Refractometer or not?

[frewl]

I've just got a swing arm hydrometer and I was thinking about getting this refractometer from Aquabuys:
http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=mi_refractometer_atc&Category_Code=r2&Product_Count=1">http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=mi_refractometer_atc&Category_Code=r2&Product_Count=1</a>


Is a refractometer worth the extra expense or should I just go buy a new swing arm once a year like the guy at the LFS said to?

Billy

 

[glxtrix]

speaking from personal exp. I'ld buy one, when I bought mine and checked what I thought was 1.025 water, turned out to be 1.03. Those swing are deals are crap, unless you just have a FO tank.

 

[cgill311]

Totally worth the money. They last forever. The plastic hydrometers are pretty unreliable, IMO.

 

[tsciarini]

refracto is definately worth the investment...

 

[krb]

I would buy the refractometer. The swing arm i got was off by quite a bit as well. Plus it is easier to use and less messy.

 

[vettesarebest]

Definatly worth it!!!!!! Just take care of it and make sure it is calibrated right.

 

[frewl]

Thanks for the input guys. I ordered the refractometer. I need to get some calibration fluid for it soon. I don't hink it comes with any. The swing arm I have seems to be alright right now. I used it and just put my RO water in it and it registered right at 0. I know I should be running RO/DI but right now I can't buy a new system. been thinking about getting an add on DI unit but then I got to plumb it into the RO unit that I have its just a drinking water system but I thought it would be better then just using tap.

Billy

 

[tsciarini]

I dont know about that specific model but usually you would just calibrate it with RODI

 

[glxtrix]

yup, regular ro water will work. Make sure its set to 0.00 and youre good to go

 

[johnqx4]

My instructions say calibrate with distilled. couple of bucks at the grocery store...

johnny

BTW, this is not an admission of actually reading the instructions and thus absolving myself of true manhood!

I think they fell open and I looked by accident when picking them up!

 

[tsciarini]

johnqx4 wrote:

BTW, this is not an admission of actually reading the instructions and thus absolving myself of true manhood!

I think they fell open and I looked by accident when picking them up!

LOL...

 

[mojo]

johnqx4 wrote: My instructions say calibrate with distilled. couple of bucks at the grocery store...

Anything that is pure water (distilled, RODI, etc) will work.

 

[matttvi]

Just make sure to calibrate your refractometer (every couple of months)! I calibrated mine when I first got it (over a year ago) and hadn't touched it since. I thought my tank was sitting at 1.024 but when i checked the refractometer again against some RO/DI water, I was off by .003, so I was actually only 1.021!

I'm slowly bringing it up to 1.025 where my anemone would prefer it!

 

[frewl]

Well I got my refractometer today and I must say I wish I got this to begin with. its alot easier then the swing arm. That hydrometer kept getting bubbles on the arm and no matter how much I tried to not get the bubbles on there I kept getting them on there. I got the Milwaukee MR100ATC from Aquabuys and I must say I really like it. it feels solid and being able to adjust the focus of the eyepiece I don't know if the other do that too but its rock solid.

Billy

 

[cameron]

Being paranoid, I still test with both since it is easy. If they both read close to the same, I feel good about the reading.

 

[kevin]

I used to use hydrometers... i have some extras if people need one... anyhow, I prefer my refractometer. I feel it is much more reliable.

 

[vettesarebest]

Yeah I never use my Hydrometer anymore. A bad thing about them is that there has to be NO bubbles stuck on the swing arm and that is sometimes difficult to do. Also you always have to keep it clean because the swing arm can get messed up by salt drying on it.

 

[george]

My hydrometers (all 3 I had accumulated over the years) went directly to the trash do-not-pass-Go once I got a refractometer and discovered I'd been running my tank at 1.029-30.

 

[krusty krab]

Has anyone had any dealings with

 

[dakota]

There is a bit of controversy about calibrating refractometers.

I have a cheapo RHS-10ATC (blue handle). They are actually made for testing NaCl brines (like for pickles) and not seawater. There is a difference in the ionic makeup between the two that will alter the refractative index.
Refracts designed for testing seawater are actually very expensive, several hundred dollars.

Randy Holmes-Farley on RC did a lot of work on this and discovered that it is best to calibrate the cheaper refracts with Pinpoint's Salinity Meter Calibration fluid. Use it instead of RO/DI or distilled and calibrate to 1.0264.

The closer you calibrate the refract to where you will actually be measuring, the less it will be off. Calibrating to 0 in this case might cause a greater chance for inaccuracy.

I initially calibrated mine to 0 with RO/DI and used it for a few months. Was pretty proud of myself for switching from the swingarm that was a few points low. My tanks really didn't look very happy after a while. I read that article and ordered it from Premium Aquatics. After calibrating with it, I found that my tanks were at 1.031 rather than 1.026.

Some of these refracts aren't too far off, some are dead on, and I'm the lucky guy who got a dud. That calibration fluid was the best $4 I have spent on this hobby.

Calibrate with the Pinpoint solution to 1.0264, rinse and clean the plate really good, and then take a reading of RO/DI water to see how far you are off. If it still reads 0, then you can trust your refract for measuring hyposalinity in a hospital tank also. I can't with mine.