hydrometer dilemma

I have a new Coralife Deep Six hydrometer that I've been using for the
past year or so. But over the weekend I sorted through my trash can
full of aquarium supplies, and found my old "The Original" Seatest
hydrometer that I've had for probably 20 years.
The Coralife reads 1.022, and the tank has been doing fine.
The Seatest reads off the scale, well above 1.027! It's pretty simple,
I don't see how it could have gotten screwed up sitting in a box? And
my tanks did fine 20 years ago too.
I'm going to take them both to the fish store and see what they say,
but which one do I believe?

Cindy

Cindy wrote:
I have a new Coralife Deep Six hydrometer that I've been using for
the past year or so. But over the weekend I sorted through my trash can
full of aquarium supplies, and found my old "The Original" Seatest
hydrometer that I've had for probably 20 years.
The Coralife reads 1.022, and the tank has been doing fine.
The Seatest reads off the scale, well above 1.027! It's pretty
simple, I don't see how it could have gotten screwed up sitting in a
box? And my tanks did fine 20 years ago too.
I'm going to take them both to the fish store and see what they say,
but which one do I believe?

Cindy
To be honest. If you want to know the exact salinity, don't believe
either one. Swing arm hydrometers are not known for being accurate, but
they are pretty repeatable. The most important thing is that you keep
the salinity stable, not that it is exactly 1.025. The best thing is to
invest in a refractometer. They are much more accurate and actually
easy to use also.

Kim

Yep, what Kim said. I used to put faith in my hydrometer and swing
arms.....but when stuff went south I used a refractometer and what a
big difference in what I actually had and whata those other two
instruments were telling me I had. You can get a good decent
temperature comnpensating refractometer for about $40 or so. I know yu
can get them for that or less on Ebay, but I owu dbe leary of the ebay
ones, even if they are the same, as there have been lots of folks on
the web based forums complaining of ebay refract. whose glass sight
plate fell out or leaked and allowed water to infiltrate inside.
Just make sure if yu order one online from anay place its for SALT and
not a BRIX type which is for sugar......... A few folks that bought so
called refract. on ebay were sent BRIX type. MOst sold at places like
Drs. Foster & Smith and Premium Aquatics n Indianapolis, IN, have a
two year warranty and cost about $40. Yu cna get a fanceier model for
about $20 more but the results are the same and its not rworth that
price difference. Calibration is dead easy, and once set its good to
go practically forever, but I do verify mine every now and then, and
in over 3 years its yet to be off.




On Tue, 06 Jun 2006 15:00:12 GMT, Cindy wrote:
I have a new Coralife Deep Six hydrometer that I've been using for the
past year or so. But over the weekend I sorted through my trash can
full of aquarium supplies, and found my old "The Original" Seatest
hydrometer that I've had for probably 20 years.
The Coralife reads 1.022, and the tank has been doing fine.
The Seatest reads off the scale, well above 1.027! It's pretty simple,
I don't see how it could have gotten screwed up sitting in a box? And
my tanks did fine 20 years ago too.
I'm going to take them both to the fish store and see what they say,
but which one do I believe?

Cindy

Thanks, Kim and Roy!

Cindy

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

--
Boomer

If You See Me Running You Better Catch-Up

Former US Army Bomb Technician (EOD)
Member; IABTI, NATEODA, WEODF, ISEE & IPS

Want to talk chemistry ? The Reef Chemistry Forum
http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php

Want to See More ! The Coral Realm
http://www.coralrealm.com



"Cindy" wrote in message
. com...
: I have a new Coralife Deep Six hydrometer that I've been using for the
: past year or so. But over the weekend I sorted through my trash can
: full of aquarium supplies, and found my old "The Original" Seatest
: hydrometer that I've had for probably 20 years.
: The Coralife reads 1.022, and the tank has been doing fine.
: The Seatest reads off the scale, well above 1.027! It's pretty simple,
: I don't see how it could have gotten screwed up sitting in a box? And
: my tanks did fine 20 years ago too.
: I'm going to take them both to the fish store and see what they say,
: but which one do I believe?
:
: Cindy

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

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

THANK YOU!

On nice thing about the old seatest hydrometers is that
you can take the swing arm out to calibrate it. Lightly
sand off the arm to make it float less, or lightly sand
off the center piece to make it sink less.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



Cindy wrote on 6/6/2006 11:00 AM:
I have a new Coralife Deep Six hydrometer that I've been using for
the past year or so. But over the weekend I sorted through my trash can
full of aquarium supplies, and found my old "The Original" Seatest
hydrometer that I've had for probably 20 years.
The Coralife reads 1.022, and the tank has been doing fine.
The Seatest reads off the scale, well above 1.027! It's pretty
simple, I don't see how it could have gotten screwed up sitting in a
box? And my tanks did fine 20 years ago too.
I'm going to take them both to the fish store and see what they say,
but which one do I believe?

Cindy

Or better yet get a salinity monitor, since conductivity
is the new scientific standard for measuring salinity.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



~Roy wrote on 6/6/2006 11:53 AM:

Yep, what Kim said. I used to put faith in my hydrometer and swing
arms.....but when stuff went south I used a refractometer and what a
big difference in what I actually had and whata those other two
instruments were telling me I had. You can get a good decent
temperature comnpensating refractometer for about $40 or so. I know yu
can get them for that or less on Ebay, but I owu dbe leary of the ebay
ones, even if they are the same, as there have been lots of folks on
the web based forums complaining of ebay refract. whose glass sight
plate fell out or leaked and allowed water to infiltrate inside.
Just make sure if yu order one online from anay place its for SALT and
not a BRIX type which is for sugar......... A few folks that bought so
called refract. on ebay were sent BRIX type. MOst sold at places like
Drs. Foster & Smith and Premium Aquatics n Indianapolis, IN, have a
two year warranty and cost about $40. Yu cna get a fanceier model for
about $20 more but the results are the same and its not rworth that
price difference. Calibration is dead easy, and once set its good to
go practically forever, but I do verify mine every now and then, and
in over 3 years its yet to be off.




On Tue, 06 Jun 2006 15:00:12 GMT, Cindy wrote:
I have a new Coralife Deep Six hydrometer that I've been using for the
past year or so. But over the weekend I sorted through my trash can
full of aquarium supplies, and found my old "The Original" Seatest
hydrometer that I've had for probably 20 years.
The Coralife reads 1.022, and the tank has been doing fine.
The Seatest reads off the scale, well above 1.027! It's pretty simple,
I don't see how it could have gotten screwed up sitting in a box? And
my tanks did fine 20 years ago too.
I'm going to take them both to the fish store and see what they say,
but which one do I believe?

Cindy

Wayne Sallee wrote:
On nice thing about the old seatest hydrometers is that you can take the
swing arm out to calibrate it. Lightly sand off the arm to make it float
less, or lightly sand off the center piece to make it sink less.

And what do I calibrate it to? I'll do that until I can get something
else.

Thanks,
Cindy