hydrometer question

[isthatright]

so i'm changing my saltwater today n i n have 2 hydrometers, one is the coralife deep 6 n the other one is instant ocean, the reason is because i started having trouble with my corals n had my water checked at the store i buy my coral from n she said my salt was too high n thought maybe my coralife hydrometer was off cause i'v had it for years,so i purchased one she uses in her store, well i tried both out of couriousity n they register totally different, how do i know which is right, my salt level on the coralife is1.022 n the instant ocean is 1.027, i have new mix waiting to be added n i'm worried about the salt levels, thanks for any in put.

 

[slice]

I found that my old hydrometer was off by -.001 by taking it to the LFS and measuring a sample with both my hydrometer and the LFS calibrated refractometer.
Also found out that the LFS hydrometer that they use for quick measurements is off by +.001.

 

[isthatright]

well i guess i'll go with my instinct but my coralife shows far less than the other thats what worries me cause salt flucuations can be fatal.

 

[slice]

You could take your hydrometer to your LFS and measure some of their water I guess, use that reading as your target.
Any other ideas? aside from buying a refractometer?

 

[isthatright]

yea i could do that n no one sells refractometers in their stores i have to order on line, thanks for the reply

 

[saxman]

Considering the price of all of our livestock, the cost of a refractometer is pretty cheap, and is one piece of equipment that most folks consider a "must". Besides lasting forever (no moving parts), it will be imperative to have one if you ever need to do a hyposalinity treatment.
JMHO

 

[hookem0981]

I use a hydrometer temp until i got my refractometer.. it's far more accurate, and even you agree how important it is to be consistant with the readings.. it would also be good if you are keeping corals to concentrate more on Salinity not just SG.. salinity should be at 35 for corals

 

[isthatright]

thanks , yea i definately want to get a refractometer so i'm gonna order one on line cause they don't carry one in the local fs here, so wish me luck, thanks everyone.

 

[isthatright]

hey any suggestions on what kind of refractometer to purchase, there's several out there.

 

[monsinour]

new hydromoters need to be "broken in" according to the one I have as well as the ones I looked at. It is suggested to have it soak in salt water for 24 hours and then start taking readings.
edit: how much do you want to spend? there are a few at $80 that are good. There are some cheap ones at $50. I would imagine they all do the same and since there are no moving parts, the extra $ just might be for the name on the side.

 

[saxman]

The price difference is usually due to materials...some are predominantly plastic, others are metallic. I suppose there are slight accuracy issues too, maybe one has a better/easier to read scale than another.

 

[wangotango]

Get a refractometer that has automatic temperature compensation (ATC). Makes things a lot easier. They aren't that expensive either, like $50-$100 for good ones.

 

[isthatright]

hey thanks i'm definately gonna check some out, when i had a fo tank there wasn't much of an issue but now with all the coral i have i'm having some loss here n there n that stinks, i've been told my salt is to high so i'm trying to lower it slowly.