MH Par - not quite what I think I need

[Kann]

Hello, all.

I have a 72" Spectra over my 210. I am running 250 watt Radions with Luxcore 150-250 Watt ballast running on the Super Lumens setting along with 4 ATI Blue Plus T5's.

I am getting around 230 par about 6 inches below and it drops off really quickly... to around 150 at 12" below the surface. I just changed all the MH and T5 bulbs and didn't see any difference.

I've been thinking of upgrading to a 400 watt setup, but really don't want the added heat and electricity. Is this the right ballast/bulb combo? Are the par numbers I'm seeing typical of what I should expect to see?

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Hello, all.

I have a 72" Spectra over my 210. I am running 250 watt Radions with Luxcore 150-250 Watt ballast running on the Super Lumens setting along with 4 ATI Blue Plus T5's.

I am getting around 230 par about 6 inches below and it drops off really quickly... to around 150 at 12" below the surface. I just changed all the MH and T5 bulbs and didn't see any difference.

I've been thinking of upgrading to a 400 watt setup, but really don't want the added heat and electricity. Is this the right ballast/bulb combo? Are the par numbers I'm seeing typical of what I should expect to see?

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Few things I did not see mentioned.

How far above the water are the lights?

What meter was used for PAR readings?

What reflectors are being used for the MH?

What condition is the splash shield on the MH housing?

All of the above can seriously affect par.

 

[oreo54]

What to expect I suppose..

 

[Bpb]

That doesn’t seem right. I’m getting 1200 par 12” away from my reflectors in open air, 800 1” under the water, and 400 on the sandbed at ground zero 36” away from the lights (24” water/12” air). Something doesn’t seem right with your readings.