Trying out the Seneye Reef unit.

[gwhook]

I have been using the Seneye Reef unit for a day or two. It is made in England and I purchased it from a USA distributor. The Distributor has been great with taking calls getting me info and things like that. The instructions are light. I have been working on figuring the unit out. What I have seen so far it is handy. The down side is for it to read anything other that PAR,LUX, and Kelvin you need to have a slide. Each one last 30 days and it is 28.00 including shipping for 3 months worth.

It takes reading every 30 min. or hour not sure which one. If things are above or below the ranges you set it will send you an email. The dash board is web based and free.

I am looking to text the light meter against the clubs new meter. We will see.

 

[k2parkstar]

Looks pretty cool

 

[redtop03]

how long did you let your slide soak before installing it ?

I just installed my second slide in mine,I had forgot to let it soak prior to my first slide expiring,so I installed it right away...it took the pH about 4 hours before it started reading correctly but everything else seems fine without letting it soak.....pre-soaking is a must with the slides

I received an email letting me know that my pH was low too,plus the red light on the unit itself was lit letting me know something wasn't right...

when I first connected mine to the PC,it took a few hours for all the software download and updates but it was easy to set up and get going,the first whole day mine ran, I got a notice that my temperature was going above the safe limit, it was due to my halides but I had never noticed it before, I'm hardly ever around my tank while the halides are on so I would likely never seen it, but thanks to the Seneye letting me know I had a problem, I was able to correct it without any issues....I added another fan and redirected the heat so now my water temperature stays within the safe range

I like that the Seneye will record trends in the parameter readings and can calculate if a problem is about to occur,it will let you know that a problem is about to happen before it happens,giving you enough time to correct the issue before it becomes a problem

anxious to see how the PAR meter compares to a much more expensive unit too, these are designed specifically for measuring aquarium lights, most of the PAR meters on the market are designed to read ambient light as well as direct light and calculate the PAR, these have to be aimed directly at the light to get an accurate reading so that ambient light isn't factored into the equation

 

[Rob.D]

I can't wait to see how the readings compare!

 

[gwhook]

Well when are you coming over???

 

[Rob.D]

Well I finally made it over to Gary's place to do a side by side comparison between the Seneye and Apoge PAR meters.

We tested Gary's JBJ intermidiate LED 28 gallon tank.

First off I am not claiming this to have been a strictly regulated scientific comparison, with that said, I took readings from all areas in his tank where corals were directly placed. The water flow was left on to simplify things and at times it was hard to get a stable reading, but with a steady hand the readings only varied by 3-5 points; I began at the front glass and worked my way up the rock work, PAR numbers went from 50-300ish respectively.

Gary took readings from the Seneye, following the same path (as close as possible), the Seneye numbers were nearly exact within 5 points.

Again this was in no way a claim of science, to say the least I am very impressed that a $150 product performed in the same capacity as a $300+ PAR meter did; let me further mention that the Seneye also reads Ammonia, temp, PH, and can send out warning emails if set alerts are tripped.

I now think that the standard PAR meters are WAY over priced. I will most definitely be purchasing a Seneye in the near future.

 

[k2parkstar]

Awesome! Sounds like the seneye is a great device

 

[808jaymakoa]

Did you change the settings and put it on marine mode. It's a little check box on smaller pop up screen that has temp ph and ammonia

 

[Rob.D]

Did you change the settings and put it on marine mode. It's a little check box on smaller pop up screen that has temp ph and ammonia

Your question has confused me....might not be your fault, I'm easily confused

 

[808jaymakoa]

Pull this screen up and click the little lockbox in bottom right corner and then check marine as shown in second picture

 

[Rob.D]

Oh, I'm not sure, (Gwhook) the owner of the Seneye set it up.

 

[bmac16]

hi guys, can you comment on the overall quality of the product? there was a guy on one of the local forum basically bashing these units. to me they seem like a great tool to add to our arsenal, and quite accurate to your test!

 

[808jaymakoa]

Rob I hear you. I was told to check that box from a vendor and it corrected my high ph reading I kept getting (8.5). I don't know which way is completely right but from my personal experience it has made my results pin point accurate. And in my opinion it's great quality.

 

[Rob.D]

I can not comment on the overall quality of the product; I only used it as a PAR meter for less than 45 minutes, so to be fair, that is just too little of time to judge it as a reef keeping monitor.