PAR meter results

GPhiAce

GPhiAce

New member
So here are the quick, rough and PITIFUL PAR readings. I hope you can read them. A little info about the lighting and system. 40br, 250w 14k Aquaconnect, 24w Fiji Purple T5, 24w ATI Actinic+. All bulbs were installed on Jan 18, 2009. Ballasts are a PFO for the MH and a Hagen for the T5. All are on individual reflectors, and the MH reflector is a LumenArc 3 mini. Lights are roughly 10 inches off the water. So…… how do I get my PAR up? What is the best ballast to switch to for the Aquaconnect???? I think I am going to post in the lighting forum too.

ParMeter.jpg
 
I expected much higher numbers from the bulbs. I thought above 400 were good, and I have seen reports of this bulb above 500-600 and my average PAR is roughly 200. I'm all confused, I guess I got more reading to do. Plus, the left side of my tank is really dark/low par.
 
Do you have a glass shield on your reflector??? Also, 10" is a bit high for optimal performance...

Lumenarcs are made to cover a 30" square section... Having a 3' tank is more than they are meant to cover... This can be resolved by raising the heighth of the pendant, which you have done, but as stated, will lower your PAR ratings...

Another thing to keep in mind is that it is not Intensity that gives color, but the spectrum of lighting... It is easy to bleach out corals with too much light... That being said, some wavelengths penetrate better than others...

Here are some good articles for those interested...

250w SE Spectral Analysis (Aquaconnect) (Part I of III)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/july2004/review.htm

Too much light!
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/july2004/feature.htm

Reflectors (Part I of III)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/feature.htm

Metal Halide Lamps and Ballasts
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/feature.htm
 
Thanks for all the articles Randy. I take it that you have read the articles about too much light?????? My original idea about the reflector was to have it slightly off centered so one side would be a little lower light than the other, but I guess I over did that a little-- wasn't expecting PAR in the 70s there. And wanted to have the reflector high enough to spread the tank, but left a few options in the design to lower it an inch or 2 if needed/wanted. Thanks for the support guys. After a little more reading, it looks like 200-300 are not that bad of PAR readings.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14456038#post14456038 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GPhiAce
Thanks for all the articles Randy. I take it that you have read the articles about too much light??????
Click to expand...

lol I always tell people not to follow my lead... ;) Some might say I'm a bit of an extremist... :D I'm pretty much the "Tim the Toolman Taylor" of the reefing world... The Bigger and Stronger the better... :p


You all would be proud of me though... I only have 4 T5's over my 58g now... I am totally and completely fighting the urge to go back to MH's... We'll see by the next meeting at my house if that holds true or not...
 
What happened, old bulb, broken ballast, something happened. I had 4 T5s over my 29g. It won't last.

Oh, I didn't psot the readings for T5 Actinics only, basically straight 80 and the back under the Fiji Purple only had 70. Depth did not seem to matter and between the bulbs did not matter much. The numbers were consistent.
 
None of the above... Just wanted to see what it would do for some of my LPS... The T5's bring out different colors than MH's do... I like it for some.... Don't for others... After I get all the tanks going, I'll see where I'm at and what I want for sure... ;) I know I don't like T5's only for SPS, but thats just a personal opinion...
 
What did you put most of your LPS in the 58? Last time I say it, it didn't have that many LPS in there. Compared to the cube, it was mostly SPS and Palys. I agree though. Good luck and take pictures.
 
Paul~ I wouldn't say most, but there is definately more in there than there was... ;)

Kim~ What can I say... I like to try different things... Only a little bit has changed since you were over Saturday... Just wait till the week is over... :D

Hopefully after I have all this set up, I won't be changing much for a while... ;)
 
Hey Paul,
Here is the website for the chart I was talking about:
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/
Click on 250 watt MH testing. The meter Joe used isn't as sensitive as the one Sanjay used. Most electronic ballasts seem to run the bulb at a PAR of round 400 while the magnetic runs it around 225. This equates to roughly 57% of the output of an electronic with a mgnetic while Sanjay's data looks more like 70% but a significant increase either way.
hth, Chris
 
Thanks, I looked it up as soon as I got home. I may be in the market for an electronic ballast. After those numbers, it looks like the electronic ballasts are way better and more effecient. Not planning on making any sudden decisions-- I hope.
 
For the most part, the overall PAR increased by about 100. I am still not believing the values from the AC on IceCaps with a Lumenmax elite reflector-- ridiculously high numbers, like 400+ more than each of mine.
 
is the MH positioned basically between the 2 - 460 markers? did you say you have one halide?

Also, just curious, what would be the PAR readings with just the MH - no supplements?

Also, who's in line next for the meter - I want to see what my tank is doing?
 
Yeah, the bulb is pretty much centered there. I will try to get a good no T5 reading later. The T5s alone were just around 70 FYI, weak ballast and only 24w bulbs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Broken reefer
Sit on Top lighting
Replies
6
Views
439
wvned
wvned
S
AI Blade Grow and Glow help
Replies
5
Views
1K
Sermanley
S
P
Lighting question AI Blade.
Replies
2
Views
351
griss
griss
davisl
SOLARIS PFOaquatics with I5 Power Supply - AUTO settings question, there a manual?
Replies
5
Views
352
oreo57
oreo57
H
Aqamai Reef M Review
Replies
0
Views
166
hydor_italy
H
Back
Top