The real Black Box light study

OllieNZ

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Another one following along. Got a couple of Mars aqua's in the shed from my last setup, would love to see that they're good to dig out for my new one.
 

OllieNZ

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I also think looking at spectrum/led colours is a very valid concern.
The Mars Aquas I have, about half the white leds are daylight (6500k) and the rest are cool white (10-12000k). IMO the white channel was way too yellow which limited its usefulness
 

cvrle1

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I also think looking at spectrum/led colours is a very valid concern.
The Mars Aquas I have, about half the white leds are daylight (6500k) and the rest are cool white (10-12000k). IMO the white channel was way too yellow which limited its usefulness
This is one of the reasons I decided against Mars Aqua. Too much yellow for me. A lot of people do change those 6500k LEDs to cool white ones on Mars Aqua for this reason.
 

OllieNZ

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This is one of the reasons I decided against Mars Aqua. Too much yellow for me. A lot of people do change those 6500k LEDs to cool white ones on Mars Aqua for this reason.

It's a good thing they're relatively easy to swap about but not everyone wants to go that effort. The other issue I had with the Mars Aqua was the difficulty getting it adapted to dim with a micro controller but that's a tale for another thread.
 
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Hey guys! Looks like @noopsyche is wanting to give away some of their new K7ii lights. Go over to their thread to see how: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/h...ghts-for-free-noopsyche-k7-pro-ii-95w.506365/
This is one of the reasons I decided against Mars Aqua. Too much yellow for me. A lot of people do change those 6500k LEDs to cool white ones on Mars Aqua for this reason.
You are so correct. The Seneye(will be here this week) will give a decent look at the dominant spectrum per area of the tank.
Anyone have an idea on how to make a wand for this thing? I was thinking 1/2cpvc to a 45deg elbow then a T to mount it on.
 

cvrle1

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Hey guys! Looks like @noopsyche is wanting to give away some of their new K7ii lights. Go over to their thread to see how: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/h...ghts-for-free-noopsyche-k7-pro-ii-95w.506365/

You are so correct. The Seneye(will be here this week) will give a decent look at the dominant spectrum per area of the tank.
Anyone have an idea on how to make a wand for this thing? I was thinking 1/2cpvc to a 45deg elbow then a T to mount it on.

Here is a link that has DIY info on wand for Seneye: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/seneye-as-handheld-par-meter.296986/
 
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Just got a seneye in today and hooked up on the oldest windows laptop in the world :rolleyes: and it works like a charm.
Two of the big name lights(AI 26hd,Radion XR15WPro, new Kessil 360x will arrive next week) just came so we can compare them with our BB lights.
 
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The new parstick had been made for the seneye meter. I bought a Aquablade scraper from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009T7JDK8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Then I took 2 pieces of 1/8 thin acrylic and sandwiched them together with 2 part epoxy. This is for the meter to sit on,
parstick3.jpg

I then drilled four holes to attach it to the wand ^^^^^^^^^^^
Then I heated the wand and bent the scraper end to about 75deg as 90 would be to much
parstick2.jpg


This is not elegant but it will work really well
parstick5.jpg
parstick4.jpg
parstick1.jpg
 

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So why is Seneye being used as opposed to something like an apogee? I've heard both good and bad things about both....but I thought the general consensus was that an apogee was more accurate?

I do suppose that because you're using the same meter for all of the lights, the general spread and intensity can be captured the same nonetheless even if the Seneye is off....it will be off for all of them and so the result is still an accurate comparison.

I also very much like the par stick setup. Quite creative!
 
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So why is Seneye being used as opposed to something like an apogee? I've heard both good and bad things about both....but I thought the general consensus was that an apogee was more accurate?

I do suppose that because you're using the same meter for all of the lights, the general spread and intensity can be captured the same nonetheless even if the Seneye is off....it will be off for all of them and so the result is still an accurate comparison.

I also very much like the par stick setup. Quite creative!
The seneye with version 2 of the software is is maybe 5% off the mark on a 500$ Apogee 520. You are correct as to the assertion that if off, at-least it will read off for all. Not to mention the seneye lets me see the spectrum chart at each par level and for what we are doing that is key.
LOL took me 6 hours to make a wand that should have taken 30 min lol
 

Set it and forget it: Do you change your aquascape as your corals grow?

  • I regularly change something in my aquascape.

    Votes: 14 9.2%
  • I occasionally change something in my aquascape.

    Votes: 43 28.1%
  • I rarely change something in my aquascape.

    Votes: 74 48.4%
  • I never change something in my aquascape.

    Votes: 19 12.4%
  • Other.

    Votes: 3 2.0%
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