Neb Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Hey, today I did a 5 ltr water change on my fluval evo 52 ltr. Been running the heated water for about 30 hours before adding and the reading was standard 1.024. Added it over the course of one hour as I normally do, and went to do my thing. I don’t know why, but I decided to check my refractometer with rodi water. It was way off. Like .0010 or so. So I recalibrated and tested with water from another container. Was on 0. Then I tried with my third container and it was still zero. By that time I was already worried I might have added too much salt. Checked water and it’s now 1.026. Now, I don’t know what might have caused the loss of calibration (atc), maybe I bumped the screw by accident.. Real question is would my fish and corals suffer badly from the rapid increase in salinity? .002 is not that little. Been an hour now and fish are begging for food and corals are wide open.. Quote Link to comment
Daniel91 Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 It’s not a crazy spike and 1.026 is OK to maintain your level at. I would simply leave it be today, and then tomorrow or even the day after, get it back to .025. Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 I agree. 1.026 is not that big of a deal and you did a relatively small water change. I like to keep my tank at a constant 1.025 but sometimes it gets higher if I haven't topped it off with freshwater for a few days and even then it doesn't affect anything. Add a little freshwater to the tank to dilute the salinity. Quote Link to comment
Neb Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 I am not worried about the salinity level, more of the rapid increase of it. I will leave it today as it is. Don't want to swing it around too quickly, I assume its already unpleasant for the inhabitants. Tha k you for the replies. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Refractometer's need regular calibration. Some of us check it with calibration fluid every week. The slow increase could simply be that the refractometer needed calibrating or even not topping up to the correct level every day. Quote Link to comment
Garf Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 But did it actually rise by that much? You say your saltwater mix was reading the "standard" 1.024, measured with the refractometer that was out of calibration. If the tank was measured with the same refractometer, it would be off by the same amount. The only way it would actually rise .002 would be if the last tank measurement was truly 1.024, then the refractometer lost calibration, then you added water to bring the tank salinity up to 1.026 And with just a 5liter water change, that would have been some salty water. Also was reading where you should calibrate closer to your target, see if you can get some 35ppt calibration fluid and calibrate to that. Then check with RODI water, and if it reads 0, then you can calibrate with RODI and not bother with the calibration fluid. It all depends on the quality of the refractometer, the ramp error could affect even pricy instruments. If you have another local reefer, perhaps they may have some. Plus you could get a measurement of your tank water from their refractometer to compare. Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 That is not a huge spike at all and really not too much to worry about. You can always drain like a half a cup of water and add fresh water. I ran my tanks at 1.026 for lps,softies and sps. I had best colors and growth out of 1.026. Quote Link to comment
Neb Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 1 hour ago, Garf said: But did it actually rise by that much? You say your saltwater mix was reading the "standard" 1.024, measured with the refractometer that was out of calibration. If the tank was measured with the same refractometer, it would be off by the same amount. The only way it would actually rise .002 would be if the last tank measurement was truly 1.024, then the refractometer lost calibration, then you added water to bring the tank salinity up to 1.026 And with just a 5liter water change, that would have been some salty water. Also was reading where you should calibrate closer to your target, see if you can get some 35ppt calibration fluid and calibrate to that. Then check with RODI water, and if it reads 0, then you can calibrate with RODI and not bother with the calibration fluid. It all depends on the quality of the refractometer, the ramp error could affect even pricy instruments. If you have another local reefer, perhaps they may have some. Plus you could get a measurement of your tank water from their refractometer to compare. Could have been. Been thinking about it and I think I just panicked a bit too much. Just came home for my break. Things look normal. ☕ 1 Quote Link to comment
Neb Posted June 3, 2019 Author Share Posted June 3, 2019 On 6/2/2019 at 5:06 PM, Garf said: Hey, a short update. Today I wanted to test salinity and checked the refractometer. And it was off. Same amount in the opposite direction. I recalibrated and tested water - 1.025,5 (I drip added some RODI water). This refractometer is weird. I will buy a hydrometer and use both to test for precise results. Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 You sure it's not time to buy a new refractometer? Quote Link to comment
Neb Posted June 4, 2019 Author Share Posted June 4, 2019 8 hours ago, jfalkartist said: You sure it's not time to buy a new refractometer? It's two months old. They should last longer than that. Considering I clean it very regularly and keep it dry. Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 3 hours ago, Neb said: It's two months old. They should last longer than that. Considering I clean it very regularly and keep it dry. 2 months? I'd contact whoever you bought it from and let them know about the issues you've had with it..it shouldn't fluctuate that much/often...they might be willing to replace it for you. Quote Link to comment
Neb Posted June 4, 2019 Author Share Posted June 4, 2019 9 hours ago, jfalkartist said: 2 months? I'd contact whoever you bought it from and let them know about the issues you've had with it..it shouldn't fluctuate that much/often...they might be willing to replace it for you. I'm going on Thursday to swap one of my fish for another one (I thought I will enjoy the cardinal freezing in time, but I in fact hate it) and will discuss the matter. Thank you for the help boys and girls 9 hours ago, jfalkartist said: 2 months? I'd contact whoever you bought it from and let them know about the issues you've had with it..it shouldn't fluctuate that much/often...they might be willing to replace it for you. I'm going on Thursday to swap one of my fish for another one (I thought I will enjoy the cardinal freezing in time, but I in fact hate it) and will discuss the matter. Thank you for the help boys and girls Quote Link to comment
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