What the! How do I read my glass hyrdrometer?

[swlover]

Not to high jack the thread-sorry, but I too am having a problem with filling mine. I'm using a plastic one-I just bought it to set up my QT. I don't know how far to fill it up-instructions read to fill it slowly by dipping bottom corner fill port below water surface until water flows up and over inner weir (I don't know what an inner weir is) This is a pic of what I think they mean...but not sure-it does however leak out when I fill it all the way up so I think it is right. I know it's a cheap one but, that is all they had at the shop I went to. This an accurate one?

 

[swlover]

Ok I was posting when all that about plastic ones weren't good-I guess i have to learn to type faster-I'll ditch it and get a beeter one sorry!

 

[smilliej]

Well, conflicting opinions, but with so many members it's to be expected. Im going to go with BangGuy with 25yrs experience. I'll also be taking my time to get it back to a decent level. I also have a AquaC Remora being shipped from the US, Very excited!!!!
Thanks for your help guys.
Jen

 

[subvillian]

swlover... I have the same kind and i always just fill the whole thing up. Then i tap on it or bag it on something to get the air bubble off the weight. Seems to work fine all the time

 

[bang guy]

The swing-arm type of hydrometer needs to be filled all the way up. Let it sit for a minute to equalize the temp between the water & the plastic.
They should be compared against a Refractometer, conductivity meter, or calibration fluid every 6 months and note the discrepancies. The readings for this type of hydrometer will change with time which is the main reason I don't trust them.

 

[mystic7]

Originally Posted by grumpygils
Mystic,
How is the new tank? I remember your ordeal with the LFS. PICS? War stories?
Mc
Didn't you see my apology thread? I have a before and after pic there as well. All LR now and a Niger Trigger that's doing great (the angel and tangs died, naturally). I got the LFS to take back the fake corals for credit towards LR (over 300 bucks worth!). My next step is to get them to replace my skimmer. Tizzo was here today and she confirmed that it is not working properly and that there is no way to adjust it (there's too much air and not enough water, with no way to increase the water flow). Here's a link to the thread and the picture in case you hate opening new windows like me ;-) And thanks for asking!
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/195736/my-sincerest-apologies

 

[mystic7]

Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack your thread, smilliej!

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by mystic7
Didn't you see my apology thread? I have a before and after pic there as well. All LR now and a Niger Trigger that's doing great (the angel and tangs died, naturally). I got the LFS to take back the fake corals for credit towards LR (over 300 bucks worth!). My next step is to get them to replace my skimmer. Tizzo was here today and she confirmed that it is not working properly and that there is no way to adjust it (there's too much air and not enough water, with no way to increase the water flow). Here's a link to the thread. And thanks for asking!
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/195736/my-sincerest-apologies
Now that was hilarious! Good thread. Tank looks great! You are right about this site. You can wear yourself out reading!
Mc

 

[anthonynyc]

I'm new to the hobby and was using a swing arm type hydrometer. I thought it was pretty accurate until I got a refractometer.
I needed to get my tank down to 1.009 (hypo) and each time I would replace 10 gallons of water in my 72gallon tank, the reading was the same. It would not move. (tested after a few hours)
I then checked my tank with the refractometer and could see the small changes.
From my experience, if you want to keep your tank in the ballpark of 1.020 - 1.025 the hydrometers are ok but if you need to drop your salinity down to 1.009 or any specific number, you will need to get a refractometer.
Anthony