# New cheap PAR meter with Apogee sensor



## Marcel G (14 Jul 2015)

Recently a new and relatively cheap PAR meter showed up called BioTek Marine BTM3000 PAR Sensor. One friend of mine asked the BioTek for the difference between this new PAR meter and Apogee MQ-200 PAR meter, and both companies had told him that the BioTek PAR meter uses the same sensor as Apogee. In other words, the quantum sensor used in the MQ-200 and the BTM3000 are both manufactured by Apogee, so the output of the sensor is the same; what differs is just the method of display => Apogee uses a separate display unit, while BioTek connects the sensor to PC/Mac (so you need a computer to display the PAR values). The added bonus of the BioTek sensor is that it is able to log (monitor and save) data.

The BioTek Marine BTM3000 PAR Sensor sells for $195 at Aquarium Specialty. The Apogee MQ-200 sells for $349 (see here).


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## Jose (14 Jul 2015)

ardjuna said:


> The BioTek Marine BTM3000 PAR Sensor sells for $195 at Aquarium Specialty.


Its not that expensive then. Maybe we could set up a way to pay for one between a few hobbyists and toss it around although postage will have to be paid everytime as well.


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## Tim Harrison (14 Jul 2015)

Thanks for the info...that's almost affordable..


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