I’m in the market for a par/ppfd meter. I’m curious what you guys and gals have found to be the best option for your money. Accuracy is important to me but I don’t need lab-grade equipment!
1 Like
Hey, I use a Photobio that has been tested against a Pulse Pro and MQ-500, its accurate and affordable.
5 Likes
Awesome thanks doug thats the kind of meter im looking for!
2 Likes
Well that beats the daylights out of 700 bucks (CDN) I found for the MQ-500.
Cheers
G
4 Likes
Apogee mq-500 seems to be the standard.
Takes the guess work out of hanging distance for LEDs pricey but not a purchase I’ve regret (unlike a big ass aerocloner haha)
EDIT: the guy who owns the company is also a plant scientist. There’s a bunch of good vids from him on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/c/Apogeeinstrumentsincorporated/videos
8 Likes
I use my pulse pro. It’s fairly accurate, but somewhat cumbersome to use. It was kind of a bonus feature on the unit.
5 Likes
Dang, are there any cheaper ones worth getting. I have been wanting one pretty bad, but those are a bit much.
2 Likes
I found it for $450CAD a year ago,shipped from forever green indoors
But it looks like it went up in the last year
3 Likes
Good read. App optional.
2 Likes
I guess you mostly wanted the co2 meter and alerts?
I agree with this
1 Like
If you have the money I would think Apogee are the best. The founder of the company is Bruce Bugsby who is probably the foremost scientist doing research work on the effects of light spectrum specifically on cannabis plants. They have figured out the importance of deep reds 700-750nm which for along time people thought were out of the PAR range so most meters don’t measure that high. Its mostly important if you run LEDs and want a true PPFD reading since most LED manufacturer’s now include FR diodes. I know Apogee’s latest meters now measure this wave length but they are new and pricey.
4 Likes
Sounds nice but can you provide any real world info on the claims its been tested against the Apogee ??
Call me a skeptic but claims about having the same quality of accuracy as an Apogee is just sales talk without some real world data not provided by some sales folks pushing a product. People selling snake oil also claim a flux meter works just as well also and those folks are talking out their ass. Apogee has been the gold standard for a while and the pretenders come and go. They are not cheap but they stand up to the scrutiny all day every day being used by the real science community. The fakes dont.
I know a dude that bought one and tested it against his units that I listed and said it was pretty accurate. That’s why I purchased one as that was good enough for me. He had no incentive to lie any more than I do. Nobody is trying to sell you anything. Feel free to not buy one, it doesn’t have an effect on me either way. Also feel free to think Apogee are the only company that can make an accurate Par meter, cool with me. I am sure they appreciate your business.
3 Likes
Doug, I have no dog in the fight, I am just curious what the light the meters were tested with? Led, sunlight, hid, etc. I don’t have any experience with the meter you posted. I’ve used cheap ones and an apogee. Obviously there was no comparison, the apogee was way better than the $50 meter I had before.
Edit: it does look like both meters measure about 400-700nm. I don’t know enough to compare the other specs. Apogee has a 4 year warranty vs 1 year. Look like apogee is a little more accurate, but I don’t know that is such a big deal.
1 Like
Hey @PlantShepherd , I have no dog in this fight either. It doesn’t matter to me what people use and I have gone without a Par meter for years. The lights that buddy uses are Meijiu and he did the test. He is a gadget guy. So data wise he said the his pulse pro measured about 30 ppfd off his Apogee and the Photobio tested within 40 ppfd of the Apogee. To me this is fairly accurate. Don’t get me wrong, if you want the most accurate and top meter out there and are able to spend way more money on it than go with the Apogee. For my purposes the unit I got has been shown to be pretty accurate and so I purchased it. If someone thinks 30 or 40 PPF will be that big a deal than that’s perfectly fine. Heck, many folks just use a phone app.
1 Like
Yeah, I think for the price point, 30-40 ppfd off is not a big deal. The thing I noticed with my super cheapo vs the apogee is a difference between light sources. Most of them measured the sun just fine, but LED’s and HID’s were different.
I had to use a meter for fertigation reasons. Some beds were requiring more or less nutrients than others, and what I found was the beds that were requiring more nutrients were getting a lot more par than others due to shading issues from another greenhouse.
I also noticed neither meter measured above 700nm (apogee actually lists a little less on their specs). Seems like some LED’s have 700-730-ish ranges that would not get measured.
1 Like
But is the 700 to 730 of much use? Not saying it doesn’t have any affect but is it substantial enough to worry about. I doubt it or Apogee’s would go higher. I looked at the Apogee and it says it measures from 389 to 692 nm while the Photobio shows 400 to 700nm. So the Apogee sees 11 nm lower and the Photobio 8 nm higher. When I look at the chart for let’s say my HLG 600 Rspec it seems to me both these meters are perfect for a growing spectrum. There does not seem to be much at all below 400 or above 700, at least not enough that it matters to me. Personally I am happy with my meter, am I saying it is as good as the top of the line, no. Just that it is accurate enough to do the job I ask of it.
1 Like
Yes, the monitor and notifications are super handy. Light timer messed up, no problem I get a notification. Humidifier empty? I get a notification. Dehumidifier full? I get a notification. CO2 tank empty? I get a notification!
The PAR is also handy for adjusting light levels, but it is quite slow. I did a PAR map once and it took over an hour.
When I pre-ordered the pro model, they gave me the standard model free. That’s a $200 value and now I have one in veg and one in flower. 
4 Likes