AC III Pro Calibration Questions

[leebca]

I bought the AC III Pro. I set up the probes (I have temp, pH, ORP, Conductivity and Dissolved Oxygen).

Cleverly? I put the pH, temp, ORP, and DO probes through floating Styrofoam and float it in my refugium. Now comes the 'fun' part --- wrestling with the sometimes cryptic instruction manual and translating that into practicality and reality.

I know I have to calibrate the probes (except the temperature and ORP probes). So, maybe those of you who figured out how to physically do this, can help me with some guidance:

1. Calibration: Do you remove the probe from the Styrofoam and calibrate the probe standing at the Controller? or leave the probe in the Styrofoam and bring calibration fluids up to it? Rinsing in tap water? (Is your tap near your Controller/near your probe?) Doesn't all this take 3 hands and a lot of hoses or wash bottles?
2. pH Calibration: How do I know if I have 'requirements' to enable or disable the temperature compensation feature?
3. ORP Calibration. Directions say it has been "properly calibrated at the factory to maintain accurate ORP readings for the lifetime of the controller" but then goes on to explain how to calibrate it. When and why should it be calibrated then?
4. Conductivity Calibration: The mysterious "Select the appropriate temperature compensation value" direction is given. Temperature compensation of what temperature? aq water; standards fluids? And how do I know what to set it at? Maybe the probe was standardized to a specific temperature? Mystery!
5. DO Calibration: I'm supposed to put in a salinity compensation. So I should manually put in my salinity in ppt, right? But then, what's the point of a conductivity probe --- or am I missing something? If the pH probe is adjusted according to the temperature probe reading, then why not the DO probe to the conductivity reading?
   [/list=1] I haven't even begun to get into programming and setting it up on my home computer network for web access. It's going to be a real challenge for me (can you tell! )
   
   I appreciate any help and ideas and information you might have. :thumbsup:

 

[kattner]

I have one too. Here's what I do.

I have 4 cups, one for tap water, one for vinegar, one with pH 7 and one for pH 10. I bring them all to the place where I have the probes.

I put the temp, pH and ORP probes into vinegar first to dissolve any calcium / algae build up. scrub if needed.

I then rinse in the tap water cup.

I then put the temp and pH probe in the pH 7 fluid and calibrate.

I rinse the temp and pH probe in tap water cup.

I put pH and ORP probe in pH 10 fluid and calibrate.

You're done, put pH, ORP and temp probe back in tank or sump.

I think you should leave temp. compensation off (There isn't much compensation anyway) But you leave the pH compensation on for the ORP so it will give you readings in industry / hobby standard. These are questions Curt has answered many times in this forum so do a quick search to make sure I told you correctly.
I think Curt has also answered questions on the DO and COnd probe setup. I don't use them.
Hope this helps.

 

[kattner]

Sorry a typo. I put the pH and TEMP probe (not ORP Probe) in the pH 10 fluid and calibrate. ORP probe I don't calibrate.

 

[leebca]

Thanks Kattner. The fog is lifting!

How do you scrub the pH probe? Isn't that a thin glass tipped probe very suseptible to breaking?

What do you use to scrub with?

Thanks again!

 

[kattner]

I use a fairly soft tooth brush. The glass tip in the pH probe has a silver band around it and it is recessed in the plastic tube of the probe itself, so it won't break easily at all, but I don't scrub it very hard. The point of the vinegar is to apply a weak acid and dissolve any calcium build up from calcerous algae growth and any bio film. About 5 mins in the vinegar should be enough to loosen it all up.