Light Testing

mikekomm · Jan 31, 2011

I have a few planted tanks and I want to be able to test my compact fluorescent lights to determine when their output has diminished. I'm curious about whether the intensity diminishes or the part of the light spectrum output changes.

I'm looking at two meters but it seems that both of them measure "intensity", not "spectrum".

http://www.marineandreef.com/MW700_Lux_Light_Meter_Milwaukee_Instruments_p/RMI00370.htm

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14821

Does anyone have experience with this or recommendations?

Mgamer20o0 · Feb 1, 2011

like in the other thread both messure lux which is how much light output the eye sees while par on the other hand par is how much light for the plants. both dont measure light spectrum.

Left C · Feb 1, 2011

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Like Mgamer20o0 mentioned, you need a PAR meter.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]PAR is the abbreviation for Photosynthetically Active Radiation which is the spectral range of solar light from 400 to 700 nanometers that is needed by plants.

Apogee makes some good ones: http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3225

There are some aquatic clubs that have them. Sometimes you can rent them. Over at BarrReport.com there is a PAR Meter that people are sharing. They are passing it around and reporting the data. The site is down right now and I can't give you the link.

More lighting info about PAR and more: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html

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