Got my new Refractometer

[Anonymous]

I got my new refractomer yesterday. No instructions but I believe it is very simple.

I used straight RO water and placed int on the lens then flipped over the top. I used the screw driver it came with to adjust the blue line to 0. Then I tried in on my tanks.

Wow is that plastic Hydrometer off.

Refractometer = 1.026
Plastic (POS) Hydrometer = 1.023

Am I using this right?

How do people live without them and continue to use those plastic boxes?
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[cman]

Where did you get it and how much?

Thanks!

 

[buff1]

I got one and found that my plastic box was only .01 off. The most important thing is that now you know that your plastic box is off a little. I've gone back to using the hydrometer because it is convenient and the most important thing is to be consistent, not accurate. CMAN, I'll sell you mine if you want it. I got it at Marine Depot.

 

[Anonymous]

I got it from Premium Aquatics
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[Anonymous]

The refractometer should be calibrated at 68 degrees F, and let the distilled water sit on it for 30 secs to match ambient temp of the instrument.

 

[jhaag]

I found pretty much the same thing. My plastic swing arm meter was off by about .004 I use it now for quick estimates though as I am mixing the water since I know it is .004 low throughout the entire range.

 

[Leopardshark]

Hey, I haven´t ever seen a refract. before, I was looking at them at premiumaquatics site and they say they don´t need batteries, so my question is how they work??
BTW, where can I find one chep???
Thanks

 

[wombat1]

The water bends light at different angles depending on the salinity. Anyone can email me if they want mine too. They are super precise, but once you calibrate your hydrometer as stated they are not very useful. The absolute value of your salinity is not as important as the stability of it, IMO.

 

[94MR2]

i had two plastic hydrometers that gave me almost exactly the same reading (right around 1.025) so i figured they were probably fairly accurate, but when i had the chance, i picked up a refractometer to test things out. the specific gravity was at 1.015!!! i couldnt believe it so i had it tested with two other refractometers with identical results. IMO this really is a necessary piece of equipment.

 

[npaden]

I believe you are supposed to use Distilled water to calibrate the refractometer.

FWIW, Nathan

 

[Mikef1]

You can get the most popular model ACT10 on e-bay $48 brand new. They retail for about 150

 

[Mikef1]

The ATC models are automatic temp compensating. They should be calibrated in RO/DI water.