Free PAR meter? Photone App.

[DavidinGA]

Has anyone done a comparison of the app results for in-tank vs measuring your leds through air?

It seems like the par through the water should be higher due to reflective gains...thoughts?

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

So glad i found this. Will try this app with my phone during the weekend. I have no idea what my par values are and this will give me a good start.

 

[Koh23]

Like i said, used it before....

For all it seems, readings was almost accurate....

Deleted the app, downloaded it again, not sure if its new version or what, but....

Readings are almost impossible, on air, seems somewhat good, but in water....

I get reading of about 15-20 par directly below light at bottom, light on full power. 90w rs90.....

Below chinese black box, with 90 lenses, at bottom of tank, i get about 20-30par.... All channels at full....

All lights are 8" above tank, tank depth is 24"....

Not sure whats happening...

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Like i said, used it before....

For all it seems, readings was almost accurate....

Deleted the app, downloaded it again, not sure if its new version or what, but....

Readings are almost impossible, on air, seems somewhat good, but in water....

I get reading of about 15-20 par directly below light at bottom, light on full power. 90w rs90.....

Below chinese black box, with 90 lenses, at bottom of tank, i get about 20-30par.... All channels at full....

All lights are 8" above tank, tank depth is 24"....

Not sure whats happening...

aw dang. guess they did an update that messed it up. what a bummer. guess i will have to spend some more money for a par meter.

 

[Koh23]

Not sure, i would like if someone know for sure, maybe its something on my side...

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

I'll give it a whirl this weekend and let you know. I have the samsung S20 Fe android phone

 

[recif.conde]

Hi
I had no idea about this thread.
I am not a active member here, maybe i should get more involved
I have made 3 videos about this app on youtube. Its an excellent app, but there is a particular way for using this app. i even did an interview with the dev team of this app on youtube. I dont know if i can share a link in this thread of my yt channel. but yea let me know
Conclusion : According to my comprision values, the values are close to PAR meter underwater.

 

[ekandler]

Hi
I had no idea about this thread.
I am not a active member here, maybe i should get more involved
I have made 3 videos about this app on youtube. Its an excellent app, but there is a particular way for using this app. i even did an interview with the dev team of this app on youtube. I dont know if i can share a link in this thread of my yt channel. but yea let me know
Conclusion : According to my comprision values, the values are close to PAR meter underwater.

yeah definitely, share the YouTube video. I’d love to check it out.

 

[recif.conde]

Thanks
This was my first attempt to speak on camera on how to make the measurements and some PAR info :


Second video where I interview Dominik from Photone app team :


Third video where I compare the values between Photone app and an apogee sensor.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

I was going to try this app on my phone but changed my mind. I could not risk my phone getting wet with salt water. I have way too much important data on my phone to even consider. Ended up getting a real par meter instead.

I would try this on a phone I don't care about

 

[ekandler]

I was going to try this app on my phone but changed my mind. I could not risk my phone getting wet with salt water. I have way too much important data on my phone to even consider. Ended up getting a real par meter instead.

I would try this on a phone I don't care about

Yeah that’s my fear as well. The idea is fascinating but most of us don’t have an electronic device laying around they’re willing to possibly destroy.

 

[recif.conde]

Yes I agree,
The take away point here is that, there are options available today to measure PAR values.

For people who can buy or rent a PAR meter, that should be the first option. If you buy the meter you need to recalibrate it frequently so you need to send it back to a lab for that, my nearbly lab does it once a year even if they dont use the sensor much..

For those of us, the crazy once, who are willing to put our phones in saltwater, be assured the low cost waterproof covers work very well. Try it in a small beaker before putting it in your tanks

The message i want to send through these videos is that, we dont make PAR measurements as much as we need to be doing, due to sensor costs..Now we have options available to make it for a small price..Its amazing how PAR values near well established acroporas change when you measure frequently..

We are still taking babysteps in this domain and there is a whole cosmos to discover

 

[ying yang]

Thanks
This was my first attempt to speak on camera on how to make the measurements and some PAR info :


Second video where I interview Dominik from Photone app team :


Third video where I compare the values between Photone app and an apogee sensor.

Firstly hello and hope you and your family are well .
Secondly thanks for taking time to make the videos and interviews, very much appreciated and sure will help alot of people ^_^

 

[tbrown]

So there is this free app called Photone. It's used mostly by indoor gardeners to test PAR levels. This morning I had the brilliant idea to put my phone in a plastic bag and dunk it in my tank to see how it works. I'm currently waiting for my lights to ramp up so I can try it..
When I first got the idea like an hour ago I messaged the company on instagram to share my idea. Like all of my great ideas, someone already thought of it.. They responded right away with a recent blog they wrote up about this idea. And they even have some calibration tips. Here is a link to their blog: https://growlightmeter.com/underwater-par-measurements-for-reef-aquariums/

@reaper93

 

[Koh23]

So i had some time and i decided that i play a bit with photone app for android (again).

I wrote about strage and impossible readings, so i figure i'll try again.

I took measurements at water line 20cm (8") above lights.

With popbloom leds (2 pieces) only, i got par readings of 550. Sounds good and right what manufacturer claims.

When i turn on t5 lamps, reading was 650 at same water level, which probably isnt right, since i left preset on white/blue leds. But, not as important.

Interesting part came when i test par meaaurements of each of 4 channels.

Channel 1 - 8000K white, 10w - 236par
Channel 2 - moonlight, 5w - 5par
Channel 3 - reef blue 65w - 175par
Channel 4 - greenish blusih - 95par

This sounds wrong, there is no way that white channel is so strong, if i remember, someone did par measurements with apogee, and find that channel 1 gives only about 50-ish par at 100%.

Fun continues. 5mm below water, at same spot, with all channels at 100% par drops to 200. Bit deeper, at 100. And at bottom, par readings across sandbed are from 10-50, depending on place.

Again, not relevant, par readings with t5 only (4x54w) are from 0.5-5 par across the tank.

Not an expert by any means, but i kinda doubt that any coral will survive, grow and split at 20 par, which is reading above my torch coral.....

So, problem is probably in android version, not sure what readings other gets, but either app dont read par correctly in this case, or this lights are so weak that they put only 20-ish par at 60cm depth......

 

[Sleepydoc]

So i had some time and i decided that i play a bit with photone app for android (again).

I wrote about strage and impossible readings, so i figure i'll try again.

I took measurements at water line 20cm (8") above lights.

With popbloom leds (2 pieces) only, i got par readings of 550. Sounds good and right what manufacturer claims.

When i turn on t5 lamps, reading was 650 at same water level, which probably isnt right, since i left preset on white/blue leds. But, not as important.

Interesting part came when i test par meaaurements of each of 4 channels.

Channel 1 - 8000K white, 10w - 236par
Channel 2 - moonlight, 5w - 5par
Channel 3 - reef blue 65w - 175par
Channel 4 - greenish blusih - 95par

This sounds wrong, there is no way that white channel is so strong, if i remember, someone did par measurements with apogee, and find that channel 1 gives only about 50-ish par at 100%.

Fun continues. 5mm below water, at same spot, with all channels at 100% par drops to 200. Bit deeper, at 100. And at bottom, par readings across sandbed are from 10-50, depending on place.

Again, not relevant, par readings with t5 only (4x54w) are from 0.5-5 par across the tank.

Not an expert by any means, but i kinda doubt that any coral will survive, grow and split at 20 par, which is reading above my torch coral.....

So, problem is probably in android version, not sure what readings other gets, but either app dont read par correctly in this case, or this lights are so weak that they put only 20-ish par at 60cm depth......

Just found this thread...The android phone could be the issue. I read somewhere in researching that because every Android manufacturer uses different camera hardware (chips, lenses, etc) it is much more difficult for the app developer to ensure calibration. By contrast, there are relatively few iPhone versions with more consistent hardware meaning it's relatively easy for the developer to calibrate for iPhones.

 

[recif.conde]

Just found this thread...The android phone could be the issue. I read somewhere in researching that because every Android manufacturer uses different camera hardware (chips, lenses, etc) it is much more difficult for the app developer to ensure calibration. By contrast, there are relatively few iPhone versions with more consistent hardware meaning it's relatively easy for the developer to calibrate for iPhones.

yes exactly i made 3 videos on this , the first one was done a year back.. have a look : the channel is recif.conde
I am not a native english speaker and it was my first video so be patient

- Yes android phones are not reliable as googles hardware specs are not precise
- Iphone measurements are very close to apogee values.

 

[Koh23]

Yes, i give up from this app, very strange readings, and since i dont have iphone, and dont plan to get one.....

I still guessing my par

 

[DanielJameS]

You can calibrate with the free version, I do recommend the B/W spectrum for Reef Lights versus full spectrum.

Guys a disclaimer I do not work for them, I'm just trying to help them adjust to the reefing community which will benefit all of us. They have great support and hopefully they listen and make adjustments.

I have a video I can share which they sent me.



Here is a Link that helps you...

Underwater PAR Measurements for Reef Aquariums

The entire reef ecosystem depends on light for photosynthesis, which is measured as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). But without correction, PAR meters calibrated in air provide only relative values underwater. This article explains how to take accurate PAR measurements underwater.

growlightmeter.com

Sorry to dig into this old thread but I came across it after acquiring this app and this video was super helpful so thank you! However, when I do this process and get to that very last step (swiping back and inputting the converted immersion value) when I swipe back to the last screen, the peak value measured in the previous step disappears and I have to re-take a reading. I’m worried this is skewing my calibration.

In your video, after you input the conversion value and swipe back to the reading screen, your value stays set to 9050 and you hit calibrate. Mine resets to “0”

Any advice?

 

[Rmckoy]

This is a iPhone app ?