Unexpected PAR readings on my redsea 300xl with Kessil a360x's

[Spare time]

There have been a few posts threads on this. Several have concluded that Kessils can not be accurately measured for par output using that tool as the spectrum they produce is not correctly picked up by that sensor. You could search for that across the forum, there are even some YouTube videos on it. It’s been known for years. Wether you buy into that or not is a personal preference I guess. I can state from personal experience that they can and do grow sps perfectly fine.

edit. There’s a couple videos on par vs pur that go into this a little more

I really think that is an issue with older par meters.

 

[anthonymckay]

You are running them at 75% intensity. I am not sure why its a surprise that the par is not higher. Just turn them up.

Did you not read the whole first post? My surprise was that even at 100% the par isn't higher (ie: sub-200). I ran them at 75% because until I got my hands on a PAR meter I was under the impression that they were much stronger lights than they actually are, hence the entire point of starting this thread.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I really think that is an issue with older par meters.

I don’t pay attention to par but I remember it being thrown around with Kessils years and years ago, only reason I mentioned it as t does pop up every now and then on the forum.

 

[Spare time]

I don’t pay attention to par but I remember it being thrown around with Kessils years and years ago, only reason I mentioned it as t does pop up every now and on the forum.

Yeah I know older par meters that people used had issues with the violet range.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I ran an A360X between two tanks for over 6 months. The 24*24 spread is a pipe dream. I found one Kessil for every 12" of tank was the sweet spot. So 3 A360X for a 3 foot tank. Tank width will also play a role here

As someone who will only buy LED (not a fan of using old tech and hate heat generators) I would agree that this seems to be the case with every single light vendor. 24x24 is a joke and spread should be more like 8-12 inches.

My experience with ecotech was that if they said I needed 4 then it meant I needed 8.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I don’t remember the whole scenario, something about the apogee sensor vs a full spectrometer. Also, the x series lights do have uv.

They technically do, but a negligible amount because the chips they use for "UV" are actually just above 400nm. So a little bit of the light from that chip is in the UV range but not enough to affect a par reading by much.