Lesson learnes

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Burntrack

New member
So I learned a big lesson today. I'm setting up my 93 cube and went to test the salinity. My refractometer said that the level was at .012. So I decided to add salt, of course mixed in water already, and let it circulate. Come back hours later and get a reading at .021. Soooo, I added more salt. Hours later I go to the LFS , because I don't have test kits yet, and they tell me that my salt level was....... .035. Come to find out my refractometer was WAAAAY off. Learned that I should be calibrating my instrument . Good thing I don't have anything in there yet and I learned this lesson without losing money besides what a few cups of salt cost.


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MMreef

MMreef

Active member
Most people calibrate their refractometer to RO water, correct way is to calibrate to solution at 35ppm. You can get those at LFS or online. Glad you learned your lesson before you put any livestock in. :)
 
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Burntrack

New member
MMreef said:
Most people calibrate their refractometer to RO water, correct way is to calibrate to solution at 35ppm. You can get those at LFS or online. Glad you learned your lesson before you put any livestock in. :)
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I forgot to mention. I did buy the calibration fluid and got the meter in check. Thanks for the info
 
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Burntrack

New member
Does anyone have a problem with Red Sea hydrometer. That thing will not stay calibrated and is all over the place in the matter of hours it's out of wack.


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Sawdonkey

Sawdonkey

Premium member
Burntrack said:
Does anyone have a problem with Red Sea hydrometer. That thing will not stay calibrated and is all over the place in the matter of hours it's out of wack.


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I think everyone that has used a hydrometer has had problems. They are just garbage period, no matter the brand. Just get a refractometer. I used a hydrometer for Mir than a decade when I had a FOWLR, but would never rely on one for corals.
 
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Burntrack

New member
Sawdonkey said:
I think everyone that has used a hydrometer has had problems. They are just garbage period, no matter the brand. Just get a refractometer. I used a hydrometer for Mir than a decade when I had a FOWLR, but would never rely on one for corals.
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Any particular brand that you recommend?
 
mishmaster

mishmaster

Member
Not only should you calibrate, or at least check the calibraton status using freshwater (tap water is fine) . Make sure you wait at least 5 minutes before reading the value when calibrating and during normal use since the temp of the water and the refractometer need to equalize, this means up to .003-.004 change in your reading between checking right away vs in a while.
 
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troublemaker

Member
Most now I are Temperature Compensating, I believe. I have just learned to recalibrate it with the actual solution every time I use it. I used to trust it until I actually started to calibrate more often and found out it was usually off. As far as lessons learned, my tank sometimes has to teach me the same lesson over and over. I was never much of a student, why should this be different?
 
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