Can you trust any online salinity calculator?

[fixingstill]

Can you trust any online salinity calculator?
https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/DirectSaltCalculator.php

I use Instant Ocean Reef Salt and warm the RO DI water to 78C.

According to the calculator, 200G, from 1.00 to 1.025 SG @ 78C with the suggested water impurity of 15.3, I need 67.86 lb of salt.

I did just that and now the salinity in my newly mixed water (@ 78c) is 1.036 SG. What the hell.

Now l look at the box, it says 56LBs enough for 200 gallon. So, I added 11.86 LBs more!

Do not trust any online calculator?

I just sorted out the confusion with these salinity PPT and SG thing yesterday and calibrated my hydrometer (just new mark), optical refractometer, digital one, and then the Apex probe is still giving me problems... Today more issues to deal with... Don't I like this hobby!

 

[sde1500]

Just curious, but why would you use an online calculator instead of just going by the box? In any case, from what I know 1/2 cup per gallon of many salt mixes will get you to 1.025 that you need.

 

[GimpyFin]

+1. IMO, I wouldn't worry about trying to rely on calculators like those. A good starting point is 1/2 cup salt per gallon of water. That generally gets you around 1.024-1.025. After it's mixed for a while, just test it and add some salt (Or maybe water) depending on your target salinity and what your reading is. Repeat as needed. You should be able to get a process down fairly quick.

 

[fixingstill]

I was actually mixing 50G of 1.010 SG water to 1.025 SG so I thought using an online calculator would give me the exact amount I need so that I don't have to mix, wait 30 mins, mix, and wait 30 mins and repeat.

 

[vhuang168]

Did you have rock n sand in the tank?

If so, you will have less than 200g if your tank measures out to be 200g. And the 200g is measure as total volume but since the water level is not all the way to the top, you will have less.


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[fixingstill]

Oh, 50G in a 55G water drum I was mixing.
Anyway, if you set the Water Impurity to 1%, it gives 57.71 lbs which is close to 56 lbs. Maybe with that set to 1%, the calculation is useful.

 

[disc1]

Can you trust any online salinity calculator?
https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/DirectSaltCalculator.php

I use Instant Ocean Reef Salt and warm the RO DI water to 78C.

According to the calculator, 200G, from 1.00 to 1.025 SG @ 78C with the suggested water impurity of 15.3, I need 67.86 lb of salt.

I did just that and now the salinity in my newly mixed water (@ 78c) is 1.036 SG. What the hell.

Now l look at the box, it says 56LBs enough for 200 gallon. So, I added 11.86 LBs more!

Do not trust any online calculator?

I just sorted out the confusion with these salinity PPT and SG thing yesterday and calibrated my hydrometer (just new mark), optical refractometer, digital one, and then the Apex probe is still giving me problems... Today more issues to deal with... Don't I like this hobby!

Was the calculator bad? Or did you use the wrong water impurity number and then blame the poor calculator for your mistake?

 

[fixingstill]

The link "Tell Me About Water Impurity in Salt Mix " on the page says Reef Crystals to be 17.4% (and it mentioned data from 1999 might be outdated). I first tried "Instant Ocean" 15.3%. Either gives results way off. If I use 1%, then it is close enough.

What is the water impurity of IO Reef Crystals salt? I could not find it online. 1%? If so, I am sorry for my mistake.

 

[vhuang168]

He shows you how to calculate what the water impurity is for your salt.


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[fixingstill]

And shows a table of the water content of several common brands. Then we are supposed to pick the brand, get the % number and plug it into the calculator, am I right?

Anyway, moving on. Thanks for all the comments.

 

[mcgyvr]

No.. That calculator cannot be trusted as the only data point..
Its not correct enough to be relied upon blindly.