Conditioning Hydrometer

[jbird0420]

Hello,I have Instant Ocean Hydrometer. Its been over a week now and its still not seasoned! I have a coral life hydrometer and it reads my 3 tanks just fine. I've had saltwater sitting inside it for the past week. Any suggestions?? I know SG is not .028!!

 

[lexluethar]

Yes, purchase a refractometer.
Are you sure it isn't 1.028 - which would be around where it should be.

 

[jbird0420]

Santa can bring me one for x-mas!

it's reading 1.028, I keep my tanks between 1.022- 1.023.

 

[lexluethar]

How do you know it isn't 1.028? If you are just going off your hydrometer then I wouldn't assume it is right. If you are going off of the measurements indicated by the bag of salt - again i wouldn't go off of just that either.

 

[jbird0420]

No man, I have 2 other hydrometers reading the same readings!

Both my tanks are in the .022-.023 range. I think my fish would also show a lot of stress and possibly death if the salinity was at .028. I know individuals that measure their salinity by the measuring cups they use...Not so good for them

 

[jbird0420]

Ok, I had to go and test them both. One Hydrometer is reading 1.022. The other is reading 1.028. I took a water sample to my local LFS, and theirs is reading 1.025. I know the best thing is a refractometer, but thats gonna have to be put off for a few weeks. My question is which reading shall I go by? Shall a make a judgement based off of the 3 different readings?

 

[metweezer]

SWF is too expensive and precise a hobby to try to scrimp and not buy a refractometer. You can get one for under $50.00. Hydrometers don't need to be conditioned. They need to be thrown away.

 

[gmann1139]

The best way to condition a hydrometer is...
Throw it in the trash.
The headaches and guesswork of a hydrometer outweight the cost of a refractometer. Keep your eyes on a.u.c.t.i.o.n. sites, and you should be able to get one for a lot cheaper than many other things in the this hobby.

 

[jbird0420]

Thanks, that is so true!

 

[jbird0420]

Just found one on the A>U>C>T>I>O>N sites! $30 w/ shipping new RHS-10ATC Portable Salinity Refractometer. Got 5 star reviews on a couple of sites.

 

[lexluethar]

There you go! My point in my previous posts were that you were using your base measurement off of hydrometers, which are extremely innaurate. So although two hydrometers measured .023, that doesn't mean it is accurate (because they are hydrometers).
Refractometer is the best bet in this hobby. Good luck to you!

 

[jbird0420]

Thanks Lex!