PAR meter comparisons with totally different outcomes (Seneye vs Apogee)

[Harold999]

In the past there has been some comparisons done by BRS and a guy on Reefcentral between the Seneye and a Apogee par meter, where the Seneye came out pretty decent.

However, in a more recent video on Youtube by Parkersreef, his comparison showed that the Seneye is wáy off, showing almost double values.

Anyone aware of this and what's going on here? A guy from Seneye reacted to the Youtube video and came with the explanation that the Seneye is way more sensitive on the blues, hence double the values, but this doesn't add up to the earlier comparisons done by BRS and Reefcentral, where the Seneye showed pretty much the same values as the Apogee.

 

[stauzin]

In the past there has been some comparisons done by BRS and a guy on Reefcentral between the Seneye and a Apogee par meter, where the Seneye came out pretty decent.

However, in a more recent video on Youtube by Parkersreef, his comparison showed that the Seneye is wáy off, showing almost double values.

Anyone aware of this and what's going on here? A guy from Seneye reacted to the Youtube video and came with the explanation that the Seneye is way more sensitive on the blues, hence double the values, but this doesn't add up to the earlier comparisons done by BRS and Reefcentral, where the Seneye showed pretty much the same values as the Apogee.

I purchased the seneye reef about a year ago and thought it was giving way to high of readings so I rented the Apogee 510 from BRS. After checking with each par meter I found the seneye to give much higher readings (almost double) of the apogee 510. I ended up giving away the seneye and purchased the Apogee 210 on sale from Premium Aquatics, happy with that meter. Their is a little conversion needed but I just needed to be within ranges I was looking for so this meter does the trick and way cheaper than the 510.

 

[Harold999]

I purchased the seneye reef about a year ago and thought it was giving way to high of readings so I rented the Apogee 510 from BRS. After checking with each par meter I found the seneye to give much higher readings (almost double) of the apogee 510. I ended up giving away the seneye and purchased the Apogee 210 on sale from Premium Aquatics, happy with that meter. Their is a little conversion needed but I just needed to be within ranges I was looking for so this meter does the trick and way cheaper than the 510.

Okay, just did some testing myself with the Seneye and a Kessil a360x light. I took the exact same light settings as Bulk Reef Supply did in their a360x review on Youtube, including the mounting height of the light and the distance of measuring below the waterline.
My par results are indeed almost double as what BRS is showing.

The big question is, why were earlier reviews from some years ago (the one from Reefcentral and BRS) showing excellent results for the Seneye?
I would almost think Seneye rolled out a firmwareupdate in the meantime where they accidentely doubled the par value.
I mean, divide the values we read today by two and it's spot on again.

 

[Shooter6]

Hi, I just picked up a used v4. It's running the 4.08 firmware. I believe that that's the accurate one right?it's giving me par numbers, but the black line on the photosynthetic usable radiation barely moves. I tried it under a few different lights and had the same issue. Even under full blues . Anyone else experienced this?

 

[Harold999]

Hi, I just picked up a used v4. It's running the 4.08 firmware. I believe that that's the accurate one right?

Yes, 4.0.8 fixed the double PAR issue.

 

[Shooter6]

Yes, 4.0.8 fixed the double PAR issue.

Thanks. Do you have any idea why it's not giving pur numbers, and the black line on the pur graph barely moves even under very intense light?

 

[Harold999]

Thanks. Do you have any idea why ...

No sorry.

 

[Shooter6]

Here is a vid of my issue this is in sunlight so I definitely should be getting a pur measurement.

 

[attiland]

In the past there has been some comparisons done by BRS and a guy on Reefcentral between the Seneye and a Apogee par meter, where the Seneye came out pretty decent.

However, in a more recent video on Youtube by Parkersreef, his comparison showed that the Seneye is wáy off, showing almost double values.

Anyone aware of this and what's going on here? A guy from Seneye reacted to the Youtube video and came with the explanation that the Seneye is way more sensitive on the blues, hence double the values, but this doesn't add up to the earlier comparisons done by BRS and Reefcentral, where the Seneye showed pretty much the same values as the Apogee.

I understand that is a software issue and firmware update resolved it

 

[Harold999]

Here is a vid of my issue this is in sunlight so I definitely should be getting a pur measurement.

Have you emailed Seneye yet? They often answer the same day.

 

[outhouse]

Anyone aware of this and what's going on here?

Its just dumb par games. Measuring par is an art and not always that accurate.

par does not grow coral, light does, and most tanks do not need max par.

most coral lives on less par then our lights produce

now if your SPS and your doing a shallow reef, sure your tank can look like a nuclear reactor from a 1/4 mile away. Most of us dont need to play dumb par games

 

[Shooter6]

Have you emailed Seneye yet? They often answer the same day.

Yes but I've not heard back yet

 

[Shooter6]

Its just dumb par games. Measuring par is an art and not always that accurate.

par does not grow coral, light does, and most tanks do not need max par.

most coral lives on less par then our lights produce

now if your SPS and your doing a shallow reef, sure your tank can look like a nuclear reactor from a 1/4 mile away. Most of us dont need to play dumb par games

Having just tested my par on my new tank, I found that I was getting around 350par on the bottom (bare bottom) . Mid level rocks 570 and top of rocks 790 with my lights at around 55%per channel! Par meter was a huge help to correct my levels.

 

[outhouse]

55%per channel!

Biggest mistake people make is over lighting their tanks since LEDs took over. My tank thriving using 10% B and 1% W ....... good call using a meter and not cooking coral like I did at those numbers. I just hate the test results that are all over the board , but if it gets people to turn their lights down, im aLL FOR IT

 

[Shooter6]

Biggest mistake people make is over lighting their tanks since LEDs took over. My tank thriving using 10% B and 1% W ....... good call using a meter and not cooking coral like I did at those numbers. I just hate the test results that are all over the board , but if it gets people to turn their lights down, im aLL FOR IT

Yeah I started back in 1988 with my, did t12,t8,powercompacts and now leds. I had a custom layout built and was totally blown away when I got these par measurements!

 

[mdb_talon]

Yeah I started back in 1988 with my, did t12,t8,powercompacts and now leds. I had a custom layout built and was totally blown away when I got these par measurements!

Was cleaning out a storage room this weekend. Had several t12 bulbs i never used brought back memories.

 

[outhouse]

I started back in 1988

Same here, early 90's MH and VHO old school. but filled a 210g tank one time in 2 years this is 3 months growth after cooking coral for years under LEDs

 

[flourishofmediocrity]

If you look through the comments on that video, a seneye employee actually chimes in with some info like the seneye is more sensitive to blue light than the apogee. Parker (don’t know if that’s his real name) even says he took it outside under the blue sky and it was reading really high.

 

[Shooter6]

Was cleaning out a storage room this weekend. Had several t12 bulbs i never used brought back memories.

Never hear them mentioned when people talk about past lighting history, makes me wonder how long they really been reefing lol

 

[Harold999]

If you look through the comments on that video, a seneye employee actually chimes in with some info like the seneye is more sensitive to blue light than the apogee. Parker (don’t know if that’s his real name) even says he took it outside under the blue sky and it was reading really high.

Yeah but it's old news, the employee wasn't right. There was a bug in the firmware, a new update solves the issue. The Seneye is fine now.