You may notice a trend recently, in that I am writing quite a bit about Neptune System’s products. While I’ve used an Apex controller for as long as I can remember, it’s only recently that I started to explore all of Fusion’s new enhancements, and began adding features onto my Apex. I’ve been impressed with what Neptune is building, a system that totally controls a reef aquarium and is easy to install. Also, firmware updates that were once painstaking can be accomplished easily, and new networking technologies make it possible to have a hardline network connection right at your tank. After installing the new Neptune System’s WAV, I liked having detailed water circulation data so much, that I was hungry for more. One natural evolution of Fusion’s data center is PAR measurements. Many aquarists are not monitoring their PAR levels, and this is partially because in the past PAR monitors were expensive, and none were especially suited to continuous monitoring, which is most effective for reef aquariums. The first device to offer PAR monitoring was the Seneye aquarium monitor. While it was effective, the Seneye was difficult to place in an area within the tank, so getting accurate readings required holding it by hand in the exact position you wanted to measure. In short, its design failed to offer consistent PAR monitoring that was easily recorded and other half-baked features made it a less than ideal aquarium monitor. Neptune System’s PAR monitor takes an entirely different approach. The monitor is a small optical probe, and arrives with a piece of artificial live rock with a small hole that perfectly accepts and hides the sensor. After connecting a module with your Apex (via an open aqua bus port) suddenly you have live PAR monitoring, along with a unit that is easy to place anywhere within your aquarium. What is PAR?
PAR stands for photosynthetically active radiation and designates the wave band of solar radiation within a range of 400-700 nanometers that photosynthetic organisms require to fully photosynthesize. This tends to correspond with the range of light visible to the human eye. Shorter range photons can damage cells and tissue, but are naturally filtered out by the ozone layer and photons at longer ranges do not carry enough energy to allow for photosynthesis. How does PAR help reef keepers:
As we all know, within photosynthetic coral tissues live zooxanthellae, which via photosynthesis pass extra nutrition over to our corals.… More:
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