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Go calibrate your refractometer people!!

saltkreep88

saltkreep88

Hey Guys,

So I decided to calibrate the refractometer tonight. After I did, I went and checked the tank and it was 1.022!! I guess it lowered slowly from skimmate.

So question, how often do you guys calibrate your meters?

, Joe
 
saltkreep88

saltkreep88

HAHA, I reminded you, and did not check myself. Did not think my tank would low because I have not changed water, but I have been skimming wet. I think skimming wet wet was enough to do it.
 
lefkonj

lefkonj

One of the things I am a freak about. I check it every week, when I make new water for a change. I calibrate, check my tank, check the new water.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Two recommendations for refractometers:


1. Use 53mS solution to calibrate. Do not use RO/DI water.


2. Keep your hinges swinging freely. The "thickness" of the water on the plate face will impact the reading. What I do is squirt a little WD40 into a small glass and then use a toothpick to carefully apply to the hinge pins on the refractometer. Move them back and forth to make sure they are swinging freely.
 
Mark...

Mark...

I did it for he first time today after reading Dan's issue and it was off by .001...glad I did it and very easy to do.
 
Sobo's Reef

Sobo's Reef

redfishbluefish said:
Two recommendations for refractometers:


1. Use 53mS solution to calibrate. Do not use RO/DI water.


2. Keep your hinges swinging freely. The "thickness" of the water on the plate face will impact the reading. What I do is squirt a little WD40 into a small glass and then use a toothpick to carefully apply to the hinge pins on the refractometer. Move them back and forth to make sure they are swinging freely.
Click to expand...
Glad I read this! My hinges are really bad. And lucky me, I have a can of WD40 handy :)
 
jgraz

jgraz

I'm usually pretty on top of this myself. However with a ton of stuff going on I was a little lax. So went looking for the calibration fluid and I can find it anywhere. So I had to use rodi unfortunately until I get some more. You would think this would be easy to find around here. Nope I called pretty much everyone. Guess I need to order some more. Though I could probably get it at the swap. Dirks carries everything a reefer could possibly want.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

redfishbluefish said:
Two recommendations for refractometers:


1. Use 53mS solution to calibrate. Do not use RO/DI water.


2. Keep your hinges swinging freely. The "thickness" of the water on the plate face will impact the reading. What I do is squirt a little WD40 into a small glass and then use a toothpick to carefully apply to the hinge pins on the refractometer. Move them back and forth to make sure they are swinging freely.
Click to expand...
Thanks was considering how to do it. Saved me some brain power.
 
TanksNStuff

TanksNStuff

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Make sure you don't get any WD40 on the blue part or the lid! You don't want that affecting your readings.

I know that seems obvious to most, but figured it couldn't hurt to specify that. ;)
 
NJ Lunatic

NJ Lunatic

Calibration solution is definitely a must. I just make my own instead of ordering it. As long as you have a scale, salt and water your good to go. You could use RO/DI to calibrate as long as you know your starting point but still not recommended if you want to be accurate.

The magic number for 35ppt is 3.65% which means you need 3.65% total salt weight in your solution to be at 35ppt. So for instance 100 ml of solution you would need 96.35 ml water and 3.65 ml salt.
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
We made the mistake of using RO years ago and it bit us in the behind. Improper salinity can lead to alk and calc swings which will seriously piss off your corals. I got my solution from AO, one bottle which is less than 10 bucks will usually last you minimum a year, probably two.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
NJ Lunatic said:
Calibration solution is definitely a must. I just make my own instead of ordering it. As long as you have a scale, salt and water your good to go. You could use RO/DI to calibrate as long as you know your starting point but still not recommended if you want to be accurate.

The magic number for 35ppt is 3.65% which means you need 3.65% total salt weight in your solution to be at 35ppt. So for instance 100 ml of solution you would need 96.35 ml water and 3.65 ml salt.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to clarify that the salt you are using to make this standard is Morton's Iodized salt.
 
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