Salinity Testing

Discussion in 'Salt' started by ao72689, Dec 30, 2011.

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  1. ao72689

    ao72689 Feather Duster

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    Just bought a refractometer, calibrated it so its ready to go. I just tested the salinity, and it turns out its less than 1.0. Help??
     
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    #1

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  2. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

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    How did you calibrate? Do you have corals in your tank?

    Michael Rice
    Marine Engineers Aquarium Blog
    Sent from Tapatalk so excuse my poor English
     
    mikejrice, Dec 30, 2011
    mikejrice, Dec 30, 2011
    #2
  3. ao72689

    ao72689 Feather Duster

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    my fish store gave me the calibration liquid (perfectly distilled water) and told me to adjust it to 1.00...no corals yet, no fish yet even, just added salt yesterday
     
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    #3
  4. mikejrice

    mikejrice 3reef Affiliate

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    So you calibrated your refractometer to read 1.00 with distilled water and it's now reading less than that with your salt water?

    Michael Rice
    Marine Engineers Aquarium Blog
    Sent from Tapatalk so excuse my poor English
     
    mikejrice, Dec 30, 2011
    mikejrice, Dec 30, 2011
    #4
  5. BigJim

    BigJim Spaghetti Worm

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    Most refractometers have a SG (specific gravity) reading and a PPT (parts per thousand) reading. Did you maybe adjust the PPT to 100 instead of adjusting the SG to 1.00? If you have that right, you may want to buy some distilled water from any grocery store and calibrate it again.

    They may also have given you calibration fluid which is actually SG of 1.026 or PPT of 35. If that is the case, it should say something to that effect on the bottle.
     
    BigJim, Dec 30, 2011
    BigJim, Dec 30, 2011
    #5
  6. proreefer

    proreefer Feather Star

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    what you really need is calibration fluid that is 35ppt and set it to 35ppt water as proved not to be good for calibration.
     
    proreefer, Dec 30, 2011
    proreefer, Dec 30, 2011
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  7. ao72689

    ao72689 Feather Duster

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    ^^
    Yes
     
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    #7
  8. ao72689

    ao72689 Feather Duster

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    thanks for all the replies.

    ok so i have the bottle in front of me it says :

    Refractometer Calibration Solution
    35ppt refractive index standard solution
    53 mS/cm
    Refractive Index of 1.3394

    ^^
    Do i calibrate it to 1.3394?
     
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    #8
  9. ao72689

    ao72689 Feather Duster

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    bottle says calibrate to 35ppt
     
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    #9
  10. ao72689

    ao72689 Feather Duster

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    figured it out, reads 1.024, which is ideal!

    thanks for all your help!!
     
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    ao72689, Dec 30, 2011
    #10
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