test results and salinity ????

[lenny]

hi just thought i would share this with you all to see what your thoughts were. i read a lot of theads on different sites all saying my reading are this or that, but surely stability is the key to good reef keeping not wheather or not your tank is running as per the text books. if you use a test kit , refractometer or as i do an electronic meter to mesure the salinity it does not mater so much if it is one or even two points out as long as it is used everytime so that the tank stays stable. be it as i just said for salinity or anything else we measure for. stability is the key as far as i can see. my own reef tank is 5x2x2 and full of sps and a few soft corals and has been running for four years nearly. i get really good colour and growth from my corals and fish and i think this is all downto keeping it as stable as possible. some of my readings could be a lot better in an ieal world but all the inmates are doing well and as i said i feel this is due to the tank staying stable. what are your views. lenny

http://www.reefcorals.co.uk/forums/imagehosting/864513187b6d85b.jpg

[Macca]

Who could argue with a tank like that :confused:

I used to have an electronic salinity meter until I drop salt water on it :mad:

It was great! Made by Aqua medic and it kept me on top of things.

I do not trust the swinging plastic needle hydrometer 1 bit and would advise anyone who uses one of these to invest in a refractometer or an electronic device.

A word of warning on both - make sure you calibrate them regularly. My refractometer needs calibrated at least fortnightly. :eek:

James

[Dons1903]

I have always used the swinging needle meters and never had a problem with them. I have checked them against the LFS refractometer and a mates one and never been more than 0.0005 out.

And like Lenny says stability is the key, so as long as it is always 0.0005 out then no problem :)

Just my 2p worth!

[Macca]

The problem with the swinging needle IMHO is not how accurate they are if kept in pristine condition (i.e washed out with ro water after use), but if misused. I am very guilty of measuring and then just disposing the water without cleaning equipment afterwards with ro water. I know I am not alone on this one as I have seen numerous people do the exact same thing. If the unit is not cleaned accordingly then algae affects true results as does air bubbles. So for ease of use and accuracy I dont trust them. I have also came across branded models that even when new had sticky needles. These are my opinions and if you have something that works then why change. This is what makes our hobby so intresting as there is no set rules and what works for someone dosent necessarly work for others.

James

[Tetley]

Hi,

Would agree with "lenny", I also think that on occasions we panic as our readings are not as the text book say's it should be.

My feelings are "that as long as you are in the ball park" and your readings are stable - DON'T PANIC (I wish i took my own advice !)

As I said just my thoughts.

ATB

Ian

[Paul P.]

Just to back up what James said about calibrating regularly

I use an electronic salinity meter on my tank and found out the other day how useful having a calibrated refractometer as a backup can be, the tank is usually rock solid at 51.3 mS (1.025sg / 33.7ppt) but when I was doing my daily checks I noticed the meter was reading 42 mS !!! (1.0199sg / 27 ppt)

Needless to say it was panic stations time until I saw that none of the fish or corals seemed affected by the apparent drop, so before adding more salt I checked again with my refractometer and found the reading was the usual 1.025sg / 33.7ppt

after giving the probe a clean and recalibrating with a 53mS calibration fluid I placed the probe back in the sump and hey presto I got a 51.3 mS reading on the display.....panic over and the jobs a good `un

the electronic meter has only been in the tank a month and the reading was already 9.3 ms out so to prevent any future near miss heart attacks i`ll definitely be taking James`s advice and calibrating fortnightly

[Harrison]

I agree lenny, I have to be honest and say I’ve not tested the salinity of my tank in probably 4-5 months. I’m not going to recommend anyone stop testing but I’m careful in monitoring what I’m taking out through water changes(and that replacement water is at the right salinity), skimming, bagging frags etc and replace the exact amount plus I use a good float switch on my top up and only have a little more fresh water in my reservoir than I need in a day. I have salt line in my sump and I know from looking at where the water is in relation to this line if something’s not working correctly.

Just out interest what salinity does your tank run at? I personally run at 1.026 which I have done since day one however when I was using a swing arm I thought I running at 1.024.

Cheers

Matthew

Great tank by the way, is that a blue staghorn in the centre? Can we have a few close ups of your corals.

[celtic fish]

all getting very technical here for me,what a tank though,stabllity is the thing , i mean when i kept fish only systems for all those years i was never one to test much at all.problems only ever started when i tried to make things (ideal).while im here 3 cheers for rowaphose fantastic!

[Gillybaby]

Gotta agree with all the above. I've always had a problem with low dKH (always been between 6-7). Ca & Mg have always been ok and the PH drift is between 7.9 and 8.1. So I'm not worried and have never buffered the dKH. Although I'm toying with the idea of getting a calcium reactor but am waiting for the new TMC one to come out. So long as PH, Salinity and Temp are stable then I can't see it really being a problem if they are slightly too high or slightly too low. JMO.

On refractometers, I've only needed to recalibrate my Aquamedic once in the 2 years I've had it, although I check it using RO and distilled water every 2/3 weeks.

[liquidlogic]

agree refrac all the way. oh btw omg top 10 favourite tanks of all times and im on around 7-8 fourms and seem tanks from10gal to 000000000000gal lol wht lighting do u use? maybe a breif specification page ?

[lenny]

ok i will post the specs later on a new thread. i used to use a refractometer (aquamedic) and then changed to a pinpoint monitor and found it to be more accurate as if you look through a refractor and you tilt it up and down you can change the reading quite a bit. as to the salinity monitor and i can only speak about the model and make i have (pinpoint) . it states on the insructions that it is not to be used as an in the tank all the time monitor as the algae will build up on the tip and change the readings. i use mine to test the tank once a week and test any water that i make up then run it under fresh water dry it and put it away till next time. i have recalibrated it every month but it has never strayed or needed to be adjusted. but i do check the calibration just to be safe rather than sorry. the point iwas trying to make was stability not how we all achieve it. good luck lenny