School me on PAR meters

[fishmommy]

Ok I want to measure my PAR.
My tank is full of water.
I don't currently have a PAR meter but am willing to spend the $$.

What should I do? What should I buy? Can I put it in a baggie and submerge it or something? What's the deal with these gadgets?

 

[Flame Angel]

I am no expert so take what I say with a grain of salt.

1. What kind of lights do you have? LED or MH or T5?
2. You need not spend money on a PAR meter.
3. You are a paid member and have the right to full use of the clubs PAR meters. (of course distance may be an issue, but there is a meeting coming up again in Oxford).
4. Check out the light meter thread for a suggestion for what the clubs meter is. We have two different ones by the same manufacturer I believe.

Good Luck!

Ok I want to measure my PAR.
My tank is full of water.
I don't currently have a PAR meter but am willing to spend the $$.

What should I do? What should I buy? Can I put it in a baggie and submerge it or something? What's the deal with these gadgets?

 

[MrX]

Sanjay spoke at the OSRAS conference about PAR, PUR, Light Spectrums, etc. It was a great topic/presentation.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting

You can get a hobbyist PAR meter for about $300 he said, if you wanted to purchase your own. Or like Flame Angel said, you could borrow one of the club's meters.

Basically it's a probe attached to a stick that you position in your tank at various locations and take readings. The probe is waterproof; the meter itself stays outside the tank.

PAR meters aren't 100% correct; depending on your type of lighting there is a chance of some error in the measurement. I think Sanjay's presentation said it was usually less than 10%.

http://www.apogeeinstruments.com/aquarium-par-meters/

 

[fishmommy]

Thanks!
I have LED lighting on my tanks, so I'd want to be able to measure and understand that.
I also grow orchids under both LEDs and HID so I'd want to measure that stuff also!

 

[cilyjr]

Par meters don't measure led well. What I mean is that most photosynthesis is driven by light wavelengths in the 400 to 450 nm range and another at the other end of the spectrum in the 650 to 710 nm area. And these are exactly the ranges that give the most inaccurate readings. I don't really trust them for any light source that's not.....the sun


http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/2/equipment

 

[fishmommy]

I am super psyched...just ordered an Apogee meter. Once I get my measurements I'll probably make it available to members in the North Country if there's a need.