Im sorry if this should be in the lighting thread.
Ive always assumed that PAR meters are very expensive , which is why hardly anybody owns one. A quick look on Amazon is showing them from $30 + , am i looking at the wrong things or what ?
Although I have not joined a local club, which I should, that's how a lot of people get their hands on one. Their club has one and once you get involved, you are able to borrow it. Another option is to rent one but you will find they have an insanely high deposit, which makes sense because that's how much the things cost.
I haven't looked into DIY options myself but they do exist. My main reason for not doing so is it's a bit overwhelming, especially if you haven't used a real one before and have nothing to compare to. I may make a DIY par meter at some point but I feel I need to at least have a popular light fixture to compare it too. I do have one but I would have to replace the bulbs, making it not too cost effective to me at the moment.
You can also use the Lux meter in open air .. NOT in water .. to get an idea of the PAR for your fixture and to find the optimal height it needs to be for your situation (such as if you want high light or low light). You take the lux reading and divide by 76 to get PAR. Then add about 10% more due to the slight focusing effect of the air to water interface. The Mastech Lux meter on Amazon runs about $15-20.
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