Jono Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 I've been using a refractometer I had from when I used to do aquaponics and would dose some salt for fish disease. It's just a normal ATC refractometer. I was doing water changes today, and was testing, calibrating, testing, re-calibrating, and my readings were jumping ALL OVER THE PLACE. What would cause this? I'm a little worried because I want to double check my salinity, although I premixed water the other day before it started messing up, so ASSUMING that if it was working fine then, it should be good. I keep it clean, and I haven't dropped it. I'm just confused. Guess I need to order a new one. Quote Link to comment
Sbrown325 Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 I recently made the mistake of not shaking the calibration fluid bottle before using it. Causes a low reading if not properly mixed before use. Also Be sure to rinse with rodi and dry with a lint free cloth. Quote Link to comment
Jono Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 I'll try all that again, but I did it all multiple times. I'll try shaking it REALLY HARD 😀 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 You could also try calibrating it with RO/DI. While maybe not as accurate as calibrating it with fluid, it should be consistent. If it's still flaky, then you have a problem. Quote Link to comment
Jono Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 I just need a new one. The calibration fluid and RODI are both reading high, and I can’t calibrate it any lower. Wonder what happened Quote Link to comment
burtbollinger Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 i had an issue when the refract. calibration liquid was @ 70 degrees vs 78...it read off. scientifically not sure how that all works, but it happened. Quote Link to comment
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