It took a while for me to figure out, but knowing PAR has allowed me o put the right corals (SPS, LPS, Soft, & Clam) in the right spots. I struggled for several years with lighting, on my way to killing $100s of coral along the way.
I bought a Neptune PAR meter before BRS was renting them. Glad I have it, but it is an expensive accessory that I have only used 4 or 5 times. Also, as the APEX goes, it doesn't give immediate results as with the Apogee, instead updating every minute or so which makes it a little cumbersome to use.
That said, with the PAR meter and a BRS Investigates on Kessil A360X with the narrow reflectors, I figured out my A360 NEs (3 x w/ Aquatic Life Hybrid T5s x 4) were mounted way too low, around 5-6". I raised to 13" per the video and re-mapped PAR. In the end I think I had hot spots and low spots that were not getting filled in because of the narrow beam. Since then, about a year ago, I've had no coral mortalities and everything is thriving in my mixed reef.
I bought a Neptune PAR meter before BRS was renting them. Glad I have it, but it is an expensive accessory that I have only used 4 or 5 times. Also, as the APEX goes, it doesn't give immediate results as with the Apogee, instead updating every minute or so which makes it a little cumbersome to use.
That said, with the PAR meter and a BRS Investigates on Kessil A360X with the narrow reflectors, I figured out my A360 NEs (3 x w/ Aquatic Life Hybrid T5s x 4) were mounted way too low, around 5-6". I raised to 13" per the video and re-mapped PAR. In the end I think I had hot spots and low spots that were not getting filled in because of the narrow beam. Since then, about a year ago, I've had no coral mortalities and everything is thriving in my mixed reef.