New refractometer...how DOES this thing work?!?!?

[orionsmamma]

Hey all! My refractometer came in the mail today...with no instructions!! I do not think it is ATC, does anyone know how to calibrate this thing?? Should I just use regular RO water, and set the dial to "0"? does RO water have 0 salinity?? Any help is greatly appreciated, I am curious to see how off my hydrometer is!

Donna

[opihi]

Hey Donna,
RO should have 0 salinity. to calibrate the refractometer, put a couple drops of RO on the pane and look through the eye piece. it should read 0. if it doesn't, then use the little screwdriver to adjust the readout so that it is 0.

once you've calibrated it, just put a couple drops of your tank water on the pane and read the measurement.

if it's not ATC, you'll need to make sure the temperature of both the RO and the tank water is the same. room temperature should do just fine.

that's it in a nutshell.

[vapovick]

check under the foam, the directions should be there ..

[orionsmamma]

vapovick: No instuctions under the foam, I allready looked! Oh well..I already had a good idea of how it worked :)

opihi: Thanks for the comformation. I am impatiently awaiting my RO water to reach room temp!

[Ernest T. Bass]

Donna,

Can you let us know where you got that refractometer so that we don't make the same mistake. I for one try to use thinds before I read the instructions but I always fall back to reading them. You can PM me if you don't want it to be public knowledge.

Thanks and good luck

[orionsmamma]

Ernest: I actually would not call it a mistake. I got the refracometer brand new off of ebay, for around $26 including shipping. I really don’t mind that instructions were not included, especially because I have such a vast pool of knowledge that I can tap into if needed :D

[Shak]

It would be preferable to calibrate your refractometer with DI water as opposed to RO. Do you happen to have a TDS meter to test your RO unit?

Having said that though, for aquarium use RO would probably keep the instrument accurate enough. I have a medical laboratory background so I tend to be leary of less than optimal calibration solutions.

[orionsmamma]

LOL OK Shak! Actually, I buy RO water for my tank from the same place I buy my drinking water from. Eventually I will get a RO/DI unit, but for now its the "water store" lol

TDS meter?? I know the water store has a meter looking thing attached to thier filtration system...Should I look at that, and what should I be looking for?

[TippyToeX]

Donna a TDS meter (Total Dissolved Solids) Is a good tool to have. It will let you know just how much impurities are in your source water. If you get a reading (I'm anal, anything above zero is poor to me) about your set limit it is time to change your RO or RO/DI filters.

If you don't want to go out and buy one let me know. You can borrow mine at any time. :D

Have you tested the tanks SG yet?

[orionsmamma]

Originally posted by TippyToex


Have you tested the tanks SG yet?

YES! And it is way too high!! I am in the process of dripping RO water into my tank in order to slowly lower it. My hydrometer was reading 1.024-25, and the refracometer read at 1.030. Very scary, I cant believe it was off by that much, although it shouldn't suprise me.

I love this thing! Its super easy to read and calibrate, and best of all it was cheap! I should have gotten one a lot sooner :hammer:

[EricM]

funny i just got a refractometer a couple weeks ago, and found out my hydrometer was off too - 1.025 was really 1.032. Still lowering it slowly......

[the Undone guy]

yeap, those damn deep6's are off. My 1.023 reading turns out to be 1.026. I use the deep 6 when making water just to see if im getting near the amount of salt i need.

amy how do you get your water to 0 tds?! my water is at best 1ppm TDS...it usually ranges from 1-3ppm though. The RO/DI unit has been producing 1ppm water since i got it...

[orionsmamma]

Well, after dripping water for the last 4 hours (1 gallon), the SG is down to 1.028. How slowly should I lower it?? I'm thinking at least another gallon tomarrow, which should bring it down to 1.026. Do you guys think that is too fast?

[LVfishguy]

You shouldn't have a problem with that donna. THe sandard is more more than .02 per day. I have do it faster though...

[the Undone guy]

i sometimes do it a lot faster, waiting for my fish to shoot me of course...

[Shak]

0.02 is max i'd ever try in a day, but others have had success with more, it really depends on the organism and its tolerance to rapid change.

Slower = better, no matter what it is, just my opinion.

[dallast]

agree with all above! the swingarm hydrometers are notoriously off. i swore mine was correct until a got a refractometer....the bloody thing was low by .003.

but now i can (when lazy) just use the hydrometer for a quick reading and make the mental adjustment.

i learned this the hard way with my pH meter, as well. got to keep that thing calibrated REGULARLY!