Par Meter Par Off!!!

Рет қаралды 4,718

3 жыл бұрын

I've somehow got my hands on three distinctly different PAR meters and I want to do what any normal reefing tech junky would do, compare them!
In this episode I will do some live cross comparisons between the Seneye Reef (in the Felix Smart branding), an old school Apogee QMSWSS and the all new Apogee MQ-510.
This video may save you some time, money, or trouble when measuring your tanks PAR levels - especially if you are wanting to test LED with them.

Пікірлер: 67

@johnbrand1893 3 жыл бұрын

Loved the par comparisons, along with the cost options, another worthwhile honest informative video, people trust your opinions Sam 👍 And it’s showing in the ever increasing subs, and thanks 🙏 for giving Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 a shout out, appreciated buddy. 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks John!!

@chosenjacob4604 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Parker, I have the MQ510 and the Seneye Reef. I bought the Apogee as my Seneye was reading WAY to high compared to other people’s results and I simply didn’t believe it. I got in touch with BRS, as they measured my light, and it turns out the Seneye was reading at least 40% more than all of their tests. The Seneye says my XR30 gives 500 PAR at 30% intensity, which is nonsense. Apogee showed around 270, which is more believable.

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

At last! Someone seeing similar results to what I found! Thank you for sharing

@ceirongreen1676 2 жыл бұрын

I'm having the same issue with the Seneye. I have 2 AI Hydra 26HD mounted to BRS recommended height and spectrum and mine is reading 548 PAR 6 inches off the sand bottom

@leehempson9408 3 жыл бұрын

Interesting stuff Sam - I was considering the Seneye as other benefits with it - but now will give it a wide birth !!

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Sure seems they do have some that are accurate, but some are a bit off

@aarondus 3 жыл бұрын

I was just debating PAR meters and you helped me make up my mind. Apogee bought. 👊🏻 nice to see a few fish in the tank mate.

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Apogee looks rock solid to me, plus the convenience of the controller is a million times easier than setting up a computer and dealing with the seneye software! Haha just some snails and a temporary clownfish in there now that the cycle has finished. Just to keep the organics flowing and to give the bacteria yet more time to bolster their numbers :)

@aarondus 3 жыл бұрын

@@ParkersReef the fact that it’s not easily MAC friendly was also a huge deciding factor as well. I didn’t want to buy the wifi unit as well just to measure PAR.

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah I ended up buying a little windows ten computer just to use it.... Sigh

@TheDismalGecko 3 жыл бұрын

The tank is looking sooo good.

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Cheers!!

@nigelrichardson6825 3 жыл бұрын

More exciting than the technology - I see a fish !

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Hahaha just a little short term visitor now the cycle has completed :)

@veiyate 3 жыл бұрын

that is pretty strange, I have the Seneye myself and pretty on point if I compare it with par measurements from BRS, I have 2 radion xr15's. Also I believe Devon from Reefdudes made the same comparison and it wasn't that far off...

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

That’s what I was expecting, but not what I found 🤷🏻‍♂️

@RogueAquariums 3 жыл бұрын

Good comparison Sam. I was assuming that the seneye was approximately 10%-15% difference from the Apogee. I was wrong. Lol.. I just purchased the Apogee SQ-420 with a wand extendable to 30”

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Can’t go wrong with Apogee, definitely what I’ll be looking to buy i think!

@Puciferthegreat 3 жыл бұрын

Tested my seneye along with an apogee, got very similar results on both devices. Might be your device is a bit borked?

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah potentially, although have had a couple say they’ve had similar high readings. Perhaps it’s a quality control issue?

@Puciferthegreat 3 жыл бұрын

@@ParkersReef Wouldn¨t surprise me one bit. I bought mine 4 years ago so could very well be like batch by batch

@simmo56able 3 жыл бұрын

Hey Sam, I purchased a Seneye about 4 weeks ago. I think I am getting high readings on this one as well. I'll bring it with me tomorrow and if you want to test it you are welcome to

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

That’d be great John, thank you!!

@michaelbalsley6041 3 жыл бұрын

How did that measure up to what you had?

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Results are here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sNSAn9V8nKjXlo0.html

@samkuhner2093 3 жыл бұрын

Oooof love it

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Cheers mate!

@cameroncarter3253 3 жыл бұрын

WOW! NICE!

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

@nelsoncarter915 3 жыл бұрын

I was exspecting the Seneye to be more in the game.. Also.. I spotted clean crew and wait.. Fish in the dream tank..

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Hahah yeah the tank has officially cycled, although I like to give it plenty more time. Have been taking a handful of turbo snails from my other tanks each night and dropped a dozen captive bred trochus in their as well. Have a poor little widowed clownfish in there from a friends tank. He won’t be staying long term, but will provide a great little organic source now that the tank has cycled

@thereefaholic 3 жыл бұрын

Before I purchased my Apogee USB sensor for $199us I bought the Seneye. I found it was about 50% off. You found it 200% off so clearly there is a QC issue in their manufacturing. When I called them they tried to tell me my $500 Apogee was off. You know the hobby standard is off but their meter was correct approach. I also found that a couple hours later it was not at 50% off but rather 30. And later it was about 75% off so there was clearly some drift. I returned the unit and bought the Apogee. If it didn’t drift I would probably have kept it to use it as a reference for whenever I made changes or as things grow. But it was junk and I like my Apogee for only a few bucks more.

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

It’s to be expected at that price point. I just find it funny that if other KZfaq videos say their unit is accurate that people claim mine must be too, it’s a fairly cheap device that does more than just PAR so it’s worth highlighting that they may not all be so accurate :)

@bonsakoi7435 3 жыл бұрын

Have you tried the app, Tent buddy or ppfd meter. For android? How accurate is it for par

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

I have not. Is it designed for underwater use? I suspect it is more of a “brightness” meter then a “par” meter but could be wrong

@bonsakoi7435 3 жыл бұрын

@@ParkersReef I don't know, but there are 2 very similar, for smart phones, on google app store. "tent buddy" & "ppfd" meter". Cant aford a par meter so I would love to know how accurate or of it is to give me a idea, gives you the option to select the led 450, 650 etc. Even out of water would be helpful. Thanks

@The.MrFish 3 жыл бұрын

I wonder if Felix branded models have less calibration than the Seneye branded. Result differs quite a lot from other reviews I’ve seen on the forums and KZfaq. Interesting!

@The.MrFish 3 жыл бұрын

Would be interesting to see if you could borrow a Seneye branded Reef model from a local reefer and test against yours

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

It’s possible, although would be strange. This was using the seneye software!

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah good thinking, will see if I can get one (although it’s a pain with their software!)

@Lucas-coral-reefs 3 жыл бұрын

Par measurements with the Seneye can be done without the slide too but wow that difference makes me wonder......

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

yeah I was hoping they could be :D

@toejah 3 жыл бұрын

theirs a fish in the tank now nice.

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Hehehe a little temporary visitor now that the cycle has completed. Just to keep the bio load happening till the fish I want are ready :)

@tristanlambert2258 3 жыл бұрын

Would you be able to share your Phillips Coral Care settings? If possible share the file?

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

I don’t really have a file just yet, it’s a standard 10 hour both channels at 5% brightness whilst there is no coral :)

@tristanlambert2258 3 жыл бұрын

@@ParkersReef thanks for letting us know. As I'm sure you know the Coral Care community has a Facebook group that we share our setting file on so all can download. Would be great as a follower of your system build that we could have a little bit of your magic sparkle in our builds too. I'm finding your build very interesting to follow and the workings out for the decisions you have made all the way through. I also like not being based in the US you have a completely independent thinking compared to so many of the other build we see. And seem to be a fusion of Europen thinking thrown in.

@kevinw7044 3 жыл бұрын

Well, if I was ever going to buy a par meter, i would probably steer clear of the seneye. Mind you, never had one and probably never will. 👍

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

In fairness, the PAR component is almost an added bonus on the seneye and it is considerably cheaper than the apogee. But yes, I know where my money will be going!

@wigneshwaranganesh7575 3 жыл бұрын

Today only I bought Seneye Reef for $199 in my LFS 😳 hope it works right for me.

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Seems most do very well! Just a small percentage are well off

@loustick8484 3 жыл бұрын

Myy seneye reef have same result as Apogee but my seneye is the original one

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah definitely seems some are very accurate and some are not

@Boowii82 3 жыл бұрын

I am a bit confused by your “seneye” readings. I have a seneye that I have used for par readings. And never get readings that high at that depth. Sure it’s not faulty?

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

I can’t be sure, all I know is what I found in testing :)

@tristanlambert2258 3 жыл бұрын

Do you think the version you have is a different firmware to stop it being used without its controler? My seneye was fine when I compared it against another par meter.

@ParkersReef 3 жыл бұрын

I don’t believe so. I believe they just have differing build quality. I’ll do a comparison video between a few seneye shortly :)