Look at Apogee Instruments' website - they have a number of PAR sensors starting at $184. I don't know which one is right for your situation.I'd be a lot more interested in PAR at $200. Which one do you recommend?
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Look at Apogee Instruments' website - they have a number of PAR sensors starting at $184. I don't know which one is right for your situation.I'd be a lot more interested in PAR at $200. Which one do you recommend?
The question is - is that estimate going to be any more accurate than I can get watching BRS's videos where they test the PAR of my light at various heights and positions? Or the threads where Dana has tested a whole bunch of other lights? Etc?
Black Friday is coming up.
I got the USB Smart Quantum SQ-420 PAR Sensor - Apogee that plugs into my laptop for $190 last Black Friday
Accurate *to the point that it actually matters* is the question.Yes, it absolutely will be more accurate. BRS, Dana and the reefing community don't test every single permutation of every single light there possibly is. Your own measurement will be better if you want to, say, run the lights closer to your tank.
Or farther away.
Or use more units.
Or use fewer units.
Or use a custom color setting for LEDs.
Or buy a new, novel combination of T5 bulbs.
Or use a different generation of LED light.
Or add supplemental LEDs/T5s to your existing lighting.
Or change MH bulbs or ballasts.
Or buy a brand new black box that nobody has tested.
Or buy a black box from the same manufacturer, but the LED layout has changed.
Or change lights and want to make sure the new one roughly matches the old one in intensity.
Or any other thing that could potentially alter the intensity of your light.
If you don't want to measure your own PAR, that's fine. Nobody's going to come to your door and put a gun to your head and force you to measure it. I'm not going to advocate ignorance and laziness when it's so cheap and easy to get a reasonable PAR estimate. It literally will take less than 20 minutes and less than $20. Skim over Dana's article in my previous post. Go to Amazon, search for lux meters and buy one. When it arrives at your house, hold it over your tank, and divide the reading by 45 to 70, depending on the lighting technology. That's it.
PAR is only a small part of the equation. There are many other things like spectrum that also play a part. Also LUX and PUR. The clarity of your water also plays a huge part. If a grows out and shades another one it can affect the PAR. i have never tested my PAR levels and I never plan on it. Place a coral where you think it will do good and watch it. If happy and growing don't change. If unhappy then move. Lights also lose strength over time, which will also affect the PAR. IMHO PAR is a waste of money and time. It is but a tiny part of a successful reef tank. Much like ORP. Knowing the value can help, but neither is a huge factor in success vs failure.
I used a rack and moved them up slowly. Then I just set them in place. If they fall I glue them down. After a few weeks I will use putty and make them permanent. They snap off easily with glue.out of curiosity, do you glue down your corals then snap them off if they aren’t happy? I don’t really have enough holes and crags to hold all my plugs. Right now, everything is just on a magnetic rack, but I was planning to start gluing soon.
Black Friday is coming up.
I got the USB Smart Quantum SQ-420 PAR Sensor - Apogee that plugs into my laptop for $190 last Black Friday
Look at Apogee Instruments' website - they have a number of PAR sensors starting at $184. I don't know which one is right for your situation.
out of curiosity, do you glue down your corals then snap them off if they aren’t happy? I don’t really have enough holes and crags to hold all my plugs. Right now, everything is just on a magnetic rack, but I was planning to start gluing soon.
PAR is only a small part of the equation. There are many other things like spectrum that also play a part. Also LUX and PUR. The clarity of your water also plays a huge part. If a grows out and shades another one it can affect the PAR. i have never tested my PAR levels and I never plan on it. Place a coral where you think it will do good and watch it. If happy and growing don't change. If unhappy then move. Lights also lose strength over time, which will also affect the PAR. IMHO PAR is a waste of money and time. It is but a tiny part of a successful reef tank. Much like ORP. Knowing the value can help, but neither is a huge factor in success vs failure.
The problem with this is when you purchase coral at higher prices and want them to look the same under the same lights and have similar growth and health you need to know par. This can be very risky for reefers to just throw coral where ever and hope for the best. I'm not saying it isn't working for you but it is a gamble for sure.
Lets say you purchase an acro that grow at 500-700 par like purchased in these most recent live sales, and you put that coral at 200 PAR not only will you not see the same color or the same growth.
PAR is important when the reef calls for it.
Cause not everyone has bags of money laying aroundI agree with your premise. Playing devil’s advocate though, it’s $60 plus a $500 deposit. Some people can’t afford to be out of pocket that much for over a week. If so, how they can afford a reef tank is another question entirely.
Good luck trying to find somewhere to rent one in CanadaYou do know that BRS isn't the only place to rent a PAR meter, right? A quick search shows other places with a smaller deposit. Also, I bet a few of your LFS rent them as well.
I also suggested checking with local reef clubs. I know mine has them for members in good standing...for free!
That was my point without getting too technical, thank uThere's no such thing as "the same lights" - because PAR, phosphates, nitrates, alkalinity are all interconnected and all relevant to color and health. If you take a coral at 700 par in a tank with .25ppm phosphates/50 ppm nitrates and put it in a tank at 700 par and .02ppm phosphates/1ppm nitrates - you'll nuke the thing.
So that actual par number ends up not being that useful - you end up having to put it lower than you'd like and work it up - because too low light is always better than too high.
Its useful knowing where the 'hot' and 'cold' spots are in your tank - but theres no real accurate target here. There are way too many variables.