Club Par Meter

[Pola0502ds]

What is everyones thoughts on the club purchasing a club meter? It can be an additional item that is loaned out to paid members only. I know a lot of us would like to use one, in my opinion its one of the most important tools to have. If you don't know the par of your tank how can you place your corals correctly so they thrive? After all, as reefers that should be our goal. If they wern't so darn expensive i would have one myself already.

Some thoughts on how the club could handle this par meter:

-Loan it out to paid members only
-Loan it out only to members that have at least attended 6 meetings that way a level of trust can be established. I wouldnt want to loan it out to a new member at their first meeting not knowing a thing about them. (Have a club sign-in sheet at each meeting to track attendance, this is a useful thing to practice in general, its very common in any meeting)
-If the club ever gets a credit card reader it can be used to take a deposit on the meter.
-Designate a board member to keep track of the par meter and start a thread for tracking and requesting.
-The meter can only be loaned out for a week or two. If its loaned out and only expected to be turned at the next meeting, only 12 members a year get to use it.

I believe that if the club had a par meter it would also make the club more attractive for potential new members.

Here is a par meter for example:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/mq-510-full-spectrum-underwater-led-par-meter-apogee.html

 

[JaimeAdams]

I LOVE the idea. Only I think that only board members or past board members should be able to take it out unless we charge a deposit. We could also charge a small rental fee to eventually cover the cost of the device as well. I agree that it is a nice feature to be able to offer to people on the fence about joining the club.
@BIGGUN @ZJedi945
@eleet @ReefQueen
@acer @hybridazn

 

[re76]

I would happily contribute towards the purchase and support this in any way. Great idea!

 

[hybridazn]

I LOVE the idea. Only I think that only board members or past board members should be able to take it out unless we charge a deposit. We could also charge a small rental fee to eventually cover the cost of the device as well. I agree that it is a nice feature to be able to offer to people on the fence about joining the club.
@BIGGUN @ZJedi945
@eleet @ReefQueen
@acer @hybridazn

Great idea, I know we talked about this with past regimes but it would be awesome to actually do it lol.

I think a small rental fee is a good idea, if we do that then it would make it easier to keep the sensor up to date. I think it's been upgraded at least 2-3 times in the last 5-6 years.

 

[JaimeAdams]

The new one that we are looking at is compatable with LEDs

 

[Pola0502ds]

What has prevented the club from purchasing one in the past?

 

[JaimeAdams]

probably basically that it is $500 and there is no real need for us to offer the use of a par meter to anyone. It's more of an added luxury. Are we going to get 10 new people to join the club because we have a par meter? I don't know, but that is the argument from the nay sayers, but if the board votes on purchasing one or if enough of the members tell us they want us to purchase one then we will.

 

[BIGGUN]

I'm on board.

Small rental fee, and it only goes out with a board member or there is a hold put on a cc in the amount of the price of the meter. (then when returned the hold is lifted, if not returned that person bought the one they didn't return and the club has the means to repurchase.)

Kevin

 

[Pola0502ds]

Who are the board members?

 

[JaimeAdams]

Who are the board members?

They are myself, Sierra Tarbox @Sierra T , Ted Bailey @acer , Milan Rhine @ReefQueen , Zack Tyke @ZJedi945 , Gary Spangler, Jeremy Vromann, David Price @David29price

 

[JaimeAdams]

I'm on board.

Small rental fee, and it only goes out with a board member or there is a hold put on a cc in the amount of the price of the meter. (then when returned the hold is lifted, if not returned that person bought the one they didn't return and the club has the means to repurchase.)

Kevin

I agree with the stated above. If we charged, say 20 or 30 bucks then we could basically pay off the par meter. If a board member needs to go to someones house and map their par i think we need to charge like 20 for the rental and give the person going 10 for gas or something along those lines. I would be good giving it out to long term members who have served on the board in the past and are still active in the club. If some guy who joined this year that we don't know well wants to borrow it and we can basically put a $500 hold on a credit card I am good with that too, but there would have to be a rental agreement so that they can't keep the meter and dispute the charge.

 

[SharkLaser]

I don't think the rental fee for members is necessary or a good idea for that matter. But I would imaging that the security deposit should be a requirement for everyone. If not returned within the time limit, you own it, member or not. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to recover the money in case the device is lost/damaged/stolen and many other excuses. Paypal deposit can work instead of dealing with a card reader.

With that being said, I'd been asking for a club par meter for a awhile and then just ended up buying it. So my opinion here is largely irrelevant.

 

[eleet]

Great idea!

 

[Pola0502ds]

Where are we at with this? We Should have talked about this at the meeting. I would like to suggest that a small discussion regarding club business be incorporated into every meeting so stuff like this can be brought up and talked about it.

 

[JaimeAdams]

It is still at the same spot.

Ask @acer for his opinion. Also @ReefQueen

I like the idea with certain safeguards in place.

 

[ReefQueen]

I think it's a great idea!

 

[acer]

yep- I think its a good idea as well. I think some safeguards are necessary:

#1 deposit of some amount - to be worked out my the club board members - should cover the price of a new Par meter.
#2 fee of $xx for members ( like $5-10 ), and $xx for non club members ( like $10-20) - also prices should be worked out by the club board and should be only for one week time period.

 

[Pola0502ds]

It is still at the same spot.

Ask @acer for his opinion. Also @ReefQueen

D-U-N Dun!

 

[IvanTheTerrible]

If this goes through, I would like to officially add my name to the waiting list.

- Ivan

 

[Wieloch89]

New to the group and reefing in general but has anyone considered the seneye reef monitor? It constantly measures ammonia, ph, water level, and for some odd reason doubles as a par meter. I've seen tests on it and it's every bit as accurate as a device that measures par strictly and it's $200 as aposed to $500 or more.