Hey folks,
Just wanted to share the details of some recent PAR testing I did. I borrowed a PAR meter from my local club - some of you guys may know Hoppy (Vaughn) and Tom Barr from other forums. Hoppy has done a great deal of work in terms of light testing in the past couple months. I wanted to compare his testing to the light fixtures I had to see how reliable the information is, because we all know every fixture and light bulb is different.
Here's some important things you should know about my testing:
Just wanted to share the details of some recent PAR testing I did. I borrowed a PAR meter from my local club - some of you guys may know Hoppy (Vaughn) and Tom Barr from other forums. Hoppy has done a great deal of work in terms of light testing in the past couple months. I wanted to compare his testing to the light fixtures I had to see how reliable the information is, because we all know every fixture and light bulb is different.
Here's some important things you should know about my testing:
1. The Lowes and Current/Nova fixtures were tested on a standard 20g tank, with water. The sensor was placed in the middle of the tank, right under the fixture.
2. The Lowes & Current/Nova lights are 48" long, and the tank is only 24" long. To avoid having any stray light afftect the reading, I wrapped the overlapping section of the fixture with a towel. Removing the towels caused an increase of 4-5 micromols.
3. The Lowes fixture is black metal, even where the bulbs are. This is obviously isn't a good color for reflection, so I also wrapped the inside with aluminum foil and took more readings.
4. The Current/Nova fixture uses two bulbs, very close together. This has a very cheap thin aluminum reflector that goes over both bulbs.
5. The bulbs in the Lowes & Current/Nova fixture are fairly old, all over a year. Please keep this in mind as new bulbs may give a higher reading. The only bulbs that were brand new were the Giesemann bulbs in my Catalina fixture (3 days old at the time of testing).
6. I only took one reading with the Catalina fixture since it's mounted to a hanging bracket and the tank is heavily planted. I may try some more readings, but for the time being, it's just at 28". Also note that this is a 4-bulb fixture. I only tested 2 bulbs, in the outer most banks.
7. For the Current/Nova fixture, I had 3 types of bulbs. I took individual readings from each bulb and compared the results as seen below. Again, keep in mind that bulb age may be a factor. I did not go out and buy new bulbs to test this fixture.
Any questions please feel free to ask! I have a few more desktop lamps/fixtures that I will be testing in the days to come 2. The Lowes & Current/Nova lights are 48" long, and the tank is only 24" long. To avoid having any stray light afftect the reading, I wrapped the overlapping section of the fixture with a towel. Removing the towels caused an increase of 4-5 micromols.
3. The Lowes fixture is black metal, even where the bulbs are. This is obviously isn't a good color for reflection, so I also wrapped the inside with aluminum foil and took more readings.
4. The Current/Nova fixture uses two bulbs, very close together. This has a very cheap thin aluminum reflector that goes over both bulbs.
5. The bulbs in the Lowes & Current/Nova fixture are fairly old, all over a year. Please keep this in mind as new bulbs may give a higher reading. The only bulbs that were brand new were the Giesemann bulbs in my Catalina fixture (3 days old at the time of testing).
6. I only took one reading with the Catalina fixture since it's mounted to a hanging bracket and the tank is heavily planted. I may try some more readings, but for the time being, it's just at 28". Also note that this is a 4-bulb fixture. I only tested 2 bulbs, in the outer most banks.
7. For the Current/Nova fixture, I had 3 types of bulbs. I took individual readings from each bulb and compared the results as seen below. Again, keep in mind that bulb age may be a factor. I did not go out and buy new bulbs to test this fixture.
