Hydrometer

sherwing2000

sherwing2000

Member
I am in the proccess of mixing my saltwater for about a day now. My hydrometer is still reading way below. It is not even pointing to any number. I know people telling me to just get a refractometer but the cheapest i can buy is in ----. For now, I'll providely use the hydrometer but for some reason the arrow is not even moving up, it just pointing at buttom..What am i doing wrong.. The water temperature is in 79 degree..Should i lower the temperature or this normal...
Thank YOu
 
maeistero

maeistero

Active Member
is your water agitated? powerhead or something.
is it heated?
how long has it been salted?
just make sure it's fully mixed or you'll end up with some pretty salty dogs.
 
craig7220

craig7220

Member
When you mixed the water, how much salt did you use.. I usually use around 1/2 cup per gallon of water.....Also mix up like 1 cup of really strong saltwater, pour it into your hydrometer to make sure it is working.
 
lolly1

lolly1

Member
Occasionally the pointer on the hydrometer itself gets sticky too and doesn't want to move out of position. Be sure it move freely before you fill it with water. Refractometers are SOOOOOOO worth the money, though!
 
sly

sly

Active Member
Make sure you have an air stone... mixing in oxygen with the water will raise the SG and if you don't aerate it, then your sg will become too high once you add the water to your tank.
 
hatessushi

hatessushi

Active Member
You may need to flick the unit with your finger to get any air bubbles off of it. Hydrometers don't like air bubbles.
Athough aerating your mixed water is preferrable, it is not absolutely necessary as long as your are moving the water sufficiently.
 
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