Salinity confusing me

[jambon]

I just set up a tank(which we just tore down) at a friends place and checked the salinty. Which was 1.014. Not good. We proceded to calibrate the refractometer with RO water. It was zeroed. The best we had at the moment. We mixed a batch of fresh water with "Salinity" brand salt at 1/2 cup in 4 litres of RO water. It was also 1.014. 

The  confusing part is this... I use the same salinity salt just a little less than 1/2 cup per 4 litres and get a very high reading... closer to 1.027.

 Could 2 batches be so far apart? We are thinking of mixing a batch up by weighing the salt before mixing it in.

   It is making a bit of sense now... the corals which were thriving in the tank are long gone, but the fish seem to be doing well. Any input would be useful....

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, jambon said:

I just set up a tank(which we just tore down) at a friends place and checked the salinty. Which was 1.014. Not good. We proceded to calibrate the refractometer with RO water. It was zeroed. The best we had at the moment. We mixed a batch of fresh water with "Salinity" brand salt at 1/2 cup in 4 litres of RO water. It was also 1.014. 

The  confusing part is this... I use the same salinity salt just a little less than 1/2 cup per 4 litres and get a very high reading... closer to 1.027.

 Could 2 batches be so far apart? We are thinking of mixing a batch up by weighing the salt before mixing it in.

   It is making a bit of sense now... the corals which were thriving in the tank are long gone, but the fish seem to be doing well. Any input would be useful....

Calibrating with RO water isn't 100% accurate. Using calibration fluid is the best. 

 

Checking with a second refractometer is another good idea because it could be the refractometer itself. 

 

I have never weighed or calculated the amount of salt I use. I add it to the water while pump and heater are going and check SG as I go. I now generally know how much salt I need to get my full 4g bucket to 1.026. 

 

For me, this is just far easier

 

When you dis your test with the salinity salt to compare SG

 

1. Was it from the same bucket of salt or did you test with different salt sources(could be a bad batch 

2. Was the same refractometer used to check salinity level

[FISHnChix]

I've caled refracometer with rodi and it seems to work good enough for me.. I did finally order some calibration fluid to confirm . if I was you  I would confirm your meter with the cal fluid or go to the lfs and use your meter to check their salinity.. 

 

one thing are you checking the salinity with the water heated or cold? I did also have a problem when I was leaving my meter in the window seal. It causes the meter to get really hot and would give inaccurate readings..

 

My bet is your meter is perfectly fine and reading accurately, and the salt is bad on the batch that is giving you the low readings.. if your adding 1/2 cup per 4 liters I would assume your salinity would be real close to 1.027.. I normally do 1/2 cup per gallon and it almost always mixes right to 1.026...

[jambon]

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Calibrating with RO water isn't 100% accurate. Using calibration fluid is the best. 

 

Checking with a second refractometer is another good idea because it could be the refractometer itself. 

 

I have never weighed or calculated the amount of salt I use. I add it to the water while pump and heater are going and check SG as I go. I now generally know how much salt I need to get my full 4g bucket to 1.026. 

 

For me, this is just far easier

 

When you dis your test with the salinity salt to compare SG

 

1. Was it from the same bucket of salt or did you test with different salt sources(could be a bad batch 

2. Was the same refractometer used to check salinity level

Ok. We used two different refractometer... the results were the same with both tools.. 1.014 and 1.027

I do a similar procedure for years it. 

Back in the old days... 1/2 cup of instant ocean was perfect for 1.023ish 99.9% of the time. Red Sea and Salinity seem to be a bit more concentrated... anyway it must be a bad batch.

BTW I may need an axe soon for the green nepthea... there is some pink/ purple from Australia I would like to get a hold of.

[jambon]

2 hours ago, FISHnChix said:

I've caled refracometer with rodi and it seems to work good enough for me.. I did finally order some calibration fluid to confirm . if I was you  I would confirm your meter with the cal fluid or go to the lfs and use your meter to check their salinity.. 

 

one thing are you checking the salinity with the water heated or cold? I did also have a problem when I was leaving my meter in the window seal. It causes the meter to get really hot and would give inaccurate readings..

 

My bet is your meter is perfectly fine and reading accurately, and the salt is bad on the batch that is giving you the low readings.. if your adding 1/2 cup per 4 liters I would assume your salinity would be real close to 1.027.. I normally do 1/2 cup per gallon and it almost always mixes right to 1.026...

The water was tank water .. we let it acclimate a bit and the meter was room temp. I checked my half cup measure against another and it is a tad deeper... any way the salt must be a bad batch.

[Clown79]

28 minutes ago, jambon said:

Ok. We used two different refractometer... the results were the same with both tools.. 1.014 and 1.027

I do a similar procedure for years it. 

Back in the old days... 1/2 cup of instant ocean was perfect for 1.023ish 99.9% of the time. Red Sea and Salinity seem to be a bit more concentrated... anyway it must be a bad batch.

BTW I may need an axe soon for the green nepthea... there is some pink/ purple from Australia I would like to get a hold of.

Growing large the nepthea?

[jambon]

4 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Growing large the nepthea?

Yes... doing well. I cut a large frag recently for a trade. The scar is covered in new polyps already. It is a 6 inch tree now.. 

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, jambon said:

Yes... doing well. I cut a large frag recently for a trade. The scar is covered in new polyps already. It is a 6 inch tree now.. 

Wow!