PAR meter and SPS succes

[Waterobert]

I am contemplating spending $350 on Apogee MQ-200 Par meter. Knowing strength of my light at any place in my tank would be very useful, however price of that knowledge is steep. Would you rather spend that money on more frags and hope for the best or bite the bullet and know that your frags get minimum of 150-250 pars? I want to know what sps pros are doing. Thanks

 

[tinkerman]

I recently bought one and find it very easy with placement. I have had troubles with chalices in the past finding good spots for them and placed a new one on first try. The only problem is finding info on corals and numbers to place them. I am getting tired of getting new corals and bleaching them or killing them and if it helps great it will help pay for itself. I was a little surprised by the par I'm getting with the halides i"m running and found the spots I start corals were hot spots in the tank.

 

[dixiedog]

I bought just the Apogee sensor, and hook it to a multimeter to get readings. Poor man's setup, but it works. I find it useful and interesting.

I'm far from a "pro" though!

 

[Waterobert]

Thanks for your input!
I think that Apogee is a wise investment, especially for a novice to sps corals. They are so delicate and I don't feel confident placing them at the bottom and slowly raising them up. My bottom is at 18" off water, for others bottom is at 12" or 24". Par number would be so much more accurate and would probably lead to much better results. I don't want to kill 10-20 frags just so I can develop "eye" for coral placement.

 

[daveonbass]

I like your rational for the expense. And I agree with it...just wish I could have afforded one before starting sps. The idea that the 350 is an insurance policy to help prevent losses in life, which are themselves expensive to lose, is a very well thought out economic reason for the initial expense.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

[d0ughb0y]

I bought just the Apogee sensor, and hook it to a multimeter to get readings. Poor man's setup, but it works. I find it useful and interesting.

I'm far from a "pro" though!

which sensor did you get? I think there are two kinds.

 

[dixiedog]

I think so too. But if I recall, it was an easy choice, like one was for fluorescent light and one was for natural sunlight, or something like that.

 

[29reef]

I've been keeping sps for almost ten years now. I only have used one in the last year, when I switched over to t5 lights. I've never had any issues with killing coral due to underlighting them, they just turn brown.

 

[Urchinhead]

I have one because I got a good deal on one. That said the only times I have used it were when I first setup my T5's and when I go to a LFS/Farmer and want to see what the PAR is that the coral is coming from so I can place it appropriately in my tank.

 

[RichardinMa]

If you only have one tank and things are not changing much you may be better off renting one on occasion. I have multiple tanks, plan on setting up a few more, and like to compare light bulbs/fixtures to see how the PAR compares among them so owning a meter makes more sense to me.

 

[batt600]

Its worth every penny . Some sps need low light to mild to high ,knowing what areas has high to low par is a plus, it also help in telling you when to change bulbs.

 

[d0ughb0y]

I think so too. But if I recall, it was an easy choice, like one was for fluorescent light and one was for natural sunlight, or something like that.

which type did you get?

 

[cromedogg33]

Is the investment really worth it? I mean to me it's obvious...if you need more par, move your coral up, if you need less par move your coral down.

 

[madkeenreefer]

I loaned one from a freind and it is a great peice of equiptment. I think that it is also important to know what the coral is that you are purchasing and this way yuo can then place it acordingly ie high light or lower light as not all SPS are created equal .

 

[Waterobert]

Thanks for your thoughts. Looks like most people agree that it is a useful tool and not just another gadget.

 

[bobkill]

Ask your local club- I am sure most clubs have a par metter

 

[nonstopfishies]

Ask your local club- I am sure most clubs have a par metter

Agreed. I know my club does and I borrow it once or twice a year. If I owned one it would just sit in the closet the rest of the year anyways.

 

[Reef Bass]

I am happy with mine. It's a serious tool. The first time you map your tank you are probably in for some surprises. For MH and LED fixtures, the huge impact of reflector design becomes apparent in terms of spread and intensity. T5s not so much.

And you'll be surprised how quickly light drops off as one lowers the probe in the tank.

The other major benefit is the objective measurement of available light. No more "tons of light" or "looks bright to me". Specific, objective values.

Want to find out whether the glass covers on your MH reflectors reduce par? You can. Want to understand how much less light is getting through because of the dried splashes on your glass covers? You can. Want to find out the impact of screening over part of the tank? Not a problem.

Sure, one can alter the amount of par a coral receives by raising or lowering it in one's tank, but is the par range even close to decent, let alone optimal? With a par meter you can be sure.

 

[ghostman]

I just bought one, and couldn't be happier. I was concerned with making the switch from T5 to LED and I needed the reassurance of some numbers. While its not something I will use everyday, the money was worth the piece of mind that my coral placements are not simply based on where I THINK they will work. Even though I've been reefing for years, the hobby has advanced so much. Now with different lighting options, pellets, zeo,etc., it's simple anymore. Many people say to not dose anything you cannot measure, I think that applies to light as well. I bought some frags yesterday, and I asked how much par they were under. I felt better getting a concrete number.

 

[Waterobert]

In this hobby we get so obssesed with testing water and forget about testing light. I hate to spend $350 on PAR meter, however I feel like it would be very beneficial to my sps corals.