Henrik

Active Reefer
Location
Astoria,NY
Rating - 0%
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Hello all,

I am a complete newbie with a 35 Gal reef type tank that I inherited from a family friend who passed away. This person knew what he was doing, I don't - yet.

The fish are and corals are fine and I am monitoring water parameters daily, while I'm undertaking a regiment of regular water changes to clear our all the excess nitrates which have been building up during the time in which the tank was unattended.

Now I have two hydrometers (moving arm type), a small one from Red Sea (which is the brand of the tank) and a larger one. Every day when I do my testing, they each show a different value, the smaller one tends to show less, like 1.015, while the larger one shows 1.020. This difference has been consistent over several days. I've even measured multiple times to rule out any air bubbles affecting the readout. Is this normal?

I read somewhere that the readout from these type of meters depends on the water temperature and the calibration of the device. That made sense to me as the specific gravity of a new salt solution that I mixed tested a lot higher after I heated the water slightly to match the tank more. When I asked a store owner about that he said temperature should not play a big role.

What is right? Which hydrometer should I trust? Should I measure solutions only at the same temperature? Should I invest in a Refractometer to get an accurate reading?

Please help!

Regards,


- Henrik
 

Cris007

Advanced Reefer
Location
Queens, NY
Rating - 100%
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Henrick those hydrometers r inconsistent. U might get one that is accurate or one that is way off. The only way to know is to compare it to a Refractometer that is calibrated. I recently purchased one from Deltec and compared it to my instant ocean hydrometer and it was off by only -.001 but others have found them off by much more.
 

andylee

Advanced Reefer
Location
Westchester
Rating - 100%
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One of your hydrometers is clearly wrong. Can you bring water to a local store to be tested to see which one it is? While I recently started using a refractometer, I used hydrometers for years and never had any major problems. Taking over a reef tank with no significant prior knowledge must be hard. Ask for more help here if you need it.
 

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