warning/reminder to all!

[calbert0]

Everyone should be sure to recalibrate their refractometer every month or so....
i had not calibrated my refractometer (put some R/O on it and make sure it reads 0) in several months...
my anemone has not been doing so great the past couple weeks and i couldnt figure out why...
so it randomly occured to me today that my refractometer might be a bit off... and it was..
somehow the calibration screw had turned slightly. While my refractometer was telling me 1.025 -1.026, after recalibrating it i found that my tank was actually closer to 1.032 -1.033

the high salinity may or may not be the cause of the sick animal, but either way im sure as hell glad i fixed it.
so just a friendly reminder to double check your refractometer every now and then.

 

[bmkj02]

Its a good pointer. The refractometer said that month recalibration wasnt needed or that it was pre-calibrated when first purchase so no calibration needed. Its a lie on all of them. Calibrate your brand new refractometer before using for the first time and check it monthly. I though wouldnt use RO to calibrate it. Use a calibration fluid to do it

 

[calbert0]

Calibration fluid? i've never heard of it....
i was told to either use R/O water or Distilled water.
what is calibration fluid?

 

[reefkprz]

refractometers should be re-calibrated everytime the room temperature changes more than 5 degrees. (even ATC refractometers) say int eh winter your living room is generally 70 dgrees while in the summer it may easily be 5 degrees higher orlower you should recalibrate. I check mine about once a month just to be sure.

 

[snakeblitz33]

A decent refractometer should also come with calibration fluid in a little bottle. It is absolutely 100% pure lab grade water.
Though, I've been using distilled water for years without a problem. The problem with distilled water is that yes, it is purified, but you don't know if the collection plate is copper or brass or whatever - and you don't know what type of metal the condensor and container was either - so there might be leftover atoms/molecules in the water. blah blah blah
Oh, and yes, reefkpz makes a very good point. Salinity changes slightly according to +-5F. So - keep em' calibrated! hydrometers are the worst to try and get the right calibration. UGH!

 

[socalnano24]

Thanks, good tip!

 

[salt210]

I wonder if that is what killed that frag of exnia that I bought awhile back, guess Ill never know.......

 

[cranberry]

My refractometer has never strayed... sometimes it makes me nervous that it's not calibrated right because it's always caliborated perfectly. Had the thing for 4 years now. Never once but I check it all the time.

 

[calbert0]

i have a vertex portable refractometer which i thought was among the best..?.. but no calibration fluid came with mine

 

[cmaxwell39]

They also sell calibration fluid for refractometers which is a solution which is at precisely 35ppt salinity. I didn't think that calibrating with RO would change it that much compared to calibrating with the calibration solution, but it made a difference of about .003 SG. Just a hint.