Is the Bulk Reef Supply PAR meter "rental" worth it?

[Schraufabagel]

Bulk Reef Supply essentially does the PAR meter rental where you can return the meter within 60 days for their $100 restocking fee. But I was also reading the reviews and most people said it was useless without the handle, which is $70 to own and can't be returned like the meter I don't think. Is the around $170 before tax worth it for the PAR map of my tank lighting?

Right now I'm just going off of the Bulk Reef Supply AI Prime recommendations for my mixed reef (even distribution of SPS, LPS, and softies).

I mainly ask, because some of my LPS corals in the middle of my tank are getting bleached. Whereas my softies at the same level are doing very well.

 

[blaxsun]

Do you have a Neptune Apex? The PMK module is only $299 I believe.

 

[Schraufabagel]

Do you have a Neptune Apex? The PMK module is only $299 I believe.

Unfortunately no. I use a Coralvue Hydros controller

 

[fryman]

I made a handle with 1 in pvc pipe and a 45deg fitting. I cut a slot at the bottom, drilled a hole and attached the par sensor. The cable goes inside the pipe. I can take a pic when I get home if interested.

IMO it's best to buy the sensor direct from Apogee. Mine is the mid-level one w/usb which cost like $400 iirc and should be calibrated yearly, but I use it often enough to justify the expense. If you have a reef club in your area someone has one you can borrow or go in on one with a handful of local reefers.

I think the $100 rental option is reasonable, since you mostly need to measure par during setup then once par is dialed in leave settings alone.

 

[Tamberav]

Gosh no... that is so much just for a rental. Used to be $30

The softie's doing well is no surprise. While they can survive under low light conditions, they actually do very well under high light too.

It seems by your description, your LPS are in a spot receiving too much light. You don't need to spend $170 to know that.

 

[Tamberav]

I mean if you are going to spend that much... you could just own the USB par meter and connect it to a windows or mac.

USB Smart Quantum SQ-420X PAR Sensor

PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) is the easiest way to measure the available light for corals consume and use for photosynthesis. With LED lights giving more and more control to the consumer the best thing is a PAR meter that is affordable and simple to use. With PAR readings you can...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Schraufabagel]

I mean if you are going to spend that much... you could just own the USB par meter and connect it to a windows or mac.

USB Smart Quantum SQ-420X PAR Sensor

PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) is the easiest way to measure the available light for corals consume and use for photosynthesis. With LED lights giving more and more control to the consumer the best thing is a PAR meter that is affordable and simple to use. With PAR readings you can...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I had no idea that was a thing. My tank is on my desk, so that would be super easy. And yes, I’ve been trying to find a balance between giving my SPS near the surface enough light and my LPS near the bottom not too much.

I might seriously consider the USB one

 

[vtecintegra]

I was going to say, if you have a laptop, buy the $250 usb sensor and make your own stick. The rental is no longer a good value in my opinion. It was ok at $50, but not at $100.

 

[piranhaman00]

Amazon “rental” for free.

 

[SPS2020]

Call BRS...the handle was included in my rental.

Note that there are going to be some good deals during the upcoming holidays. The price of a PAR meter may drop quite a bit. After renting from BRS, I purchased one for future use about $100 or so off the normal price.

 

[SPS2020]

Amazon “rental” for free.

Make sure there isn't a restocking fee if it is a 3rd party vendor. ;-)

 

[Yodeling]

The Apogee SQ-120 is the same sensor as 420 except it plugs into multimeter instead of laptop. Costs less than $200. IMHO much more convenient than lugging a laptop around. You do have to use a calculator to figure out the par.

 

[LuizW13]

I made a handle with 1 in pvc pipe and a 45deg fitting. I cut a slot at the bottom, drilled a hole and attached the par sensor. The cable goes inside the pipe. I can take a pic when I get home if interested.

IMO it's best to buy the sensor direct from Apogee. Mine is the mid-level one w/usb which cost like $400 iirc and should be calibrated yearly, but I use it often enough to justify the expense. If you have a reef club in your area someone has one you can borrow or go in on one with a handful of local reefers.

I think the $100 rental option is reasonable, since you mostly need to measure par during setup then once par is dialed in leave settings alone.

Pease do!

 

[Betex]

Where are you located as I know in SoFla we have at least 1 store that you can rent for $40 for I think 3 days. I’m pretty sure I remember seeing some other sites renting them out.

here’s one just have to wait for it to come back available.

Rental: Apogee MQ-510 Par Meter: Full-Spectrum Underwater Quantum Meter + Wand

Rent the newest Apogee MQ-510 Par meter specially designed to measure the blue light emited from LEDs. Rental price starts at $15 and shipped directly to your door. Don't settle for cheap inaccurate equipment anymore. Find out exactly what par your coral needs.

www.podyourreef.com

 

[Schraufabagel]

Where are you located as I know in SoFla we have at least 1 store that you can rent for $40 for I think 3 days. I’m pretty sure I remember seeing some other sites renting them out.

here’s one just have to wait for it to come back available.

Rental: Apogee MQ-510 Par Meter: Full-Spectrum Underwater Quantum Meter + Wand

Rent the newest Apogee MQ-510 Par meter specially designed to measure the blue light emited from LEDs. Rental price starts at $15 and shipped directly to your door. Don't settle for cheap inaccurate equipment anymore. Find out exactly what par your coral needs.

www.podyourreef.com

I live in Wisconsin

 

[Rick's Reviews]

If corals are bleaching then you surely know the cause? You dont need a par meter to tell you why? If you want a par meter for future reference then purchase in time, move your corals or just adjust lighting

 

[Sshannon]

Where are you located as I know in SoFla we have at least 1 store that you can rent for $40 for I think 3 days. I’m pretty sure I remember seeing some other sites renting them out.

here’s one just have to wait for it to come back available.

Rental: Apogee MQ-510 Par Meter: Full-Spectrum Underwater Quantum Meter + Wand

Rent the newest Apogee MQ-510 Par meter specially designed to measure the blue light emited from LEDs. Rental price starts at $15 and shipped directly to your door. Don't settle for cheap inaccurate equipment anymore. Find out exactly what par your coral needs.

www.podyourreef.com

which store?

 

[fryman]

Pease do!

OK

I actually used 3/4 in pvc, and a 45deg elbow fitting. Probably $5 in parts from home depot.

I cut the 45deg fitting with a dremel, then drilled a hole for the mounting screw. Easy peasy.

Mine is an SQ-520 and I paid $345 in Mar 2020. This model is now $438 so nearly double the price of the SQ-420 someone linked. So I would go with the 420. The 520 is supposed to have more accurate measurements for leds but for our purposes I doubt it matters much.

 

[Betex]

which store?

In South Florida - Blue Seas rents them, they have I think 3-4 in rotation I never had an issue getting one when needed.

 

[Cell]

It's costs $80 to "rent" the par meter from BRS for up to 60 days and it comes with a wand unless something has changed in the past couple months. It's totally worth it if you dont want to invest the $400-500 to own one.