Great Deal....Refractometer

Discussion in 'Fish Tank Brands and Kits' started by schackmel, Jul 31, 2008.

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  1. Reeron

    Reeron Blue Ringed Angel

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    The 20C (68 degrees F) is only for calibration purposes (ambient temperature). Once you calibrate it, it automatically temperature compensates (ATC) for the ambient temperature. Just put the water sample in and wait 30 seconds for it to reach room temperature. I believe the ATC range is 68-90F (if your room is hotter than 90, wow).

    And the temperature, for calibration purposes, does matter. I went from 73F, the first time I calibrated, to 69F the second time. Changed salinity by .001 (went from 1.025 to 1.024).
     
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  3. Surf rider

    Surf rider Bristle Worm

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  4. GoToSleep

    GoToSleep Torch Coral

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    My refractometer arrived 2 days ago in good condition. 8 days from time of order is pretty good for shipping from Hong Kong. Looks like a fine refractometer at a very good price.
     
  5. SmittyCoco

    SmittyCoco Fire Shrimp

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    I see there is a heavy duty model as well. Whats the difference? And also I remember someone mentioning the refractometer with a Ph pen? Anyone see one of those auctions?
     
  6. Reeron

    Reeron Blue Ringed Angel

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    More money for no good reason. The one I bought is made out of aluminum, and feels quite heavy in your hand. Not 50lbs heavy, but not light as a feather (POS) either.


    Nope. Sorry. My suggestion would be to keep it separate. That way, if it ever stops working, you only lose one piece of equipment, not two.
     
  7. ReefSparky

    ReefSparky Super Moderator

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    From what I've read, the heavy duty refractometer is an inline device, plumbed into the source liquid much like the inline TDS device. It contains computer chips and uses optical scanning with an LED as the light source. I suppose they're a bit pricey! They're probably beyond our scope, unless you're looking for 100% automation.

    Now THAT would be sweet! :)
     
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  9. SmittyCoco

    SmittyCoco Fire Shrimp

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    I was meaning two seperate pieces of equip. I just thought I saw them lumped together or somthing in one auction. Anyone seen that?
     
  10. GoToSleep

    GoToSleep Torch Coral

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    The sellers eBay user ID is gainexpress they have many items listed plus an eBay online store. If you are interested in picking up the refractometer and pH meter in the same auction you could search his listings.
    As to a "heavy duty" refractometer there is a model RHS-28/ATC that covers a broader range of salinity-- from 0-28% instead of 0-10%. You DO NOT want this model with the wider range. The model with the 0-10% range covers samples up to SG of 1.070 and this should be plenty for reef keeping purposes. The accuracy of the low range model is +/- 1 ppt. The accuracy on the "heavy duty" model is +/- 2 ppt.
    One other note about refractometers... make sure that you are getting a salinity refractometer. There are other kinds of refractometers designed to measure the concentration of other things besides salt. If you come across a refractometer that mentions measuring "brix" it measures sugar content for wine making. Good for you but not so good for the fish. They apparently prefer vodka.
     
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  11. ReefSparky

    ReefSparky Super Moderator

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    Friggin' winos!! :hehe: