I rented a PAR meter from BRS and played with it a bit tonight. I have nanobox reef lights in a 32g biocube. I’m a bit surprised at my readings. I had my blues set at 70% and white/mint at 40%. I’d like it higher but have it turned down due to algae issues and hope to raise it a little at a time.
I have two zoa gardens at the bottom which are measuring 64 and 78 par. My trachy and hammer on the sand bed are at 60-70 par. The highest rock work is maybe 7-8” under the water surface and only measured at 133. These are all lower than I expected. Were my expectations off?
I then turned my blues up to 100% and that raised the par around 10 across the board.
Then I turned the whites up (I don’t recall if I went to 100% or if it was 80%ish) and the reading at the top rock was 180 par. Raising the sensor up to almost the surface of the water got it to about 205 and that was all.
Does that make sense to you guys? I expected higher. I guess I know why my zoas aren’t as bright as when I got them. Good think I don’t want acros. I’m going to do more testing and try to get it as accurate as possible but wanted to hear people’s thoughts. I may turn off the powerhead (but not the return pump) to get a more stable measurement.
I have two zoa gardens at the bottom which are measuring 64 and 78 par. My trachy and hammer on the sand bed are at 60-70 par. The highest rock work is maybe 7-8” under the water surface and only measured at 133. These are all lower than I expected. Were my expectations off?
I then turned my blues up to 100% and that raised the par around 10 across the board.
Then I turned the whites up (I don’t recall if I went to 100% or if it was 80%ish) and the reading at the top rock was 180 par. Raising the sensor up to almost the surface of the water got it to about 205 and that was all.
Does that make sense to you guys? I expected higher. I guess I know why my zoas aren’t as bright as when I got them. Good think I don’t want acros. I’m going to do more testing and try to get it as accurate as possible but wanted to hear people’s thoughts. I may turn off the powerhead (but not the return pump) to get a more stable measurement.
