The Apogee PAR meter is a great tool for getting spot readings on our lights PAR values in reef tanks. For hobbyists they are fairly affordable and that's the reason why you see them more than others. If you have never used one you should totally join one of the local reef clubs and gain access to this awesome tool.
The apogee PAR meter is measuring the awesomeness of my face at 6!
The only problem with this meter is that it really under reports the blue light in LEDs. For all intents and purposes this meter is better suited to measure light in a freshwater planted tank than in a reef aquarium. The chart below shows how it under reports the light in the 400-500nm range. The black bar represents the range of the meter.
There are little tricks you can use if you really want more of a real number for the PAR your fixture may be putting out. For better and more accurate results measure PAR for blue wavelengths first. So just turn on the fixtures differing blue channels one at a time then multiply the PAR reading displayed using the table below for each wavelength.
400nm multiply 3.3
410nm multiply 2.5
420nm multiply 2
430nm multiply 1.6
440nm multiply 1.4
450nm multiply 1.25
460nm multiply 1.2
470nm multiply 1.1
480nm multiply 1.1
you can then add the total you get with the white channels for the total. This will be a more accurate number.
Hopefully this helps a bit and isn't that complicated. If you guys have any tips or tricks for the Apogee I would love to hear them as well!
The apogee PAR meter is measuring the awesomeness of my face at 6!
The only problem with this meter is that it really under reports the blue light in LEDs. For all intents and purposes this meter is better suited to measure light in a freshwater planted tank than in a reef aquarium. The chart below shows how it under reports the light in the 400-500nm range. The black bar represents the range of the meter.
There are little tricks you can use if you really want more of a real number for the PAR your fixture may be putting out. For better and more accurate results measure PAR for blue wavelengths first. So just turn on the fixtures differing blue channels one at a time then multiply the PAR reading displayed using the table below for each wavelength.
400nm multiply 3.3
410nm multiply 2.5
420nm multiply 2
430nm multiply 1.6
440nm multiply 1.4
450nm multiply 1.25
460nm multiply 1.2
470nm multiply 1.1
480nm multiply 1.1
you can then add the total you get with the white channels for the total. This will be a more accurate number.
Hopefully this helps a bit and isn't that complicated. If you guys have any tips or tricks for the Apogee I would love to hear them as well!
