refractometer

Hope this is ok to go into this forum. I want to buy a refractometer. Was wondering if anyone has any advice on what I should be looking for. I know there is different ways to calibrate them. Are they difficult to use/calibrate? Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Even a suggested brand. Thanks.

 

They are the easiest things to use. I bought mine from www.Marinedeot.com it was on sale for $31.99. There are all kinds of prices, of course, the more expensive it is, the more "bells & whistles" it has. As for calibrating it, just follow the directions. My refacto said to use regular R/O water.


Luna

 

Lol...I was just looking at them on that site. So they are as simple as they describe. Good to know. Thanks Luna.

 

The same one that I bought is on sale, here is the link.
Marine Depot Aquarium Refractometer


Luna

 

Luna, Thanks that makes the decision easy!

 

Anytime my friend. Shop around thou, you may find one even cheaper.


Luna

 

The only feature I would make sure it has is automatic temperature compensation so you don't have to mess with that yourself.

Also for calibrating with RO water that will put your measurement off slightly since fresh water and saltwater have different refractive indexes, meaning the curve of where they are on the scale at 0ppm and 35ppm is different. I would suggest getting one of the calibration solutions available, that will be most accurate. I believe marinedepot carries it as well as bulkreefsupply.com.

 

eBay has some good ones. I got mine through this seller. The price has gone up $3 since I bought mine, but it is still reasonable.

NEW! Salinity Refractometer 4 Aquarium Pond Hydrometer - eBay (item 390074054469 end time Aug-05-09 03:23:05 PDT)

 

Pharm, Guess I should check ebay pretty good prices.Is this the same one that you use Pharm?Also Screwtape, I have found the calibration solutions...very reasonable. Thanks

 

I own that one. I asked about it here before buying it and got a mess of positive responses.