Damn Cheap Hydrometer

euphoria

euphoria

Active Member
I was using some cheap hydrometer for a few weeks, and it was giving false readings the whole time. My SG was showing 1.022 and I was even trying to raise it a bit by doing water topoffs w/ saltwater. Well damn thing was wrong. I bought a hydrometer today, an accurate and good one, and it was showing SG of past 1.032, it was off the scale, arghhhh :mad:
No wonder my turbo died.
 
euphoria

euphoria

Active Member
I forgot the make, but it's one of those that also has a thermometer built into it. It has this green region where the safe zone is for the SG, and you just put it in water and it floats.
I can't believe it was that much off. Sometimes, well most of the times, there's nothing better, than buying the expensive quality stuff.
 
elfdoctors

elfdoctors

Active Member

Originally posted by muskyhunte
What was the make of the cheap hydrometer. I use a deep six and it seems to work fine.
Swing arms can sometimes be accurate. They must be rinsed with freshwater after each usage. As they start getting dried crystals on them they lose their accuracy. Some people feel that tasting the water is more accurate then the typical swing arm.
I had the glass ones for a while. I broke two of them. I have now invested in a refractometer and will never go back to the others. This method is reliable and quick (and in the long run cheaper). I realized that even my glass one was 0.003 off.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
It has been my experience that the glass hydrometers are a LOT moe accurate then the swing-arm plastic boxes.
I'd suggest not changing anything yet and find someone with a refractometer to test your salinity and look up the corresponding S.G. on a chart to compare with your Hydrometer.
I would be inclined to believe the glass hydrometer before the swing-arm. IMO Swing-Amr hydrometers are always suspect until compared with a refractometer or salinity meter.
 
euphoria

euphoria

Active Member
I have a reason to believe that the swing arm was the accurate one and the glass one wasn't, because like I mentioned, I kept seeing that my level was 1.022 and tried to increase it to 1.024 or so for my snails. I kept doing water topoffs with ocean water, rather than RO water, so that I could raise the SG. My glass hydrometer kept reading around 1.022. Now how can that be right if I keep adding more saltwater to a tank that had 1 - 2 gallons of evaporation over a week period?
Since my swing arm was reading BEYOND 1.032, I tend to believe it was the right one.
I'd love to check w/ a refractometer, but don't know anyone who has one.
 
euphoria

euphoria

Active Member
By the way, yesterday I added about 2 gallons of RO water to bring the SG down, and it went from beyong 1.032 to 1.027. Is that too large of a drop at once? I didn't think of it while doing it, but once finished, I realized that maybe it was too drastic of a change at once and I may lose my 2 remaining snails. So far they are alive though.
 
kittykitty

kittykitty

Member

Originally posted by elfdoctors
Some people feel that tasting the water is more accurate then the typical swing arm.

I have always just tasted the water..never really used a hydrometer.. Last time I checked, the salinity in my tank was 1.023.
 
euphoria

euphoria

Active Member
How can you tell the level by tasting it? Plus that stuff tastes like crap. I was trying a syphoning once, and a little went into my mouth, blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
 
ldc3000

ldc3000

New Member
Have you guys ever looked in a skimmer cup? If you have you would not be drinking tank water. Just think you are putting fish crap in your mouth.
 
kittykitty

kittykitty

Member
No I taste the water that I am mixing before I put it in the tank after water changes. I just dip my finger in it. Works for me, salinity has always been perfect.
 
euphoria

euphoria

Active Member
I still don't know how you can tell a SG accuracy of +/- 0.001 just by tasting w/ your mouth. How sensitive can your mouth be to salt? Maybe you are gifted :) Would you like to work for me as a human Hydrometer? :D
 
stapler

stapler

Member
LOL...that would be nice if you could taste your water and be able to read its levels.
Hmm...nitrate taste a little high, but PH taste good.:thinking:
 
kittykitty

kittykitty

Member

Haven't figured out how to do that yet...
hmmm..:D
you all may not believe me, but it's true. Checked my water again today, and it's at 1.023.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top