Refractometer, do I really need one?

[nina&noah]

I've never heard of this before joining this forum. I have a hydrometer, but the readings are always a little high. I've been told by numerous people not to worry about it because I use natural sea water. I just need to top off my tank with RO water more often. What are your thoughts on this? Do people who use natural sea water really need a refractometer?

 

[spiderwoman]

I'd recommend getting it. That is the only way to know what your correct reading is.

 

[mcbdz]

Originally Posted by nina&noah
http:///forum/post/2468074
I've never heard of this before joining this forum. I have a hydrometer, but the readings are always a little high. I've been told by numerous people not to worry about it because I use natural sea water. I just need to top off my tank with RO water more often. What are your thoughts on this? Do people who use natural sea water really need a refractometer?
That depends. What are you ultimately planning with your tank. A few hardy fish only and refractometer may be all you need, but anything else and YES that are very important. The type of saltwater really isn't what is important it's the stability of your SG. Even for top offs. You need to make sure you add the right amount to maintain your SG and for water changes you need to make sure you match your SG, temp, and PH.

Believe it or not but you can get an off batch of natural sea water.

 

[nina&noah]

I assumed that if the water always came from the same source than it should be about the same. How would you adjust the SG for natural sea water?

 

[natclanwy]

I used a hydrometer for the first couple of years I had my tank and then I finally bought a refractometer and what a world of difference not only is it more accurate but it far easier to use just a few drops of water and check, its really simple

. Instead of submersing a hydrometer in my tank then tapping all the air bubbles off and getting a reading then repeating the process a couple of more times just to make sure the reading is right since it will change just about every time you use it then hope it was right and add my water and recheck again

I wanted to kick myself for suffering for so long because I was too cheap to buy the refractometer.

 

[mcbdz]

Originally Posted by nina&noah
http:///forum/post/2468087
I assumed that if the water always came from the same source than it should be about the same. How would you adjust the SG for natural sea water?
Add RO/DI water to lower and add salt to increase. If it's the whole tank you need to raise then top off with saltwater until you reach correct SG.

 

[natclanwy]

The only way you could adjust the SG for natural sea water would be to add more water to lower it or add salt to raise it up. Like MCDBZ already said it is probably a good idea to check the natural sea water before you add it just to make sure its easy to fix before you add it but it may cause the loss of fish or other inhabitants if it was a bad batch and you added it to your tank then found out it was bad.

 

[nina&noah]

Ok, I will buy one . Can you add salt to natural sea water? I thought that you couldn't mix artificial with the real stuff.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by nina&noah
http:///forum/post/2468074
I've never heard of this before joining this forum. I have a hydrometer, but the readings are always a little high. I've been told by numerous people not to worry about it because I use natural sea water. I just need to top off my tank with RO water more often. What are your thoughts on this? Do people who use natural sea water really need a refractometer?
What is the high reading? If it is high on your hydrometer then it is probably actually a lot higher. Hydrometers are not accurate. Refractometers go for about $40. They are well worth it.

 

[natclanwy]

It's a myth that you can't mix natural and synthetic salt there was a post about this somewhere on here a couple of weeks ago, but if you are still concerned you can buy natural sea salt instead of synthetic sea salt.

 

[nina&noah]

The SG is measuring at 1.028 and has been since the beginning. The tank is about 7 months old.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by nina&noah
http:///forum/post/2468174
The SG is measuring at 1.028 and has been since the beginning. The tank is about 7 months old.
Then it could really be much higher. I kept my tanks at 1.025 and 1.026. When I got my refractometer, I found out that they were actually 1.030 and 1.031 respectively.

 

[lecithin]

Originally Posted by natclanwy
http:///forum/post/2468171
It's a myth that you can't mix natural and synthetic salt there was a post about this somewhere on here a couple of weeks ago, but if you are still concerned you can buy natural sea salt instead of synthetic sea salt.

He's right, we had a long discussion and came to the conclusion that there was no hard evidence to prove otherwise. You can indeed mix the two.

 

[nina&noah]

Ok, so once I get my refractometer, do I need to take water out and put in RO water? I'm assuming I do this very gradually, as my fish are used to it the way it is.
I will go get the refractometer today if it ever stops raining.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by nina&noah
http:///forum/post/2468188
Ok, so once I get my refractometer, do I need to take water out and put in RO water? I'm assuming I do this very gradually, as my fish are used to it the way it is.
I will go get the refractometer today if it ever stops raining.
Yes, just add RO to bring the sg down if it is high. Some people do keep their tanks higher. I keep mine at 1.026 though.