I had company coming in for the weekend, so I didn't want to have salt buckets out mixing when they arrived. So I went to BSL and bought mixed 1.025 saltwater. Out of habbit, I checked the water with my refractometer and it showed 1.027. I thought they were off a bit on the mix, but I decided to check the calibration on my Milwaukee and it was off by .002. That doesn't seem like much, but I was generally running mine at 1.023 since I do not currently have a topoff. That means I have really been at 1.021 and explains why some coral was not too happy and growth had slowed. After the calibration and slowly correcting the salinity, the coral looks much healthier.
Refractometers are the way to go as they are much more accurate than hydrometers if they are calibrated. :bigeyes: At least I caught it before a disaster.
You can calibrate the instrument with a set salinity solution packet or you can just use RO/DI water and set it to 0. You should have a precision screw that is used to accomplish this. Mine had a cap over the adjustment screw.
Take care,
Tech Diver
Refractometers are the way to go as they are much more accurate than hydrometers if they are calibrated. :bigeyes: At least I caught it before a disaster.
You can calibrate the instrument with a set salinity solution packet or you can just use RO/DI water and set it to 0. You should have a precision screw that is used to accomplish this. Mine had a cap over the adjustment screw.
Take care,
Tech Diver
