tierarzt Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Hey, I'm looking for a reliable par meter to fine tune / perfectly dial in my razor nano over my 20G cube. I have read that par meters can read lower or in general be inaccurate with leds. If anyone has had success with a specific meter and can recommend one please let me know. Thanks! Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 You pretty much have two choices in the 'feasible' realm - the Apogee meters (which are good), sensor itself runs $160 and have your own multimeter or buy the whole shebang for $320ish, or the Li-cor meter, which is around a grand, but is much more accurate. Obviously I'd recommend the former lol. Link to comment
farkwar Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Or rent one. https://reefledlights.com/shop/par-meter-rental/ Link to comment
gus6464 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Sometimes if you are super duper lucky you can get a refurb LiCor directly from them for ~$450. When they come up though they disappear very quickly. But if you have the luck gods in your favor you can score big time. Link to comment
DNK Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Apogee meters is not good. It has up to 3-times error in critical important violet part of spectrum. Even experienced reefkeeper may devastate own reef owing to using Apogee meter. Link to comment
Horerczy Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Apogee meters is not good. It has up to 3-times error in critical important violet part of spectrum. Even experienced reefkeeper may devastate own reef owing to using Apogee meter. That's scenario would be less the fault if the meter and more the reefkeeper for not researching his tool correctly. The correction calculations are rather well documented after all. Link to comment
DNK Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 You know about flaws of Apogee meter. You also know about correction. But you sure about ALL reefkeepers has this knowledge? I'm not sure. Please understand my opinion - trust to Apogee may devastate home reef. This is extremely important point. Link to comment
Horerczy Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I doubt all reefkeepers do have such knowledge and i respect your opinion on the matter. My opinion is that if someone is going to spend money on something as expensive as a quantum meter or similar device they should throughly research the product first. A similar strategy should be used with all matters in this hobby honestly but that's another debate fire another time. Link to comment
gus6464 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Another option as well is a Seneye Reef. Cheaper than a complete Apogee and will measure much more than PAR but also spectrum, pH, NH4, etc. http://reefradiance.com/seneye-reef-device.html Link to comment
evilc66 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 It will not measure spectrum (any spectral plots the software shows will be approximations based on the RGB light sensor used in the device), nor will it be any more accurate than the Apogee (again because of that RGB light sensor) Link to comment
DNK Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Seneye Reef is a toy. Not more. At least when we speak about of light. Link to comment
gus6464 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Seneye Reef is a toy. Not more. At least when we speak about of light. Ok but not everyone can drop $1k on a LiCor. At least the Seneye can give a good approximation like the Apogee and also measure other useful things. What's the point of coming into the thread and bashing everything when you have no other solutions to offer. Link to comment
masterbuilder Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 When all else fails...read the directions. Link to comment
farkwar Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 A little late in the game, but has anyone compared a PAR meter against a light meter? Either a cheapo lux meter or a real photographic light meter, like a Sekonic or Gossen. Seneye Reef is a toy. Not more. At least when we speak about of light. Link to comment
gus6464 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 A little late in the game, but has anyone compared a PAR meter against a light meter? Either a cheapo lux meter or a real photographic light meter, like a Sekonic or Gossen. The calculation when using a cheapo lux meter if I am not mistaken is divide by 67 to get PAR approximation. Link to comment
DNK Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 The calculation when using a cheapo lux meter if I am not mistaken is divide by 67 to get PAR approximation. This is very approximate ratio. To be honest, it is mistakenly ratio. Please note - visibility of 410nm light is approximately 100 times less than 555nm. So, any luxmeter will be wrong for this critical important part of spectrum many times, noticeably more than Apogee. I hope, till end of September I will show in which way this task can be solved by cheap and elegant way. Link to comment
farkwar Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I thought the Apogee was bad reading at blue and violet. Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I thought the Apogee was bad reading at blue and violet. It reads low at both ends of the visible light spectrum. Compensation factors are given on Apogee's site and are mentioned and disussed all over the Internet. Like any scientific instrument, one needs to do some basic research in order to use it properly. Link to comment
tierarzt Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Thanks for the lively input. I may look into renting the apogee before shelling out to buy one. I am aware of the corrections that need to be calculated in for the blue and violet light. Thanks again! Link to comment
farkwar Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Still would be cool to find out how say a Sekonic 558, 508, or 758 compares to a PAR meter. Link to comment
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