Is This An Ok Hydrometer To Use

[chishnfips]

hydrometer

Is this an ok hydrometer, there are that many to buy, not sure which one to get.

cheers chish

 

[The-Wolf]

it is ok
however if you want accuracy you should,IMHO, invest in a refractometer.
try to get one that has automatic temp adjustment, like DD aquariums (Deltec) one

 

[chishnfips]

Hi wilf, cheers.

I got a hydrometer today, a instant ocean one for £15.99. I looked into refractometers but didn't think I would need something so exact for brackish fish, plus they are quite expensive.

 

[The-Wolf]

Hi wilf,

who is Wilf?

for an extra £4 you could've brought the refractometer I suggested
but you're right you don't need to be that exact with brackish

 

[chishnfips]

ha ha wilf...woooops lol.

£4 is the difference between beans on toast or chicken escalopes for tea lol.

 

[AMS]

Glad you bought the swing arm hydrometer as the floating style ones (like the one in the link) only have a scale from 1.015 to 1.030, obviously too high for a low end brackish tank.

 

[chishnfips]

ahhh slight over sight there, yeah the guy in the shop said it was a not bad one to get and is a much better design than the in tank ones

 

[rob newland]

I have the instant ocean one - its good but more expensive.
Many hydrometers dont start at 0.000 so aren't worthwhile for lower sg brackish tanks.
Rob

 

[chishnfips]

cool, I am using instant ocean salt aswell, but how much do you reckon I should add to a 180 litre, to make it 1.005? a table spoon or something?

 

[MoMa]

cool, I am using instant ocean salt aswell, but how much do you reckon I should add to a 180 litre, to make it 1.005? a table spoon or something?

Check out Nmonks signature. (he posts in the brackish forum regularly). It has a handy link to a brackish calculator he developed.

 

[nmonks]

I've been using the same £4 floating hydrometer for twenty years. Works perfectly well for brackish aquaria. No brackish water fish needs accurately made seawater, so the 'tolerance' of a floating hydrometer is absolutely fine. You aren't going to harm scats or monos by keeping them at SG 1.015 instead of SG 1.014!

Research-grade refractometers cost $1000-$6000. Anything for $50 is going to be massively compromised and certainly nowhere near as accurate as some fishkeepers think. Just because a thing *says* SG 1.012345 doesn't actually mean it can measure to that degree of accuracy.

There is a hysterical thread at Reef Central (not sure I can post the link) about refractometers versus hydrometers.

My marine biology lecturer at university estimated salinity by taste. The aquarist running the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago uses a swing-arm hydrometer. What matters more than the tool is technique. A hydrometer calibrated for the temperature of water being tested will, when used properly, outperform a refractometer used sloppily.

Cheers, Neale

 

[chishnfips]

I've been using the same £4 floating hydrometer for twenty years. Works perfectly well for brackish aquaria. No brackish water fish needs accurately made seawater, so the 'tolerance' of a floating hydrometer is absolutely fine. You aren't going to harm scats or monos by keeping them at SG 1.015 instead of SG 1.014!

Research-grade refractometers cost $1000-$6000. Anything for $50 is going to be massively compromised and certainly nowhere near as accurate as some fishkeepers think. Just because a thing *says* SG 1.012345 doesn't actually mean it can measure to that degree of accuracy.

There is a hysterical thread at Reef Central (not sure I can post the link) about refractometers versus hydrometers.

My marine biology lecturer at university estimated salinity by taste. The aquarist running the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago uses a swing-arm hydrometer. What matters more than the tool is technique. A hydrometer calibrated for the temperature of water being tested will, when used properly, outperform a refractometer used sloppily.

Cheers, Neale

How do you calibrate the temperature of the hydrometer? at the moment it is soaking for 48 hours in a bucket of salt water

 

[nmonks]

Why are you soaking it?

You don't calibrate it. It comes calibrated to a specific temperature, e.g. 25C. It should say on the device or its packaging. If you use one calibrated to 25C at 15C, it will give an inaccurate result.

Cheers, Neale

How do you calibrate the temperature of the hydrometer? at the moment it is soaking for 48 hours in a bucket of salt water

 

[Fella]

I've been using the same £4 floating hydrometer for twenty years. Works perfectly well for brackish aquaria. No brackish water fish needs accurately made seawater, so the 'tolerance' of a floating hydrometer is absolutely fine. You aren't going to harm scats or monos by keeping them at SG 1.015 instead of SG 1.014!

Research-grade refractometers cost $1000-$6000. Anything for $50 is going to be massively compromised and certainly nowhere near as accurate as some fishkeepers think. Just because a thing *says* SG 1.012345 doesn't actually mean it can measure to that degree of accuracy.

There is a hysterical thread at Reef Central (not sure I can post the link) about refractometers versus hydrometers.

My marine biology lecturer at university estimated salinity by taste. The aquarist running the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago uses a swing-arm hydrometer. What matters more than the tool is technique. A hydrometer calibrated for the temperature of water being tested will, when used properly, outperform a refractometer used sloppily.

Cheers, Neale

I've seen that thread before and it's hilarious. Do fish have hydrometers that precise too?

When I use a hydrometer, the trickiest thing I find was to remember to wash it immediately before and after using it.

 

[nmonks]

Do fish have hydrometers that precise too?

Probably not for salinity, but certainly for other dissolved minerals. Salmon and trout supposedly find their way from the sea to a particular stream my tasting the exact mineral composition of the waters they were born in. It's pretty mind boggling really.

When I use a hydrometer, the trickiest thing I find was to remember to wash it immediately before and after using it.

Someone needs to write a pinned topic on how to use these things. As you say, there are tricks to remember.

Cheers, Neale