I have a model I bought from Premium Aquatics.......for $32 on
sale...........even though I had a BAusch & Lombe model with a price
tag of $1,500......I bought the el cheapo.....Now yopu may ask why I
would want a cheap one if I had such a nice high end one. The one I
have B & L model has interchanges slides for in it, so it can read
coolants, sugars, and a whole host of other liquids.......It was
missing the plate for salt. I bought it at a government DRMO sale
years back for $10 and it had the salt plate missing, but it was
unused, and like new......I eventually found a source for the plate I
was missing, and it cost me $40 plus S & H. I bumped the high end up
again the low end and both are dead on the money. Now thre B & L is
sure a sharp looking unit, polished nickle and real rubber or neoprene
handle, all fit inside a walnut wooden box that is lined in a velvety
looking material etc.where the import cheapo is probbaly die cast
metal and painted finish with a vynil type handle cover, that is in
sponge rubber na plastic box.. but bottom line is its perfectly fine
for sal****er aquaium use.

On Tue, 6 Jun 2006 12:09:51 -0500, "Boomer"
wrote:
Two problems

First, the Deep Sea is about the worst I have seen or we have tested. Second SeaTest's
are fairly accurate based on all tests. The issue is proper care and maintenance, which
few do or understand. Being that it is 20 yeas old put it back in the trash and trash that
Deep Sea with it. Many like refracts, which I think work best for most but there are some
issues with these also. 100 % of those in this hobby are calibrated to NaCl , Table Salt
and Tabel salt _ IS NOT_Seawater. Saying that, they are no more accurate than a properly
maintained SeaTest but refracts are more user friendly, much less frustrating, easier to
maintain but still both read about .0015 SG or 1.5 ppt salinity to low. However, tests
have shown that those that buy the "blue" China hydrometer, that is by far the most common
in this hobby, really lucked out. There are NOT properly calibrated to their std. NaCl and
by absolute fluke are right on for NSW. They are sold on various web sites as RHS-10ATC
model number and look like the one half-way down this webpage

http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/aca..._PRODUCTS.html

This is the only one that has been tested against NSW stds so far. If it is not this
"blue" model and is one of "black" cheap models we do not know where it is but _assume _it
reads .0015 SG or 1.5 ppt to low.

Roy mentioned Foster & Smith and they have it.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Roy also mentioned Premium Aquatics and they have it also.
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...ode=Hydrometer