# PAR readings for beamswork/greenelement/other cheap chinese arrays



## Toby_kourtney (Jun 29, 2013)

The par values aren't as bad as I thought they would be on the beamswork fixtures


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## Borsig (Aug 1, 2013)

130 par for the dual EVO? Holy crap! thats great!

So what, 65 par for a single? at 17-18" thats high light territory.


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

wow not to bad! thanks for testing them all! :thumbsup:


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## primo (Jul 28, 2013)

Very interesting. 

The most surprising for me was the 2xLED over the 75g breeder.

Thanks for posting!

Ryan


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## Julianzh (Jul 28, 2011)

How long have you had it? Good build quality?


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## ReluctantHippy (Jun 23, 2011)

I like all of my beamswork and green element fixtures. They seem to do a great job growing plants and appear to be very high quality. And you really can't beat the price. 

I would recommend getting the fan they make for the 3w units as they do get warm - not crazy hot but warm and you will of course get better life keeping them cooler. My only complaint would be that the 3w EVOs are a bit too bright for a tank as shallow as a 75; Ok for me as that's just a grow out tank but if it were a standard planted display tank it would be way too much light and upkeep for my liking.

Here's a time lapse of the 75. The green water was me trying to run them 24/7 (lasted two days b4 going green) rest of the time the lights were on 6-8hrs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aBx2n06saw&feature=youtu.be

There are a few video reviews over there as well.



Borsig said:


> 130 par for the dual EVO? Holy crap! thats great!
> 
> So what, 65 par for a single? at 17-18" thats high light territory.


Very bright fixture. The dual is the narrowest they come in - they have duals and quads. Just a single dual over the tank would give you very similar PAR readings (under the light) as 2x but it would only cover half the tank; the optics are fairly narrow. A quad fixture with their hanging kit suspended above the tank would probably be perfect for high light over a 75.


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## GDC (Sep 3, 2013)

Thank you for the Par readings for the Beamswork. I have a Beamswork 48" double bright 10,000k for lighting. My tank is 60 x 18 x 16. Average of 13" to substrate. Co2 is pressurized with an atomizer. Some plants doing ok others struggling. Upping my Co2 and reduced lighting to 8 hours due to a minor gha growth now gone.

The Beamswork does not cover the tank so am thinking of adding another light. 
This is where the choices are many. Narrowing down to:
#1 60" Beamswork 6,500k 
#2 60" EVO Green Element (can only find 10,000k in 60")
#3 2 - 30" Finnex Ray 2 DS 7,000k 
#4 60" Odyssea with 4 - 6500k T5HO bulbs.

Which would you do? Any other ideas?


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## BriDroid (Oct 7, 2012)

I'm really surprised at how much you lose at 10". My Ray II has quite a bit more punch in deeper water. I wonder if it has to do with the optics, or lack there of?

Nice work and thanks for posting. I LOVE PAR readings


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## ReluctantHippy (Jun 23, 2011)

GDC said:


> Thank you for the Par readings for the Beamswork. I have a Beamswork 48" double bright 10,000k for lighting. My tank is 60 x 18 x 16. Average of 13" to substrate. Co2 is pressurized with an atomizer. Some plants doing ok others struggling. Upping my Co2 and reduced lighting to 8 hours due to a minor gha growth now gone.
> 
> The Beamswork does not cover the tank so am thinking of adding another light.
> This is where the choices are many. Narrowing down to:
> ...


Sorry for just getting back to you. I'm about to order some lights for my 60" 110g and I've decided to go with 2x 30" Green Element quad EVOs. Like you say they only make the 60" fixture in marine spectrum and I'm worried that without optics and with smaller diodes the 60" beamsworks wont put out enough light. I'm not a fan of the Ray 2s (no optics and small diodes = lack of penetration and more to go wrong). For you a T5 fixture is definitely a possibility but I would steer clear of Odyssea - I work at a fish store and the number of complaints I hear about Odysseas is just nuts.



BriDroid said:


> I'm really surprised at how much you lose at 10". My Ray II has quite a bit more punch in deeper water. I wonder if it has to do with the optics, or lack there of?
> 
> Nice work and thanks for posting. I LOVE PAR readings


Which unit are we talking about? The Ray II doesn't have optics and utilizes many very small diodes - it's penetration is nothing compared to the EVOs but is very similar to the standard beamswork models. All of the Ray IIs I've tested diminish fairly rapidly as you move away from the unit.


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## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

Yikes! The first beamworks pictured is what i just got and i thought it would be "low to medium" and from what i understand its "medium" lighting at the substrate, meaning its a "med-high" light?

Thanks for info, even if i dont fully understand yet


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## ReluctantHippy (Jun 23, 2011)

TankYouVeryMuch said:


> Yikes! The first beamworks pictured is what i just got and i thought it would be "low to medium" and from what i understand its "medium" lighting at the substrate, meaning its a "med-high" light?
> 
> Thanks for info, even if i dont fully understand yet


Yes, that's medium lighting at substrate and higher lighting up top but keep in mind those readings are over a 20 long which is a fairly shallow tank. If you end up with too much light you could always toss some floaters in the tank.


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## BriDroid (Oct 7, 2012)

I've measured my Ray II with an Apogee PAR meter our club owns, I'm getting a measurement of 90 at the substrate 12" deep in my 33 long. When I had it on my old 72, I was getting 35 to 40 at the substrate ~20" deep.

It is very nice to see that these cheaper LED fixtures are putting out some pretty decent numbers though! What is the color like to your eye compared to the Ray II? Is it the same or a little warmer, a little colder? It's hard to tell from the pics.


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## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

ReluctantHippy said:


> Yes, that's medium lighting at substrate and higher lighting up top but keep in mind those readings are over a 20 long which is a fairly shallow tank. If you end up with too much light you could always toss some floaters in the tank.


Same tank, same light  or else i wouldve stayed quiet in the corner :icon_lol: looked like a 20L to me


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## javajive1981 (Feb 20, 2013)

This is really useful, thankyou


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