New Club Toy

DRC Archive General Saltwater Discussion
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[center]I would like to see the club buy this toy. I always hear people talking about their lights but what is the real par??
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3225

Apogee Quantum MQ-200 PAR Meter

Specifications
Application Measures photosynthetic photon flux, instantaneous and daily total
Measurement range 0-3000 μmol m (2000 μmol m - 2 s - 1 equivalent to full sunlight)
Input power 3 V coin cell battery
Operating environment 0 to 50 °C. Less than 90% non-condensing relative
humidity up to 30 °C. Less than 70% RH from 30 to 50 °C
Display 4.2 x 2.8 cm
Cable For meters with separate sensor: 2 m of shielded,
twisted-pair wire with Santoprene casing, ending in pigtail
leads. Additional cable $1.95/m
Dimensions 11.8 x 5.9 x 1.4 cm
Mass 70g

Blue lens filters spectra for improved response

SUN SMPLSUN SMPL
Spectral resposivity 360 to 670 nm

MQ-200 $349 on sale $335 - we would need this one since it has the separate sensor.
MQ-100 $299
Warranty 1 year against defects in materials and workmanship

We could pay for the unit club funds and charge a small fee every time someone wants to use the unit ($5)
It would take 67 rentals to pay for the unit.
Only paid members with 1 year of membership would be eligible to rent the unit. Don’t want people to pay 1 due and take the unit :stuck_out_tongue: We could set up a log book to track who has rented the unit.

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2

Sounds familiar ;D

J/K Obviously im a big ole +1! Might as well put that money to use. It seems like a lot of clubs do something similiar very successfully. We could even use it to put together an analysis that might be somewhat…dare i say…scientific? lol Id also like to see the club get a wide range photometer.

Quote Awesome article Shawn, I'd love to see it with some different configurations of the T5s (cause I'm T5 guy lol). Anyone here actually have a PAR meter, would be cool if we share and do some of our own PAR experiments/measurements.

Now that would be a great use for the treasury balance. An officer can hold on to it and trusted premium members can sign it in and out to borrow it.

Quote
different configurations of the T5s (cause I’m T5 guy lol).

A lot of people are. I was actually probably one of the first around to do T5 locally. I was running a reefgeek retro over 5 years ago. There was a thread about T5 vs MH a while back that was interesting. A lot of people have great success with T5, im just amazed by the people that are new to the bandwagon that think T5 is better in every way. MH and T5 both have their advantages and disadvantages. IMO one is not better than the other, its a matter of prefence. For me MH with T5 actinics works best.

Quote
Different strokes for different folks.
Art is subjective and not everybody likes Monet

+1 its amazing how much your tastes can change. i know 5 years ago i thought overgrown planted low light tanks were the ugliest things in the world and couldnt grasp why people kept them. Now, i cant wait to do one and i drool over them every time i see one.

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why not 6 month membership. that way i wouldn’t have to wait until dec, and if i didn’t renew, which is very unlikely, drc would still add my $5. Or limit it to a shorter time of membership plus postings. there’s no real reason the club shouldn’t take almost any $5 rental fee it can obtain, imho. i’d certainly pay the money, but waiting until year’s end stinks for me.

4

I think the chances of the club in its current state doing something like this is slim, but im hoping to be proved wrong. It would be nice to have access to useful gadgets that just are just to expensive to purchase.

As far as the procedure for rental, who knows. I would think it could be lended out to anyone as long as precaution is taken with members that are new. Maybe some sort of rental agreement and deposit based on your standing with the club. Kind of like renting a tool form homedpot.

With all of the different lighting configurations our members have(type of bulb+ power of bulb + color of bulb+ type of ballast) i would love to see some summary data. I know a lot of MH configurations are covered by the good Dr. Sanjay but i think some home-grown results would be interesting.

5

This really isn’t a very bad idea at all. Would prove to be a useful tool to most memebrs of the club, and provide a means to generate additional revenue. What else can we come up with that would be a good idea to have available as a rental item?

Denitrator?
Auto-feeder / temp. ATO unit to cover vacations?

6

craig, that’s a brilliant adaptation on the par meter. i’d certainly rent an ato for vacations. great ideas!

7

I mentioned 12 months not to exclude you but to weed out those who might run with it

8

I wonder if we have anyone locally that can build ATO units to sell directly to the club??

Shawn - know anyone?

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[quote=“a1amap, post:7, topic:1917”]
I mentioned 12 months not to exclude you but to weed out those who might run with it[/quote]
al, i certainly know that. i hope i’m considered a loyal and trustworthy newbie.
but there should be a deposit or something regardless, just in case my idiotic brother in law decides to use it as a frisbee.

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I wonder if we have anyone locally that can build ATO units to sell directly to the club??

Shawn - know anyone?

Yeah. If we want to organize a group build ive got plenty of parts i stocked up on. After tinkering around a bit, i think i got the final cost to around $10 or $15 bucks which would include everything but the floats. Its also a LOT smaller, fitting on a 2" X 3" circuit board, relying on micro PCB electronics and switches instead of electrical components with nothing external except for a PnP float switch and power cord.

We can get as fancy as you want. I know a company that will CNC the “black box” and even screen print a customer logo with no minimum order and only a small one-time setup fee. We could even do status LED’s and still be at half the price of commerical ATOs and cheaper than the junk sold in kits.

11

I think this is a great Idea. I think a hana photometer for low range phosphate testing is another great tool that many would benefit from. I have always wanted to now what my phosphate level are, but none of the available test kits will tell you if your level are lower than about .25.

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paul, im sure u could get someone who has been a member for a year (if thats what they decide to do) to rent it and bring it over for ya

13

a little shopping around might find a better deal on PAR meters. I seem to think they are much less than that. but cant remember where ive seen them. yet.

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Thats about the going price. There also arent a lot of retailers that carry the meter.

Ken - Maybe your thinking of the groupbuy that Reefcast.com did for these. It was open to anyone and they got a price very close to $200 per meter. There was a BIG controversy about it because a LOT of people bought 'em and flipped 'em without disclosing the source of the purchase. Got to love the hobby.

15

Did I not respond to this thread? I typed a lengthy response and now I don’t see it! Errr.

Basically I like the idea to, but some details need to be worked out and the budget needs to be examined. I am not sure we currently have enough to do this and continue to do the things we need to do in the next several months, but we shall see. I’ll get back to everyone.

Meanwhile if anyone can find more information that would be helpful. Like is there any data from corals in the wild or healthy growing captive corals to compare to or we just be looking at each others results? I’ve only seen lighting experts claim what some bulbs can do, but never seen a post or article about what other people are experience. I never looked either though.
Also if anyone can look and see what other clubs are doing this and what rules they have in place or whatever, that would also be helpful.

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Boo…I’ve not been a member for a year so I can’t rent…

17

[quote=“Gordonious, post:15, topic:1917”]
Did I not respond to this thread? I typed a lengthy response and now I don’t see it! Errr. [/quote]

You’ve gotta stop responding to posts at red lights. Something in the circuitry apparently prevents posts from uploading while the red leds are on.

[quote=“Gordonious, post:15, topic:1917”]
I am not sure we currently have enough to do this and continue to do the things we need to do in the next several months, but we shall see. [/quote]

I think the officers should probably get together to discuss in more detail. Set up a budget, set the rules, look at the finances with Marty etc.

[quote=“Gordonious, post:15, topic:1917”]
Meanwhile if anyone can find more information that would be helpful. Like is there any data from corals in the wild or healthy growing captive corals to compare to or we just be looking at each others results? [/quote]

Par in the wild will have too mucg fluctuation to be overly useful - our par readings will be more consistent day over day, hour over hour, as we are not dealing with cloud cover, time of year, ozone layer depletion / rotation etc. It would be nice to be able to compare among other members and other lighting systems to be able to make more informed decisions regaridng our lighting choices.

[quote=“Gordonious, post:15, topic:1917”]
Also if anyone can look and see what other clubs are doing this and what rules they have in place or whatever, that would also be helpful. [/quote]

I haven’t heard of any other clubs doing this - and that’s fine. We can set our own rules and be the leaders in a new idea. What a great selling point for potential members. Rental equipment.

[quote=“IanH, post:16, topic:1917”]
Boo…I’ve not been a member for a year so I can’t rent…[/quote]

That was just an idea Ian - we would still need to set the guidlines on participation. Obviously you’ve been a member, as has Paul, long enough that we dn’t need to be overly concerned with you “renting” it for $5 and immediately listing it on Ebay. I don’t think we’d have that concern with anyone currently in the club but unfortunately you never know who may sign up just to steal from us.

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[quote=“Ento_Reefer, post:11, topic:1917”]
I think this is a great Idea. I think a hana photometer for low range phosphate testing is another great tool that many would benefit from. I have always wanted to now what my phosphate level are, but none of the available test kits will tell you if your level are lower than about .25.[/quote]

dang it … i go play golf and someone beats me to an idea … +1 on the Hanna

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[quote=“Cdangel0, post:17, topic:1917”]

[quote=“Gordonious, post:15, topic:1917”]
Also if anyone can look and see what other clubs are doing this and what rules they have in place or whatever, that would also be helpful. [/quote]

I haven’t heard of any other clubs doing this - and that’s fine. We can set our own rules and be the leaders in a new idea. What a great selling point for potential members. Rental equipment.[/quote]

Yeah, there is … DVRC has a PAR meter that they lend out. There’s a “deposit” and a “rental” amount. The “rental” goes to the club. The “deposit” goes to whomever you get the meter from, which functions as their deposit refund.

20

Yeah, there is … DVRC has a PAR meter that they lend out. There’s a “deposit” and a “rental” amount. The “rental” goes to the club. The “deposit” goes to whomever you get the meter from, which functions as their deposit refund.
that seems like a workable arrangement. makes sense and it’s safe. only issue is if i rent it and no one wants it for a month or two, i’m left without my deposit. maybe first deposit goes to the club and if there’s a lull in renting equip, which there will cert’ly be, then the last renter returns the item to the club and gets the deposit.
just barely thinking out loud. :think)