New Lux Meter--how do I use...

[Susan Edwards]

I just got a lux meter and have no idea how to set it or read it or use it.... Can someone, using kindergarden language help me <g>. Pic of it.
Dr. Meter Model LX1010b Range 0-100,000 lux

no idea what to set: 2000 or 20000 or 100000. No idea what the "H" mode is (off, on, H)

How do you translate lux into par

Way out of my depth with lighting...
Ugh, I edited the pic and rotated it, looks right but uploads wrong... Sorry

 

[Crabs McJones]

@saltyfilmfolks your chariot awaits

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

@saltyfilmfolks your chariot awaits

Tell her. She won’t bite.

Susan might poke ya , but she won’t bite.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Not very hard anyway <eg>. So someone gimme a clue...

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I just got a lux meter and have no idea how to set it or read it or use it.... Can someone, using kindergarden language help me <g>. Pic of it.
Dr. Meter Model LX1010b Range 0-100,000 lux

no idea what to set: 2000 or 20000 or 100000. No idea what the "H" mode is (off, on, H)

How do you translate lux into par

Way out of my depth with lighting...
Ugh, I edited the pic and rotated it, looks right but uploads wrong... Sorry

Well assume h is hold (? In honestly am unsure )
You’ll want 100,000.

That’s the max it will go.

That really should be it for the set up.
Just kinda play with it to make sure it’s working.
If your in the living room and it’s day time point the ball at the window. The numbers will go up. Put your hand on it the numbers should zero.
The bathe room with the lights on and a window open will be a low number. Like 1500 or 3000 maybe. Could be in the 100’s.

If you go from there and walk out side and it’s sunny , in so cal , it’s personally 85,000 on the meter if you hild it in your palm tward the sky. Less if it’s cloudy.

So look at the number out side. Take that number and devide by 54.

In the full sun it’s 54. With clouds or in the shade , it changes a bit becuse of the color. But it’s stull kinda close.

85,000 lux would be 1,574 par. In the full sun with no clouds.


Take the unit and hold it close to the waters surface of your tank. Make a stripe long ways over the tank, the numbers on the meter will go up in the middle of the tank , and lower at the end.
Now scan the top of tank. Note the peaks of the numbers , and also the lows and where they are.

Take the peak number (or higher average number) on the meter and and devide it by 60 , if it’s an led.
50 if it’s t5. 55 if it’s both.

An example, 35000 lux devide by 55
Is about 636 par. (With t5and Led )

“About “ it’ll change a little becuse of the color , but not that much.

Devide by 50, 55, 60, and 65 and you’ll see the range.

60 and 65 are the usual led range.
A bad Led can be 70 or higher.
A kitchen fluroescamt Light also can be 70 or higher for the same reason.
It’s a light that won’t grow coral or plants.

Lux is brightness.
Par is good spectrum brightness.

High par will have high lux.
High lux may not have high par.
Becuse of the color.

Btw, about 600 par is a good number for a deep high ligh coral tank.
About 500 is good for a med high
About 400 is a good mixed Ish reef.
About 300 for a low light coral tank.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Not very hard anyway <eg>. So someone gimme a clue...

Hahaha.

 

[Susan Edwards]

wow, and thanks. Will try to figure this out. May have to lower those lights!

I set the daylight time period to 80 blue and 60 white. No real corals in there yet so no idea if too much or not. Green and red at 10% Do those need to be higher or will they just encourage bad algaes? Should they be 0. Will play tomorrow when lights are back on

 

[Susan Edwards]

<<Btw, about 600 par is a good number for a deep high ligh coral tank.
About 500 is good for a med high
About 400 is a good mixed Ish reef.
About 300 for a low light coral tank>>

For those numbers, where are the measurements? Waterline?

 

[Susan Edwards]

Maybe you should write your reply up for a sticky on lux meters... It's very helpful

 

[oreo54]

You seen to be forgetting distances...

Support your light dry at the distance that it would be from diodes to sand bed (or whatever).
Measure LUX
Divide by 65..(Guessitmate conversion factor)

16500 LUX at the sandbed gives about 250PAR

What PAR you want is dependent on what you want to grow.........

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

<<Btw, about 600 par is a good number for a deep high ligh coral tank.
About 500 is good for a med high
About 400 is a good mixed Ish reef.
About 300 for a low light coral tank>>

For those numbers, where are the measurements? Waterline?

Yep. Top of the water.
And with no coral, it’s a good time to play and make the best guess.
Then play with it later to find the sweet spot.

 

[mcarroll]

@oreo5457 Measuring at the waterline is usually sufficient....the only way I've done it so far.

You can put the meter in a ziplock baggie if you want to take measurements below the water....but again I have't found the need to go that far.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

You seen to be forgetting distances...

Support your light dry at the distance that it would be from diodes to sand bed (or whatever).
Measure LUX
Divide by 65..(Guessitmate conversion factor)

16500 LUX at the sandbed gives about 250PAR

What PAR you want is dependent on what you want to grow.........

She’s running t5 with it.
One of our lfs has the same set up. It’s pretty.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

@oreo5457 Measuring at the waterline is usually sufficient....the only way I've done it so far.

You can put the meter in a ziplock baggie if you want to take measurements below the water....but again I have't found the need to go that far.

Agreed.

With the way most even with a par meter search for the “Sweet spot “ the process is similar, though they may not know it.

Algae ? Lower the red a bit , shrooms angry and shrunk , drop the par 100 , zoas browning , increase the par 100 etc.

There are some interesting things to observe by metering individual spots and the sand bed etc , but for most , a close estimate is pretty good.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I'm running LED's. Current ic pro not t5's. Those are on my RS Max c250. That tank grows everything...

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I'm running LED's. Current ic pro not t5's. Those are on my RS Max c250. That tank grows everything...

Ahh. I though you did the combo on the new tank.

Try metering that tank. Might be interesting.

 

[oreo54]

@oreo5457 Measuring at the waterline is usually sufficient....the only way I've done it so far.

You can put the meter in a ziplock baggie if you want to take measurements below the water....but again I have't found the need to go that far.

Was referring to dry measuring it..
Off a bit at the ends due to zero glass reflections (unless done in an empty tank..)
Never would suggest the zip lock method..

 

[Susan Edwards]

So the current leds at approx 6-7 inches off water surface nets me approx 300-330 0r lower depending. Using the x's 100 I get higher. If I use the x's 10 setting, I get lower. If I use the x's 1 I sometimes get nothing. Is the meter not a good one or one worth the 30 bucks? Even holding the meter an inch under the lights under x's 1 is sometimes a 1.

So if my reading is approx. correct at 300-330 at 7 inches, I def. need to lower lights! Or not worry about it and let my corals do the talking... This is with
blue-100
white-80
red and green 50%

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The X are limiters. So you want the max to remove the limit. A full O-100,000.

The x 100 would be 330 00. 33,000 lux.

Approx 550 par.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Okay, here is what I did to get the 330 number. Holding meter sensor about an inch above water to keep it from getting wet, I was getting anywhere from 140-200 moving along the lights. I multiplied that by 100 and then divided by 60. and got my 333 number. I wasn't getting anything much higher than 200.

so I upped all lights to 100% and measured down from the lights
1"=480 x's 100=48000 /60 =800
3" =390 x's 100=39000/60 =650
5" =248 x's 100=24800/60 =413
7-8" =215 x's 100=21500/60 =358

with 2 lights, spread 3 inches apart, does that double my par or make the par slightly higher or just make that par more even across and down?