thecoralbeauty Posted January 15, 2016 Author Share Posted January 15, 2016 so this happened... 17 Quote Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 That's hilarious ? Quote Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 refractometer came. SO cool. I've only ever had the swinging arm- and i ordered a replacement for that as well just in case i manage to break this again haha I've been thinking hard about the salt mixture. i've been running fine in IO and it's mixing an alk around 9 pretty consistently. i think for the time being, i'll stick to it. it's cheap, and honestly my tank has so much maturing to do at this point anyway that even if i had the BEST salt ever, I'm not sure it would really have much to do with the results immediately as just time and consistency while this continues to establish itself. this tank is about 2 months old. i'll probably try out the bright well salt when I'm closer to 6-8 months and feel that it might be worth the boost. Quote Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 refractometer came. SO cool. I've only ever had the swinging arm- and i ordered a replacement for that as well just in case i manage to break this again haha I've been thinking hard about the salt mixture. i've been running fine in IO and it's mixing an alk around 9 pretty consistently. i think for the time being, i'll stick to it. it's cheap, and honestly my tank has so much maturing to do at this point anyway that even if i had the BEST salt ever, I'm not sure it would really have much to do with the results immediately as just time and consistency while this continues to establish itself. this tank is about 2 months old. i'll probably try out the bright well salt when I'm closer to 6-8 months and feel that it might be worth the boost. I CANT BELIEVE YOU WERE USING A HYDROMETER!! 3 Quote Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 I CANT BELIEVE YOU WERE USING A HYDROMETER!! yep... and an old one at that... 1 Quote Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 yep... and an old one at that... Did you calibrate with 35ppt fluid? Thats the most accurate. But RODI works as well. 1 Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Never, ever calibrate a refractometer with anything other than 35ppt fluid. Bad Harold. BTW, there is nothing wrong with a hydrometer, even a swing arm model, as long as it is well taken care of, just rinse off after each use and don't bang it up. Refractometers actually require more work. One of the things on my list of shit to buy is a glass hydrometer, as those are creme de la creme of salinity measurement. 3 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I CANT BELIEVE YOU WERE USING A HYDROMETER!! O dear, I have always used a hydrometer! They work ok if you rinse them out with rodi occasionally. 2 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Never, ever calibrate a refractometer with anything other than 35ppt fluid. Bad Harold. BTW, there is nothing wrong with a hydrometer, even a swing arm model, as long as it is well taken care of, just rinse off after each use and don't bang it up. Refractometers actually require more work. One of the things on my list of shit to buy is a glass hydrometer, as those are creme de la creme of salinity measurement. You have to first find out which brand refractometer is being used. If using the Red Sea brand, it is to be calibrated with RODI and only RODI. Quote Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 didn't calibrate, but was accurate with the new swing arm i got. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 You have to first find out which brand refractometer is being used. If using the Red Sea brand, it is to be calibrated with RODI and only RODI. If you're measuring RO/DI, then yes, that is how it works. The farther you are away from your calibration point, the more uncertainty the reading will have. Always calibrate to your desired setpoint, which in this case is 35ppt. Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 If you're measuring RO/DI, then yes, that is how it works. The farther you are away from your calibration point, the more uncertainty the reading will have. Always calibrate to your desired setpoint, which in this case is 35ppt. Benny, the Red Sea refractometer specifically tells you to calibrate with RODI, they even tell you why, so no, you're not correct. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Benny, the Red Sea refractometer specifically tells you to calibrate with RODI, they even tell you why, so no, you're not correct. How far do you want your reading to deviate from the sample? Quote Link to comment
olemanwinter Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Add me to the list of people who've never used anything but a hydrometer. If it ain't broke don't fix it. 3 Quote Link to comment
D Z Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Benny, the Red Sea refractometer specifically tells you to calibrate with RODI, they even tell you why, so no, you're not correct. How far do you want your reading to deviate from the sample? I absolutely hate the red sea refractometer. I could not get it to stay calibrated whether I used RODI or 35ppt fluid. I went back to the el cheapo refractometer I got from Amazon and could not be happier....and I do calibrate with 35ppt fluid. 1 Quote Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 alk is 8.6. hm. 1 Quote Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 alk is 8.6. hm. Thats good, no? A bit lower but not too much? Quote Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 Thats good, no? A bit lower but not too much? yes. I'm pretty ok with it. I think i'll stick somewhere between 8.6 and 9. 1 Quote Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 Diatoms finally going away! 4 Quote Link to comment
pgrVII Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Hooray for diatoms disappearing! Also the urchin pic is hilarious 1 Quote Link to comment
Kijho Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 The urchin was having some fun, little did you know I've been less active lately so just going thru this (new to my eyes) build of yours and it looks fantastic! Well done! 1 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Diatoms finally going away! Takes forever unless you have a huge army of diatom eaters. And every little new thing you put in like a new frag plug, boom they are back again. 1 Quote Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Takes forever unless you have a huge army of diatom eaters. And every little new thing you put in like a new frag plug, boom they are back again. yep- i think just leaving it all alone was the best thing i could have done. what all eats diatoms?! The urchin was having some fun, little did you know I've been less active lately so just going thru this (new to my eyes) build of yours and it looks fantastic! Well done! wow thank you! that means a lot, i really appreciate it! 1 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 yep- i think just leaving it all alone was the best thing i could have done. what all eats diatoms?! Reefcleaners has a lot of the CUC that do, different types of snails, the smaller species mostly. They're snails so it's Slooooooooowwwww going on the cleanup. 2 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.