HELP... Mixing saltwater question

thud

thud

Member
Originally Posted by Chellie4u2
It was RO filtered water from walmart, I filled the jugs and then payed for them.. so im still clueless on how this happened??

Yeah I read that you used RO water which is why I didn't suggest it was that.
Test the Walmart RO water itself for nitrates maybe?
 
darthtang aw

darthtang aw

Active Member
It is actually to late for that now...as Walmart may have missed a day of maintenance. Now if you still have a jug of water laying around from when you got it, I would check that. Also, some kits for some reason or another always read Nitrates at 20.
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by thud
Using a refractometer will give you a much accurate reading than a hydrometer will.

This is completey untrue. A hydrometer is every bit as accurate as the refractometers that most use. Almost all refractometers are salt/brine and are not made for seawater so there is a little error in the reading you get.
The only people that have problems with hydrometers are the ones that do not make temperature corrections...
 
thud

thud

Member
Originally Posted by TX Reef
This is completey untrue. A hydrometer is every bit as accurate as the refractometers that most use. Almost all refractometers are salt/brine and are not made for seawater so there is a little error in the reading you get.
The only people that have problems with hydrometers are the ones that do not make temperature corrections...

Each reply on this forum should probably automatically begin with "In my opinion, ...."
In my experience and from what I've heard others say, they thought their salinity was at 1.023 with the hydrometer and when testing their water with a refractometer their salinity was actually at 1.015 - 10
 
darthtang aw

darthtang aw

Active Member
Originally Posted by TX Reef
This is completey untrue. A hydrometer is every bit as accurate as the refractometers that most use. Almost all refractometers are salt/brine and are not made for seawater so there is a little error in the reading you get.
The only people that have problems with hydrometers are the ones that do not make temperature corrections...

Wrong, over time your hydrometer will not work as well as it should have. It will start to stick and the plastic on it will begin to slowly erode from cleaning solution and saltwater affect the size of the needle. also at different altitudes it can be affected. While if you know what you are a doing you can using them to almost precision accuracy, the refractometer will not have any variances that you have to worry about besides calibration.
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
"in my opinion" a hydrometer is more accurate than you guys are saying. thought, I would say a refactometer is better.
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
So this is MY opinion:
Hydrometer = Ford Pinto
Refractometer = Mercedes
Both will get you from point A to point B, BUT wouldn't you want to go with what's more reliable?

Chellie, have you found out where your Nitrates are coming from.
 
flcandy

flcandy

Member
There is a site that has a chart for the Hydrometer conversion. I am going to post the link but I don't think it will stay up for long here it is http://www.algone.com/salinity.php. This is a direct link to the charts that relate to the hydrometer use and readings. I use a hydrometer and they actually say that they read below the actual salinity and to add to the reading you get. Let me know if this is helpful to anyone and I will hang onto it. (If the link is deleted before you can get it I am sorry and I can give it to you via email at flcandy@gmail.com)
I have never used a refractometer as I just didn't know about them as my LFS (idiots) did not carry them. I do replace mine every 6 months to yearly and that is expensive as they tent to run 12-20 dollars depending on the store you go to.
 
chellie4u2

chellie4u2

Member
Ok so either my bf who is the one who got me started on my obsession is a retard or letting the water sit for two more days made a difference but before I even put any water in my tank i tested it again and everything was perfect.. YAY!! so i am even more confused but he's not touching my tank again, he has his own tank to be worried about.. I go take a few pictures now
 
flcandy

flcandy

Member
Always let it sit. I made the newb mistake of trying to add water that had only been sitting for about 10 hours. Not cool and way back in the beginning but if you don't want to mix it LFS usually sell premixed salt water.
 
flcandy

flcandy

Member
You need to go into photoshop or some other photo editor and then resize it so it is 100 pixels x 100 pixels or one is 100 and the other is below. Will not let you post anything over 100.
Hope this helps I had the same issue for a while, then someone told me what to do.
 
chellie4u2

chellie4u2

Member
I have alot more rock buts its in my bf tank for now while mine is cycling since it has coral on it!!! I can't wait to get it in there.. I think im just going to fill my tank with rocks and corals and once I have everything i want then i will add a pair of clowns or maybe maroon clowns
 
flcandy

flcandy

Member
Thats good. Just wait until it is completely cycled, don't want you to kill anything that is allready happy and healthy in another tank.
Like they keep saying on here patience is the big thing.
Good luck and keep us posted on the progress of the tank!
 
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