The real Black Box light study

[Manose]

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,

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

This is not elegant but it will work really well

 

[wesman42]

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!

 

[Manose]

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

 

[wesman42]

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

Ahahaha well that's the way DIY is. The smell of unforseen trouble is in the air with certainty.

Which Seneye are you using? I want to dissect one. I might look into picking one up!

 

[Manose]

Ahahaha well that's the way DIY is. The smell of unforseen trouble is in the air with certainty.

Which Seneye are you using? I want to dissect one. I might look into picking one up!

I am using the Reef as it is 30$ off right now https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/seneye-reef-aquarium-monitor-seneye/

 

[oreo54]

Ahahaha well that's the way DIY is. The smell of unforseen trouble is in the air with certainty.

Which Seneye are you using? I want to dissect one. I might look into picking one up!

fig 10 is the most relevant afaict..
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140134052A1/en

 

[instantaquatics]

When will the testing begin?

 

[Manose]

When will the testing begin?

By the end of next week.

 

[Ariel V Rosa]

Yes good catch and I will update the main thread.
The SBReeflight will be tested once funds are available

I think Mike over at Sbreef lights is a standup guy and will send you one to test, he is easy to reach.

 

[wesman42]

fig 10 is the most relevant afaict..
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140134052A1/en

THIS is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.

I look forward to the upcoming testing, thanks again @Manose for doing this!!

 

[Manose]

I will update late tonight or in the morning with new pics of the Noopsyche k7ii light I received today for testing.:)

 

[Manose]

So I received a light from @noopsyche and I took some preliminary pics of it. He is sending the controller so it should be here soon.
My first impressions are that the light looks very well made with an all metal body and packaged very well...

It has a some weight to it to be so small...

We will put it through it's paces in this study as it should be a good test.

 

[noopsyche]

So I received a light from @noopsyche and I took some preliminary pics of it. He is sending the controller so it should be here soon.
My first impressions are that the light looks very well made with an all metal body and packaged very well...

It has a some weight to it to be so small...

We will put it through it's paces in this study as it should be a good test.

We have confidence that the test will have a good result.

 

[Beepinheimer]

15% of wearing light decreases with a black box 165W scattered lens. I am not burnt.















PAR796μmol m-2









https://lineblog.me/minimini/archives/1062439923.html

How did you cut that light diffuser panel? I found it to be very brittle and almost impossible to cut in a straight line.

 

[wesman42]

How did you cut that light diffuser panel? I found it to be very brittle and almost impossible to cut in a straight line.

Maybe by warming it up a little bit? I've never attempted but it's a suggestion.

 

[Ariel V Rosa]

How did you cut that light diffuser panel? I found it to be very brittle and almost impossible to cut in a straight line.

You don't, you score it in the smooth side with a sharp blade or an actual scoring tool, then you lay the part on the edge of a flat surface and snap it. You don't use power tools to cut the stuff. Cut ut the same way you would cut thin sheet plexiglass.

 

[symon_say]

So I received a light from @noopsyche and I took some preliminary pics of it. He is sending the controller so it should be here soon.
My first impressions are that the light looks very well made with an all metal body and packaged very well...

It has a some weight to it to be so small...

We will put it through it's paces in this study as it should be a good test.

This lights looks really interesting.

Waiting for the results.

 

[Manose]

This lights looks really interesting.

Waiting for the results.

If they perform as good as they look then we will have a winner;)

 

[User1]

With regards to the Seneye - get some help if that is the tool you are going to use to take measurements. It isn't a bad unit but a bit cumbersome to use on your own while taking snapshots. It had a top, middle, and bottom button already and when clicked has a timer which counts down from 5. It would be nice if that was adjustable. It would also be nice if the free form option had a bigger take measurement button :( In fact, I wish it had a record feature rather than snapshot.

Anyway it is a nice tool to maybe help tune in custom lights if one knows what to flip for a more proper setting. I recently picked up one and have been toying with it here and there. I'm seeing anywhere from 540 par at the top with 170 at the bottom. Middle is ranging from 330 to as low as 70 in the center where I have no lights (working on that at the moment). So it does take good measurements but I believe another person to click measurement with text would make it 10x easier.

This reading here below is 330 par left side of my tank middle with chips running at 80%. I'm going to assume the front think black line in bold is how the Seneye unit seems my lights and is overlaying or comparing it to something else. Not sure if I'm supposed to say oh - need to change this or wow, not so bad after all. If left side of graph purple 400 to 550 is good and the red readings of 600+ is bad :) Anyway it is a good tool. I saw some comments here so wanted to suggest help :)

 

[Manose]

With regards to the Seneye - get some help if that is the tool you are going to use to take measurements. It isn't a bad unit but a bit cumbersome to use on your own while taking snapshots. It had a top, middle, and bottom button already and when clicked has a timer which counts down from 5. It would be nice if that was adjustable. It would also be nice if the free form option had a bigger take measurement button :( In fact, I wish it had a record feature rather than snapshot.

Anyway it is a nice tool to maybe help tune in custom lights if one knows what to flip for a more proper setting. I recently picked up one and have been toying with it here and there. I'm seeing anywhere from 540 par at the top with 170 at the bottom. Middle is ranging from 330 to as low as 70 in the center where I have no lights (working on that at the moment). So it does take good measurements but I believe another person to click measurement with text would make it 10x easier.

This reading here below is 330 par left side of my tank middle with chips running at 80%. I'm going to assume the front think black line in bold is how the Seneye unit seems my lights and is overlaying or comparing it to something else. Not sure if I'm supposed to say oh - need to change this or wow, not so bad after all. If left side of graph purple 400 to 550 is good and the red readings of 600+ is bad :) Anyway it is a good tool. I saw some comments here so wanted to suggest help :)

I agree with your assessment so I will have 3 people
1st person holding the meter;Stig
2nd person to use the pc and click the correct buttons;Droid
3rd to go get plenty of coffee/tea and snacks to keep the other 2 going;Oldman;Nurse;Yawn