ITC PAR Wise Meter New

[Hurricane Aquatics]

After some terrible service at saltwateraquarium.com and CoralVue, I finally received my new ITC PAR wise meter.

Instructions are zero in the package or in the ITC website. I've figured out the freshwater and saltwater selection for modes, but there's supposed to be an above water or underwater modes. I don't see those so I've submitted an email to their support.

I also have an Apogee MQ-510 full spectrum underwater meter as well.

I took this reading 10.5 inches from the bulbwith the PAR Wise meter sitting on my lid directly under the Reef Brite 250w metal halide using Hamilton 14k bulbs that are 3 months old. I am also using Reef Brite 250w electronic ballasts.

For quick reference, out of water in the air, the PAR Wise gives me a reading of 636 PAR. The Apogee MQ-510 at the exact same spot, gives me a reading of 805.

The ITC is supposed to make corrections based on spectrum to give you true PAR. If the PAR Wise is right, I'm thinking I need more PAR. All of my Acroporas are doing perfect though.

I took readings a couple of weeks ago using my Apogee MQ-510 and about 15 inches under the water where my Acroporas are, I am getting about 300 PAR as an average and 220 on the sandbed.

I'll see what the PAR Wise says tomorrow. Here is the Pic I spoke of above, this is in the air, not under water.

As you can see though, the MH Hamilton 14k spectrum is absolutely perfect.

 

[JoJosReef]

Following because I was thinking about this meter.

 

[Alexoss]

Following too

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Following too

See here:

PARwise

Just ordered mine this morning from SaltwaterAquarium.com Should be here this week. Looking forward to comparing my LEDs vs Halides, etc.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Alexoss]

Just saw it, so looks like the Parwise would be pretty accurate if i read you right.
i have the seneye and i just hate it when it comes to Par reading, values are all over the place, from one day to another, i don t even get the same readings.
ITC being the same manufacterer, i m a little bit hesitant to order the Parwise.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Just saw it, so looks like the Parwise would be pretty accurate if i read you right.
i have the seneye and i just hate it when it comes to Par reading, values are all over the place, from one day to another, i don t even get the same readings.
ITC being the same manufacterer, i m a little bit hesitant to order the Parwise.

I have no experience with the Seneye. The PARwise was very stable as far as readings.

I couldn't tell you if it is accurate or not. I can tell you that when I adjusted my PAR based on the PARwise and not the Apogee, everything started doing better.

The Apogee always jumps around even with the flow off.

 

[NormanB]

Please keep the info coming!

 

[mfinn]

Just saw a video with Carlos from CoralVue and it looks like the Parwise isn't submersible.
They did a little demo and did not place it in the water.
Not much good if it can't measure par down where the corals are at.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Just saw a video with Carlos from CoralVue and it looks like the Parwise isn't submersible.
They did a little demo and did not place it in the water.
Not much good if it can't measure par down where the corals are at.

Of course it's submersible. Can read out of water or under water. Has two settings.

 

[mfinn]

Of course it's submersible. Can read out of water or under water. Has two settings.

I did not see them use it in the water. Just over the top of the tank.

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I did not see them use it in the water. Just over the top of the tank.

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Sure, anytime. They aren't very good on instructions lol. I have one and it is definitely for use underwater.

If you have any questions about it feel free to let me know. Glad to help.

 

[mfinn]

Sure, anytime. They aren't very good on instructions lol. I have one and it is definitely for use underwater.

If you have any questions about it feel free to let me know. Glad to help.

I'm curious how does it stack up to Apogee?

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I'm curious how does it stack up to Apogee?

I have the Apogee MQ-510 and the Parwise reads 100 PAR more than the Apogee. I have another post where I test them both. I adjusted off the Parwise and am getting much better results.

I believe the Apogee is off.

 

[mfinn]

I have the Apogee MQ-510 and the Parwise reads 100 PAR more than the Apogee. I have another post where I test them both. I adjusted off the Parwise and am getting much better results.

I believe the Apogee is off.

I saw where you said there was a big difference in readings between the 2.
But at the beginning didn't you say your acros were doing great?

Also, since the Apogee is supposed to be the gold standard, do you believe your Apogee is damaged?

I am not disputing your claims, just gathering information so I can make my choices.

Also I don't know much on the subject, but wasn't the Apogee MQ-510 designed ( or used for ) leds?
You are using MH, so would the Parwise be more suited to MH?

Again I am swimming in deep water here.

 

[JoJosReef]

I have the Apogee MQ-510 and the Parwise reads 100 PAR more than the Apogee. I have another post where I test them both. I adjusted off the Parwise and am getting much better results.

I believe the Apogee is off.

I believe you said the Parwise was reading 100 lower, right? So Apogee might have been overestimating PAR, correct?

I just got mine yesterday. Waiting on the holder to arrive and will start testing my AI prime and Noopsyche mini.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I saw where you said there was a big difference in readings between the 2.
But at the beginning didn't you say your acros were doing great?

Also, since the Apogee is supposed to be the gold standard, do you believe your Apogee is damaged?

I am not disputing your claims, just gathering information so I can make my choices.

Also I don't know much on the subject, but wasn't the Apogee MQ-510 designed ( or used for ) leds?
You are using MH, so would the Parwise be more suited to MH?

Again I am swimming in deep water here.

MFinn,

No worries, ask whatever you like.

Yes, my Acros were doing ok. I wasn't seeing a lot of growth and they were lacking color and browning a bit from the lack of light. I was surprised at the lack of light seeing as how I had the dual MH fixtures. I've thought of changing bulbs to see if that raises the PAR out of the MH any. Haven't done that yet, but it has no bearing on the PAR meters.

It was hard to adjust based off the PARwise, because as you said, the Apogee is supposed to be the gold standard. The Apogee was made for all lighting and also that model was updated to read LEDs as well.

Once I adjusted the PAR (and added my LEDs at the same time), the Acros changed for the better very quickly. I had an ORA Red Planet frag that never did much of anything. It had started to RTN and it was very pale. The RTN was my fault and I can cover that later, it had nothing to do with PAR or overall lighting, etc.

MH and LED, you were asking about the Apogee and those two technologies. I tested the MH and the LEDs alone separately on the Apogee and the PARwise. MH and LED read consistently anywhere from 85 to 110 more on the Apogee.

As it stands, I'm adjusted with no flow to around 300 with the PARwise. That's about 15 inches deep in the water where my Acros are. On the Apogee, it was reading 400 to 410. So yes, I was concerned about raising the PAR 100 overnight. Based on my deductions of overall color, growth, health, etc. I didn't think I was getting that much PAR before so I did it. It was a wise choice.

Is my Apogee off? Maybe, I bought it about a year ago from BRS. Brand new, not a rental or anything like that. It was almost $600 or a little better with tax. I've used it maybe 5 times and after every use, it's immediately rinsed in RODI water, dried, and put back in the box.

BRS had a video where they tested they Seneye and the Apogee. They had 2 Apogee I think, and every one of those were off by I believe 30% or more. So the Apogee was reading more PAR than it was actually getting. The Seneye that BRS was testing with was pretty much dead on.

I can tell you that I'm ticked if the Apogee is off that much as I wasted my money. ITC the company that makes PARwise and Seneye, told me that Apogee reads UV as PAR and MH has a bit of UV. Yeah, but it doesn't have an extra 100 PAR of UV.

I'm sure if I reach out to Apogee they'll tell me to mail it in (at my own cost) and they'll recalibrate it (at my own cost), I'm sure.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I believe you said the Parwise was reading 100 lower, right? So Apogee might have been overestimating PAR, correct?

I just got mine yesterday. Waiting on the holder to arrive and will start testing my AI prime and Noopsyche mini.

Yes, that's correct. I haven't had a chance to use my holder really yet. It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be.

 

[V A R I A N T]

I see on the manufacturer’s website that kelvin measures up to 10,000. That’s disappointing.

Smart Submersible Quantum (PAR) Sensor

PARwise is a unique light meter with the ability to measure spectrum. It can be used underwater and in air. It gives you all of the relevant lighting measurements required to make informed decisions.

www.par-wise.com

 

[mfinn]

I see on the manufacturer’s website that kelvin measures up to 10,000. That’s disappointing.

Smart Submersible Quantum (PAR) Sensor

PARwise is a unique light meter with the ability to measure spectrum. It can be used underwater and in air. It gives you all of the relevant lighting measurements required to make informed decisions.

www.par-wise.com

So, since I like my lighting to go more towards 14K to 16K, the Parwise isn't going to fully measure my par?

 

[oreo54]

It just won't call it 14000k ect.
Par will still be measured just fine.

So, since I like my lighting to go more towards 14K to 16K, the Parwise isn't going to fully measure my par?

It just won't be called 14000k ect
Doesn't affect the measurement at all.