Hello all,
I am a complete newbie with a 35 Gal reef type tank that I inherited from a family friend who passed away. This person knew what he was doing, I don't - yet.
The fish are and corals are fine and I am monitoring water parameters daily, while I'm undertaking a regiment of regular water changes to clear our all the excess nitrates which have been building up during the time in which the tank was unattended.
Now I have two hydrometers (moving arm type), a small one from Red Sea (which is the brand of the tank) and a larger one. Every day when I do my testing, they each show a different value, the smaller one tends to show less, like 1.015, while the larger one shows 1.020. This difference has been consistent over several days. I've even measured multiple times to rule out any air bubbles affecting the readout. Is this normal?
I read somewhere that the readout from these type of meters depends on the water temperature and the calibration of the device. That made sense to me as the specific gravity of a new salt solution that I mixed tested a lot higher after I heated the water slightly to match the tank more. When I asked a store owner about that he said temperature should not play a big role.
What is right? Which hydrometer should I trust? Should I measure solutions only at the same temperature? Should I invest in a Refractometer to get an accurate reading?
Please help!
Regards,
- Henrik
I am a complete newbie with a 35 Gal reef type tank that I inherited from a family friend who passed away. This person knew what he was doing, I don't - yet.
The fish are and corals are fine and I am monitoring water parameters daily, while I'm undertaking a regiment of regular water changes to clear our all the excess nitrates which have been building up during the time in which the tank was unattended.
Now I have two hydrometers (moving arm type), a small one from Red Sea (which is the brand of the tank) and a larger one. Every day when I do my testing, they each show a different value, the smaller one tends to show less, like 1.015, while the larger one shows 1.020. This difference has been consistent over several days. I've even measured multiple times to rule out any air bubbles affecting the readout. Is this normal?
I read somewhere that the readout from these type of meters depends on the water temperature and the calibration of the device. That made sense to me as the specific gravity of a new salt solution that I mixed tested a lot higher after I heated the water slightly to match the tank more. When I asked a store owner about that he said temperature should not play a big role.
What is right? Which hydrometer should I trust? Should I measure solutions only at the same temperature? Should I invest in a Refractometer to get an accurate reading?
Please help!
Regards,
- Henrik
