im mad and i slammed my refractometer across the room

[pelochas]

so i need a new one...i hate this cheap one i got. please advise me of a good solid performing refractometer...and i was mad because the damn thing kept giving me different readings for the past three hours and so i have a 30 gallon of fresh salty h20 and i cant tell what the salinity is. my old refractometer had my tank salinity at 40 then 30 then 35 then slammed across the room :mad2: been here stuck for 4 hours trying to do a PWC damn this hobby is really pushing me

 

[stuccodude]

salinity is very finicky, i learned that using my finger to get water out of the tank made my salinity seem really high, i figure its from sweat. i used a syringe from my test kit and it was always messing with the results so now i use a spoon from the drawer, always a different one and always dry. i would rinse them off before but that was messing with the results so thats what i do. good luck

 

[K5reefer]

i use a cheep dunk salt tester and also a refractometer alway with a syringe and i look at them both to get an idea

 

[ang_99]

Well, I used the following hydrometer and trusted its complete and total accuracy.

The only problem is you need to have the water totally still to measure SG.

Also temp will affect reading but they will provide you with a conversion chart.


http://www.tropic-marin.com/web/english/homepage.html

Just click Products - Instruments and Equipment - Hydrometer


edit: they brake very easy if mishandled. I went through about 4 or 5 of them. The stem will crack easy.

 

[Rae C.]

My husband found an old hydrometer - it's a glass tube with a scale inside. you float it in still water and get the reading that way. I use this and the cheapie that you dunk in the water with the swing arm. The average is what I use for the official reading.

 

[wrott]

I have never gotten 2 different measurements from the same refractometer using the same water.
Are you sure that you know how to properly use one?
Hydrometers will give you different readings--bubbles, temp, etc.

I'm really not trying to critize you, did you dry the surfaces--rinse w/ test water--replace cover--tap on cover--wait 20 seconds--hold it up to a bright light so that there is no "gap" observed between the blue part and clear part?

 

[easye123]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13594179#post13594179 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wrott
I have never gotten 2 different measurements from the same refractometer using the same water.
Are you sure that you know how to properly use one?
Hydrometers will give you different readings--bubbles, temp, etc.

I'm really not trying to critize you, did you dry the surfaces--rinse w/ test water--replace cover--tap on cover--wait 20 seconds--hold it up to a bright light so that there is no "gap" observed between the blue part and clear part?

Ya same here. I always check it two to three times just to make sure but I always get the same.

Maybe your testing it when the newly made saltwater is not fully mixed and then testing it when its been mixing longer.. i dunno just a thought..

 

[Ed Reef]

Maybe you need to calibrate your refractometer using Pinpoint Salinity Calibrate fluid?

I also never experience different readings from the same water?

Also if you're planning to get another refractometer, get one with a ATC where it will adjust the ambiance temperature accordingly

 

[pelochas]

i have the swing arm but learn real quick that this is pretty bad when trying to get a precise reading...its good but not precise.

i had my hydrometer for 2 years but today was just not my day. i always had good results and tested the tank water several times and then tested the new satly water several time and then back to tank water and then finally back to the new salty water..but today it just never gave me the same reading..it was way off and then i trying to adjust the focus and i guess i turn it too much. and it was back and forth and readings that were 40, 30, 35 at my tank, then 30, 28, 35, at my new salty water, then back at the tank..40, 42!...then i just made it fly and crash into the wall..it was cheap..the hinge was already broken..the focus was bad..it was a good time to break something out of frustation to get a new and hopefully better one..im think of just skipping the refractometers and going with a pinpoint probe meter but im not too happy with probes..thats another thing i may launch across the room

 

[Aj Flip]

when u become a realy experienced reefer, u can tell SG by taste

 

[seapug]

Refractometers are sensitive to temperature. It's a good idea to wait 20 or 30 seconds before taking a reading after you drip the water on the glass. Not waiting can give you kooky readings.

 

[urville]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13594915#post13594915 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aj Flip
when u become a realy experienced reefer, u can tell SG by taste

bwahahaha, noob.

Everyone knows pro reefers throw a siamese cat in the tub to test salinity. Cat height equals sg


forgive, i'll just be off. :mixed:

 

[Aj Flip]

lol ya of course im not that pro, but each water change it give it a try to see how close i get

wont try it with the tank water though, there could be zoa poison

 

[Ed Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13594940#post13594940 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seapug
Refractometers are sensitive to temperature. It's a good idea to wait 20 or 30 seconds before taking a reading after you drip the water on the glass. Not waiting can give you kooky readings.

That only work if he gets one with ATC as the cheaper models comes without

 

[pelochas]

dude the cat idea is cool but im allergic to cat fur...so what brand of refractometer do some of you use?

 

[Ed Reef]

I used D&D but some of my friends uses other brands - honestly I tried other brands (some cheaper/ some more expensive brands) but as long as it's stated with ATC and it's properly calibrated, all gives the same results.

Best is to find one available locally to you (with ATC) and look through the optical screen as some is pretty small. I like the one with a 1.3 magnification or larger for easy reading

 

[InsaneClownFish]

I can't help you there. I'm a big fan of my $5. hydrometer. It might not be 100% precise, but it doesn't have large fluctuations. I've seen too many local reefers spend $$$ on high end refractometers only to find out they weren't calibrated properly, and end up as such- "throwing them across the room."

I'd rather use a $5. piece of equipment that when I use it my salinity reads 1.025, but might really be 1.024, rather than an $80. piece of equipment that reads my salinity at 1.024, but is actually 1.014.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[chucksta1]

Somewhere in this site is a guide that will tell you how much salt (exactly) to how much water (exactly ) will give you water with a salinity of "X " after it has sat for a day.. I know that's not the question you asked, but it will give you a reference point.

My refrectometer works like a charm, but I just spent five minutes looking at it and I can't find a namebrand on it..?? Never even thought of it, just asked for one at the coral shop... sorry.

 

[blazin]

I spent a decent amount of time talking to a gentleman from Milwaukee, the company that makes a brand of refracto I just purchased ($80)

I asked him whats the difference between a $40 and theirs, and he said the cheap ones have the mirror bonded by glue inside, while the good ones have some sort of slide rack...plus good instruments have a monocular focus while cheapies have a telescoping focus, that ends up loosening up and becoming flimsy - requiring 2 hands.

I figure an instrument that measures something as important as sailinity, plus its basically a one time purchase, I'd rather spend the money for a quality piece.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

chucksta1 - I don't think that will work, because every salt mix is different, so it will take different amounts of salt x than it will from salt y to come to a specified value.