Parwise

[Hurricane Aquatics]

this guy gets it

I'm not sure what you're insinuating that I don't "get"?. If you possibly think that you can read PAR by eyeballing it, you're wrong. If you think you can go by others readings and settings, you're wrong.

If you have mainly LPS and Softies, sure you can get away with guessing as they show clear signs of having too much light or too little.

If you have a 100% Acropora reef, then you absolutely need to know what your PAR is.

 

[SpSDrew]

I picked up a Parwise this week as well. And I thought I had 350-400 par in my whole tank but realized it’s much less. I added a 72” Reefbrite today and plan to order another one for the other side. Also have a 4th RB halide fixture I can add on. But small changes each month.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I picked up a Parwise this week as well. And I thought I had 350-400 par in my whole tank but realized it’s much less. I added a 72” Reefbrite today and plan to order another one for the other side. Also have a 4th RB halide fixture I can add on. But small changes each month.

Very nice. You'll start to see your corals really explode if you adjusted based on the PARwise.

 

[SpSDrew]

Very nice. You'll start to see your corals really explode if you adjusted based on the PARwise.

I’m hoping so. Things look good but with a pH between 8.3-8.4 I should be seeing explosions in growth. I can also drop the halides down some as they are probably 16-18” above the water.

 

[Dburr1014]

What par do you actually have?
What MH are you running?

 

[Dburr1014]

I’m hoping so. Things look good but with a pH between 8.3-8.4 I should be seeing explosions in growth. I can also drop the halides down some as they are probably 16-18” above the water.

 

[rtparty]

I picked up a Parwise this week as well. And I thought I had 350-400 par in my whole tank but realized it’s much less. I added a 72” Reefbrite today and plan to order another one for the other side. Also have a 4th RB halide fixture I can add on. But small changes each month.

Nothing between ~405nm and ~420nm? I highly doubt that. The graphing is also WAY too smooth from what I’m seeing so far

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Nothing between ~405nm and ~420nm? I highly doubt that. The graphing is also WAY too smooth from what I’m seeing so far

Could be the way he was holding it. Here is my spectrum with 14k MH dual 250w.

Which after reviewing his Pic closer, doesn't look too far off from mine. It looks like he snapped the screenshot right when the spectrum started to change.

I wasn't measuring PAR just playing with spectrum. This was it with LEDs added.

 

[Hooz]

So a video from 6 years ago where they actually identified software/hardware issues for 2 of the 4 meters tested (that have both since been corrected) is what you're basing your "Seneye is the best" opinion on? I mean, they didn't even say that in the video.

I'm not saying that it's not a decent meter. I used a Seneye to setup the lights on one of my tanks years ago, and I'm pretty sure the PARwise is probably better than the Seneye. I'd really like to see that test updated with current hardware and software, though. Especially before making sweeping statements about what is "best".

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

So a video from 6 years ago where they actually identified software/hardware issues for 2 of the 4 meters tested (that have both since been corrected) is what you're basing your "Seneye is the best" opinion on? I mean, they didn't even say that in the video.

I'm not saying that it's not a decent meter. I used a Seneye to setup the lights on one of my tanks years ago, and I'm pretty sure the PARwise is probably better than the Seneye. I'd really like to see that test updated with current hardware and software, though. Especially before making sweeping statements about what is "best".

You use whatever makes you happy. I personally couldn't care less.

 

[Dburr1014]

Don't have a lot of time today but I did manage to get one quick reading just to see my main display versus my sump. My Sump only showed 6 par on a 175 metal halide 14k bulb.

I took a reading 6" down under the water in the middle of the tank, and my lights are only about 4" off the water they are Reef breeders with lenses taken out. Shields are on and I did not clean them. They do have a little splash on them.

May of 2022 i borrowed an Apogee 510mq and I had a 330 par reading. Settings on the lights were r12, g12, rb100, lb, w, v were all 80.



Today I have this with PARwise.

100% I need to clean the glass for my lights and I need to make a holder for the meter. And my lights aren't exactly set as they were before here is my schedule now.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Don't have a lot of time today but I did manage to get one quick reading just to see my main display versus my sump. My Sump only showed 6 par on a 175 metal halide 14k bulb.

I took a reading 6" down under the water in the middle of the tank, and my lights are only about 4" off the water they are Reef breeders with lenses taken out. Shields are on and I did not clean them. They do have a little splash on them.

May of 2022 i borrowed an Apogee 510mq and I had a 330 par reading. Settings on the lights were r12, g12, rb100, lb, w, v were all 80.



Today I have this with PARwise.

100% I need to clean the glass for my lights and I need to make a holder for the meter. And my lights aren't exactly set as they were before here is my schedule now.

So your results are similar to mine. You have mostly LPS which will do just fine at the PAR you measured.

 

[Dburr1014]

So your results are similar to mine. You have mostly LPS which will do just fine at the PAR you measured.

I got a lot of sticks on the top end. I think what I need to do is take out my wife's tablet and then adjust my lights so I can get a real nice clean Spectrum and then adjust for the par. But first is to make a holder cuz it's really difficult on the phone when the cord wiggles out and disconnects.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I got a lot of sticks on the top end. I think what I need to do is take out my wife's tablet and then adjust my lights so I can get a real nice clean Spectrum and then adjust for the par. But first is to make a holder cuz it's really difficult on the phone when the chod wiggles out and disconnects.

Yes, for sure. A mount helps a lot. Looking forward to your next post.

 

[Dburr1014]

I had some parts laying around and made a holder.
Kinda crude but it should work.
I've bent Plexi so it fits snug around a meter. I flattened the PVC and drilled a hole in that and the Plexi and I epoxied it together making sure to get epoxy in the holes. I figured that would give it a little more strength. I didn't glue the PVC joints together so I can just disassemble it if needed.
This weekend I'll play around with it and get some more readings.

 

[Dburr1014]

190 par, all on at 100% @ the top of the rock. No lenses in the fixture so it really spreads the light.
Do it does read less than the apogee. But, the spectrum analyzer is really useful.

 

[Waboss]

I picked one up yesterday and got around to starting to mess with it today. So far, I'm pretty pleased. I really do like the spectrum analyzer as I was really curious what my settings were actually providing. I did make a holder for it that attaches to the end of the "wand" I had previously made for an Apogee meter I had a while back. So far, so good.

 

[ConsummatePro]

I picked one up yesterday and got around to starting to mess with it today. So far, I'm pretty pleased. I really do like the spectrum analyzer as I was really curious what my settings were actually providing. I did make a holder for it that attaches to the end of the "wand" I had previously made for an Apogee meter I had a while back. So far, so good.

Nice. I used a 3D printed holder for Seneye except it’s hold down is in the wrong place so I zip tied for now. I’m going to see if I can modify the file on thingiverse but I’m no expert at this.
Would you consider sharing your stl?

 

[ConsummatePro]

Loving the PARwise and really like being able to use it with a low cost Kindle Fire.

I currently have 2 Skys over my 6” tank and they give very good coverage, but a third light could potentially fill the middle in a bit better (my aquascape has 2 stacks of rocks with a central open area, the middle really isn’t critical). I have an old AI Vega that was on the tank before and I’m planning to see if I can use the PARwise to tune the spectrum to match the Skys and then use it for a middle fill light.

The web app on the Kindle works very well and as responsive as my M1 Macbook Pro, so that’s really cool.

It’s nitpicky but the web app on the Kindle Fire 7 and Fire 8 using the Silk browser wastes space at the top of the screen with the tab and web address persistently displaying.

It makes it such that you can’t fit the whole spectrum display and PAR readings on the same screen without cutting off the top of the spectrum. It’s still very useable if you cut off the top of the spectrum, just not quite as nice as seeing everything at once.

Normal webpages, including the Neptune Apex dashboard can scroll and “push” the address bar and tab off the top of the screen, making better use of almost the whole screen.

@ITCreefculture I hope an update to the web app can fix this shortcoming on these smaller Kindle Fire tablets.

See screenshots: (ignore the actual spectrum and PAR - I just had it sitting under a dim table lamp while testing). If showing the whole spectrum graph it cuts off the PAR and Kelvin panels. If scrolling to show those panels, the top edge of the spectrum is cut off. The last screenshot on the same device (Fire 7) and the same Silk browser (just in a different tab) shows how the Apex fusion dashboard can scroll the address bar and tab off to use the whole screen.

 

[ConsummatePro]

OK initial tests with the PARwise. My tank is lit with 2 Neptune Skys over a 165 gallon bowfront tank, which is about 6 feet wide. These are measurements taken about 8 inches below the water with the lights 8" above the water. The spectrum is set to the Neptune Coral Growth mode at about 38% intensity. PARwise reports PAR 243, peak of 447 nm.

I also posted a screenshot of the spectrum graph from BRSTV's PUR video and I think the spectral peaks look very similar. Their (very expensive) spectrometer shows a 441 nm peak (see the upper right hand red box with the lambda-p value 441 nm).

This seems really close to me, given that I don't know what setting BRS had their Sky set to. I know the PARwise isn't being marketed as a PUR monitor but it certainly looks quite good to my very novice eyes!