Bpb Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Thanks to another member on here I'm the owner of a new (to me) vitasine/veegee seawater refractometer. I had previously been using 3 different coralife swing arm hydrometers, which all gave radically different readings. I typically used the one that gave the middle reading and set my tank to 1.025...so I thought. Calibrated the refractometer using pinpoint calibration fluid, and tested my tank water. Yikes!!!!!! It read 1.029. Tried it three times, calibrate, clean, test, clean. Same result. Holy smokes no wonder my corals arent doing great. Looks like I'll be taking a quart a day out and replacing it with rodi water till I get to 1.026. What a surprise. I knew hydrometers were no good, but what a shocker. I was way off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko's Reef Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Had that same problem, until I switched. Not sure why I never wasted all that $ on hydrometers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Man... That makes me nervous to switch from my swing arm hydrometer to the refractometer that I've been wanting (although I know its for the best) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 See, I knew before I got my tank that refractometers were the way to go. I just ended up getting a mature stocked tank, that came with hydrometers, so I was just saving for the right refractometer. I was nervous to check the water and I was pretty sure it would be off of ideal salinity. I recommend getting a refractometer ASAP. You can correct your salinity issues and get things going stable in ideal parameters. Only good can come of it. I opted to spend a little extra and get a seawater refractometer instead of a cheaper brine version. Just didn want to have to fuss with conversions and wondering if what I was reading was correct. I just wanted to drop and read as is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bimmerzs Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Yup, A refractomer and auto topoff are pretty high on the list of "thing's to have" for a reef tank imo. Cheers, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I got my refractometer the first year I got into the hobby. Got it used for $20 and have been using it ever since. Honestly I don't use it that often. Only when I do big water changes or something stupid which fortunately seems to be less often now. I do consider it a tool every reefer should have. I run my salinity at 1.024. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 I definitely want an ato, just nervous about potential failures. Everyone says that all atos fail at some point. An overflowing tank and water damage would be enough for the wife to banish me from the hobby forever lol. I top off manually several times a day, and have my in laws top off twice a day when I leave town. It's about 65 total gallons of water includin the sump and fuge, and I only lose about 1/2 a gallon a day or less to evap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I have never had auto topoff. Toyed with the idea, but it has never been high on my list of things to buy for the tank. I evap about 1 gallon a day but the sump can loose almost 10 gallons before the pump starts sucking air. I am lazy so I usually get to 5 gallons down before I top off. When I am out of town I have my mom come over and dump in a couple of gallons. That is usually plenty to hold to tank over for a week. Of course I am running almost 175 gallons so I have a bit more room for error especially with salinity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I definitely want an ato, just nervous about potential failures. Everyone says that all atos fail at some point. An overflowing tank and water damage would be enough for the wife to banish me from the hobby forever lol. I top off manually several times a day, and have my in laws top off twice a day when I leave town. It's about 65 total gallons of water includin the sump and fuge, and I only lose about 1/2 a gallon a day or less to evap. On my 90g and my 34g I have ATOs by Autotopoff.com. I have 5g RO containers. Even if the ATO stuck on, my sump could handle the overflow and it wouldn't dilute my salinity enough to hurt anything. They are invaluable when I want to leave town for a few days.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannerfish Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 same exact thing happened to me when i bought the refractometer, was trying to keep then around 1.024-25 but i think my highest was at 1.031 . its definitely a must when you have a sw tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXJayhawk Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 What brands do you all recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Mine is the Vita Sine model. It's $120 on drsfostersmith.com. It's the green handled one. It's specifically made for seawater. Read tons of awesome reviews on it and I really like mine so far. Google search "refractometers brine vs seawater" and read some of the threads that come up. Especially the first one. They get kind of technical but take a week to read over some of the opinions on the matter. That's what helped me choose the right one for my budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Marine depot has a daily deal on them today: http://www.marinedepot.com/Marine_Depot_Aquarium_Refractometer_Aquarium_Refractometers-Marine_Depot-MD2101-FITEOPRF-vi.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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