Hydrometer or refractometer?

[ferpayson]

Any suggestions on what to buy? I've heard pros and cons about hydrometers, but on my budget I might have to start out with that. Any good websites or stores that sell good refracrometers for a desent price? I like this one but I dont know if it's good enough, check it out and tell me?

 

http://www.aquacave.com/vertex-salinity-br...h-atc-2560.html

 

Thanks,

Brenden

[jgpico]

Refractometer 100% this is probably one of the best purchases i have made since i have gotten in to this hobby. More expensive but well worth the money. that one looks fine. im not sure what makes one way better than another.

[ferpayson]

Refractometer 100% this is probably one of the best purchases i have made since i have gotten in to this hobby. More expensive but well worth the money. that one looks fine. im not sure what makes one way better than another.

 

The one I have listed in my post do you think thats a good price?

 

Thanks,

Brenden

[thom4348]

The one I have listed in my post do you think thats a good price?

 

Thanks,

Brenden

 

I have this one and I love it, the best part is it comes with the calibration fluid that takes just a second to use and calibrates it.

 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/refrac...tion-fluid.html

[paneubert]

Most of the 50 dollar ones are all the same.....they just have a custom image on or in them that says "Marine Depot" or "Bulk Reef Supply", etc..... So if you are already placing an order for other things....then add in a refracrometer to the order to save on shipping.

[asstastic]

i have one that looks identical to the one in OP and it works great you dont need calibration fluid just drop RO water with no salt on it and set it to 0 if its not reading 0

[thom4348]

i have one that looks identical to the one in OP and it works great you dont need calibration fluid just drop RO water with no salt on it and set it to 0 if its not reading 0

 

But what if it's wrong to where it's below zero? Will the gauge show it being below zero?

 

i have one that looks identical to the one in OP and it works great you dont need calibration fluid just drop RO water with no salt on it and set it to 0 if its not reading 0

 

 

Also I'm pretty sure TDS in R/O water can throw off the reading.

[MarcG]

But what if it's wrong to where it's below zero? Will the gauge show it being below zero?

 

Investing in a calibration fluid (generally a 35 ppt solution) is your best bet because its calibrated in the range that your water will be in. With that said alot of people do use RO or distilled water to calibrate to 0. Does that work? Most of the time its probably acceptable...a calibration solution would be a better bet though and it's generally only a few dollars.

[thom4348]

Investing in a calibration fluid (generally a 35 ppt solution) is your best bet because its calibrated in the range that your water will be in. With that said alot of people do use RO or distilled water to calibrate to 0. Does that work? Most of the time its probably acceptable...a calibration solution would be a better bet though and it's generally only a few dollars.

 

Thanks for your two cents, isn't the refractometer from bulkreefsupply a good option? It's cheaper than most refracts. and it comes with fluid

[MarcG]

Thanks for your two cents, isn't the refractometer from bulkreefsupply a good option? It's cheaper than most refracts. and it comes with fluid

 

Yes...it seems like a good option. I don't have that particular model but I'm pretty confident most of these in this price range ($40-$50) come from the same factory somewhere. That blue one and black one from the earlier link pop up all the time under different names/vendors. I'm confident it would be acceptable for our purposes and better than a swingarm hydrometer.

[Llamaguy]

Yes, a refractometer should be one of the first things you buy when starting a SW tank. You can get away without a RO unit, but you'll just be wasting your money and it will be very annoying if you buy a hydrometer (the bobber or swing arm style). It's so quick and simple to use a refractometer and much more precise and your tank will thank you for it.

 

I want to point out that PA has the same unit in the original post for $45 + shipping. I am also bias toward them as I've never bought from Aquacave and happen to live near PA and visit regularly .

[StevieT]

i have one that looks identical to the one in OP and it works great you dont need calibration fluid just drop RO water with no salt on it and set it to 0 if its not reading 0

 

This is not how calibration works in the real world. Since you are not testing for 0 salt why would you calibrate to 0?

 

I've heard pros about hydrometers,

 

What pros have you herd?

[jeff@zina.com]

What pros have you herd?

 

That they're cheap.

 

FWIW, a floating glass hydrometer is fairly accurate, dirt cheap and suffers from none of the drawbacks the lever arm ones do.

 

Jeff

[lecroj]

You could get a mixing kit if you havent bought a siphon/pump,temp and salt.

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.asp..._content=DD2231

[doppelganger]

+100000 to the refractometer. You're going to end up getting one anyways so do it now. I got a hydrometer first and ended up getting a refractometer soon after just because it sucked so much. As others have stated, I also recommend getting 35 ppt calibration fluid as well as calibrating to 0 can throw you off by 0.001 or so. Of course that's only if u want to be as accurate as possible. I think BRS has one for $7 or something.

[neuf]

Refractometer. I bought a cheap one off Ebay (about $25) and found out my hydrometer was off by -0.004.

 

I thought I was keeping my tank at 1.026, but turns out it was was actually 1.030

[DGAF]

ive been using hydrometers for years. yes they arent accurate but you dont need to get your salinity to an EXACT number. it wont make a huge differene to anything. its not life or death to your 4951 dollar coral

[paneubert]

ive been using hydrometers for years. yes they arent accurate but you dont need to get your salinity to an EXACT number. it wont make a huge differene to anything. its not life or death to your 4951 dollar coral

 

You don't need to get to an exact number, but you should do your best to maintain whatever number you do pick. A swing arm is going to give you results that are not totally consistent no matter how many times you flick or whack it to get rid of the micro bubbles on the arm. So......accuracy is still key if you ask me. Not to get to exactly 1.025, but to keep it there long term.