PAR results from jimsflies mesh

[jimsflies]

I've been playing with an apogee par meter and thought I would post the results of how the mesh tops (http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5456) compare to other popular alternatives.

In these results, I am running a double ended 14k coralife 150 watt bulb. The sensor is approximately 4-inches directly below the bulb. Pumps are turned off to stabilize the reading and give a "best case" scenario. Here are the measurements (units are umol m-2 s-1).

no top 345
mesh top 327 (6.3% reduction)
clean glass top 305 (12.6% reduction)
egg crate 265 (23.2% reduction)

One thing to note is that the glass top is perfectly clean no...no salt creep...no condensate so that's a best case scenario. All measurements were taken directly below the bulb, meaning that with the eggcrate the light drastically is cut down once you move off center. (Maybe I will post some linear results using just eggcrate soon so the offset can be quantified.)

I'm switching out the coralife bulb tonight for an xm 20k. So for the heck of it, I will take some comparison reading with a different bulb.

[Bella127]

Good info Jim, I need to get some more mesh from you . My last mesh top became brittle and fell apart in the middle.I believe it was from my metal halide beating on it for 6 hours a day for 18 months

[jimsflies]

The one downside to the mesh is it doesn't last forever like the other options. I got about 3 years out mine and had to replace it. But it is cheaper than almost any saltwater fish on the floor. :fish2:

[Sir Patrick]

Thx for the info!! Very interesting....I would have guessed the glass to be better par- happy to see that I would have been wrong. Always had a hard time keeping the glass clean on top!

[jimsflies]

Dirty glass could easily be worse than eggcrate.

[knedrag]

Thanks for the info.

[igot2gats]

I agree with Chris....surprised about the numbers for glass.

Very interesting info, Jim.

[tazzy695]

i was half expecting the numbers for glass to be lower then the egg crate since it is directly below the bulb

[jimsflies]

I installed the new XM 20k bulb the night before last. I like the color but the the PAR is underwhelming. I didn't measure with the tops on yet, but no top same spot the coralife 14k was giving 345, I was measuring 160 with the new bulb. :(