFH (that is Big Friggin' Hammer) and beat the end flat and then bend it. Work fast with the hammer since it will heat the aluminum up a bit and it will be easier to flatten. Drill a hole and then zip tie on the sensor. Clean the workbench gunk off of it and then you are all good.

 

[AZMSGT]

Mine was cheaper ;) Left over PVC, heat gun and a drill = Par sensor wand.

 

[jda]

Word!

 

[madweazl]

I also used PVC for the Apogee and used this algae scraper (about all it's good for) and some zip-ties for the Seneye.

1/2" OD CPVC

 

[Jon Fishman]

I stuck my arm in the tank....

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I bought the Apex par meter wand. It was $69.99 but it will send me an alert when it falls behind the aquarium. Figured it was worth the extra money.

 

[FFKiwi]

Mine was cheaper ;) Left over PVC, heat gun and a drill = Par sensor wand.

hey this is awesome! how did you attach the sensor part at the bottom there to the bent PVC?

 

[Tastee]

Mine was cheaper ;) Left over PVC, heat gun and a drill = Par sensor wand.

Very similar to mine. Instead of flattening and bending the end of mine I cut two 3/4” slots about 1/2” apart in the bottom parallel with the sides of the conduit. I then bent this tab up 45%, drilled a hole through it and connected the Neptune PAR meter to it via the screw in the back.

 

[holdthecoffee]

If you have a 3D printer, you can print out this apogee par sensor I designed. It requires a 3/8" diameter rod or smaller:

Apogee Par Meter Mount by holdthecoffee

Instead of buying the apogee wand (which is 60-70 dollars), you can print this out to hold your par meter. When printing the main holder, I would recommend adding a support for the print. Without the support, the print might tip over mid print due to the 45 degree angle causing torque. You can...

www.thingiverse.com

 

[ReefLab]

I used a selfie stick lol. Rusted like hell - don’t do that

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I also used PVC for the Apogee and used this algae scraper (about all it's good for) and some zip-ties for the Seneye.

1/2" OD CPVC

HA, I cut up my algae scraper identical to that one as well because it was worthless to use as the sensor arm.

 

[BelleReef]

Thanks all for the inspiration! I made mine with a fiberglass reflective snow rod and a stainless steal corner brace. I used vice grips to bend the brace to a larger angle than 90 degrees, and then glued and zip tied it to the end of the rod.

 

[afrokobe]

I stuck my arm in the tank....

I was wondering why people needed a wand and couldn't just stick their hands in... but I guess you can