Inconsistent Hydrometer Readings - What brand do you use?

Actually, I guess it moved down, not up. It just looks like a little tube of rolled up paper with the salinity measurements on it that usually sits all the way up in the skinny top part. But, when looking today, it is slid down at least 1/2 an inch below where the skinny part is. I'll try to snap a picture tonight so you can see how it looks compared to your's.
 
Maybe I can use a permanent marker on mine or make a scratch in the glass to mark where the paper is so that I know If it moves.
 
Now that's a great idea. Wish I would have done that long ago. Maybe I would have noticed a problem before my water hit 1.035.
 
Marine Depot refractometer/Pinpoint 53ms

Marine Depot refractometer/Pinpoint 53ms

Update: I received my meter today :rollface:

Queston about calibrating it:

The refractometer's instructions say to calibrate it at a room temperature of 68 degrees.

The Pinpoint calibration solution reads:

"53ms +/-1% @77 degrees.

Did you guys calibrate it at a room temp of 68 or 77 degrees? Or does the temp even matter?

Thanks

Edit: I just calibrated the meter at a room temp of 68 degrees. I calibrated the meter with both the Pinpoint solution and with the RO/DI water that I make. The calibrate at 0.03 difference! Should there be such a big gap?

Am I doing something wrong with the calibration?
 
Last edited:
I am hoping that you mean 0.003 and not 0.03? I read somewhere that with an accurate refractometer, calibrating it with 350 TDS water only produces an error of 0.001, so I doubt your water is bad enough to cause the difference. I'll try to find the website that addresses calibration with the solution and RO/DI water and post it.

The instructions with mine said to calibrate at 68 degrees also. I'm not sure how important this is, I did it when the room temp was about 70 degrees.
 
Re: Marine Depot refractometer/Pinpoint 53ms

Re: Marine Depot refractometer/Pinpoint 53ms

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10978301#post10978301 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tbone28
Update: I received my meter today :rollface:

Queston about calibrating it:

The refractometer's instructions say to calibrate it at a room temperature of 68 degrees.

The Pinpoint calibration solution reads:

"53ms +/-1% @77 degrees.

Did you guys calibrate it at a room temp of 68 or 77 degrees? Or does the temp even matter?

Thanks

Edit: I just calibrated the meter at a room temp of 68 degrees. I calibrated the meter with both the Pinpoint solution and with the RO/DI water that I make. The calibrate at 0.03 difference! Should there be such a big gap?

Am I doing something wrong with the calibration?
Click to expand...

Temp doesnt matter as long as it is ATC. Most refracts today have ATC. Automatic Temperature Compensation.

My refract is .003 off with ro/di. I would trust the 53 mS fluid. It is exactly 35 ppt or 1.0264

:)
 
Re: Re: Marine Depot refractometer/Pinpoint 53ms

Re: Re: Marine Depot refractometer/Pinpoint 53ms

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10978898#post10978898 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Billybeau1
Temp doesnt matter as long as it is ATC. Most refracts today have ATC. Automatic Temperature Compensation.

My refract is .003 off with ro/di. I would trust the 53 mS fluid. It is exactly 35 ppt or 1.0264

:)
Click to expand...

OK, wait, I think I know what the issue is now. I'm inferring from your response that I should calibrate the spectrometer to 1.0264 if I used the 53s solution? I calibrated it to 1.00, as per the directions. Should I be calibrating to 1.00 only if I use the RO/DI water?

And yes, it does have ATC.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10978830#post10978830 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ScottL4619
I am hoping that you mean 0.003 and not 0.03? I read somewhere that with an accurate refractometer, calibrating it with 350 TDS water only produces an error of 0.001, so I doubt your water is bad enough to cause the difference. I'll try to find the website that addresses calibration with the solution and RO/DI water and post it.

The instructions with mine said to calibrate at 68 degrees also. I'm not sure how important this is, I did it when the room temp was about 70 degrees.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was a 0.03 difference. I don't think it's my water because I just replaced all the cartridges. I'm wondering if I need to calibrate the meter to 1.0264 (as per the other post here) when using the 53s solution?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10979342#post10979342 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Billybeau1
Correct. When using the 53 MS fluid you should calibrate it to 35 ppt :)
Click to expand...

DUH! Thanks for making me feel stupid! :D LOL...perhaps that's why I was 0.03 off! Goes to show how bad my eyes are too! I should be 0.0264 off! I'll try it again when I get off work.

Thanks for the help everyone!
 
OK, recalibrated with 53ms solution to 35ppm. My hydrometer is 0.003 off from one hydrometer (Coralife Deep 6), and WAY off the other hydrometer I have (IO).

I also recalibrated the refractometer with the RO/DI make-up water, and it is 0.001 off the 53ms readings.

Now that I've used both the hydrometer and refractometer, I like the refractomter much more. Easy to use, and peace of mind in regards to my salinity.
 
Tbone,

RO/DI should read 0.000 and 53ms solution should read 1.026. On a working refractomter, if you calibrate to one, the other should be on the money. I have heard about people having problems calibrating with RO/DI, but if you are good on the 53ms solution, you shouldn't have any problems.
 
Thats what the Pinpoint 53mS solution was made for. His salinity monitor.

It just happens to work on refracts too. :)
 
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