Complete PAR survey of my Tank

Great info, thanks for creating this.
Out of curiousity which par meter did you use for this?

 

It was an Apogee, and I believe it was their MQ-200.

It looked like this one:
MQ-200 Quantum Separate Sensor with Handheld Meter - Apogee Instruments, Inc.

 

Nice I've used that meter before its quite a good unit. Did you take the measurements using sun or electric mode?

 

I took them in electric mode. Not sure if that was correct, but the manual I downloaded (which was pretty spars) seemed to indicate that was the way I wanted to go.

 

http://www.apogeeinstruments.com/light-intensity-measurements-for-light-emitting-diodes-leds/

The above link has some good info about measuring LEDs with their equipment if you have want to read a bit. Dunno if that's the one you saw.

 

I read through it, and I'm not sure I fully understand everything that link has to offer, but it would seem that the sensor has a little less sensitivity toward the bluer spectrums. That may explain why I seemed to get somewhat lower readings than I had expected at my peak light period, where the color is leaning more toward the blue side.

definitely good information to have.

 

I think your should locate a Seneye Instrument and compare readings!!!! I would throw a couple bucks your way out of curiosity if you have a place to rent their tool that does par.

 

That looks interesting. I like the idea of being able to see not just APR, but color temp as well.
Product Review:Seneye - Reefs.com

I'll have to look into that - there's an LFS not too far from me that sells lots of the higher end and cutting edge stuff. I'll have to swing in there next time I'm near them and see if they have one of these to rent.

 

for me the PAR and Spectrum is the only decent things about it. I mean how many people need nh4 alarms but what i read the light readings are pretty spot on. I would love to see your findings.

 

agreed - beyond the first few weeks of a new saltwater tank, I don't see a real need for constant nh4 monitoring. But the light meter is interesting