(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Apex Salinity Calibration and TC Factor

[Danny McElroy]

I was trying to calibrate my new salinity probe a few weeks ago, and ran into all sorts of problems. Calibrations that were way off the mark, big fluctuations in readings that couldn't possibly be correct (and were verifiably not), etc. After searching around the internet, it was clear that a lot of folks have problems with this sensor. Some have written it off completely, and others insist that such problems are the result of calibration error. Information on correct calibration and configuration was present but scattered. Some of it was incomplete or incorrect. After having read many forum threads, spoken to Apex customer service, and experimented with different approaches, I am here to tell you that the sensor does work reliably when correctly configured and calibrated. This post is intended to capture everything I've learned in a single place, hopefully making this easier for someone else in the future.

Apex Configurables
There are only two configurable aspects of the Apex salinity sensor that can affect the reading. The first is, of course, the calibration point. The second is the temperature compensation factor (or TC factor). The salinity probe's readings are significantly affected by temperature - the TC factor setting allows you to compensate for this if you also have a temperature probe configured. The rest of this post captures the concepts and steps necessary to configure these inputs correctly.

TC Factor and Correctness
The TC factor configurable can be found on the advanced tab of the conductivity probe configuration page. It is a percentage, set manually - apparently different tanks land on different values. The percentage controls exactly how much compensation should be applied (i.e. x% compensation per degree).

One way to see if your TC factor is correct is by looking at your salinity graph with your temperature readings overlaid. If the TC factor needs to be adjusted, you will be able to see that the salinity readings track fluctuations in temperature. If the TC factor is correct(-ish), this correlation will not be present.

Here is what this looks like when TC is disabled (i.e. 0%):

Here is the same system with TC configured:

You can see from the first screenshot a clear correlation between temperature and salinity. Compare to the second screenshot with TC applied, and the salinity is relatively stable. I'm still not quite sure about those little bumps though. I continue to play around fine tuning the TC factor to see how they react (if at all - it's possible that the fluctuation is related to some funny business with my overflow).

Configuring the TC Factor
The TC factor defaults to 0. This is confusing for new Apex owners, as the salinity probe is all but worthless without applying temperature compensation. After speaking with customer service, and reading through some documentation, it appears that the default is 0 because setting it to anything other than zero causes problems in systems that don't have a temperature probe installed (the documentation includes a large WARNING section about this). Since Neptune cannot know or guarantee that any given system will have its temperature probe installed, the default is 0 to be safe.

If you have a temperature probe installed, you will definitely want to adjust the default TC factor. It is important to note that the temperature probe must be plugged into the same module as the salinity probe. In other words, if your salinity probe is plugged into your base unit, then you must also have a temperature probe plugged into the base unit. Similarly, if your salinity probe is plugged into a PM2 salinity module, then the temperature probe must be plugged into the same PM2.

TC Factor Value Range
It may take some experimentation to find the correct TC factor for your system. The Apex documentation states that seawater normally has a TC factor between 2.1% and 2.3%, thus recommending 2.2% as a good starting point. By comparison, a Neptune representative told me that in their experience, correct values are often found in the 1.9% to 2.1% range. Your mileage may vary.

The Apex documentation states that the salinity probe must be re-calibrated when changing the TC factor. According to a Neptune representative with whom I spoke, this is only partially true. When TC factor is non-zero and the salinity probe is configured, the current water temperature is stored inside the salinity calibration point that Apex records. This temperature is used to apply temperature compensation going forward. If the TC factor is zero when the salinity probe is configured, then the current water temperature is not stored, making future temperature compensation impossible. Therefor, in order for TC factor to take effect, it must be configured with a non-zero value at the time that the salinity probe is calibrated.

Fear not, however, in your search for the correct TC factor value. The Neptune representative informed me that once the salinity probe calibration point includes temperature data, the TC factor value can be changed at will without requiring re-calibration. Changes to the TC factor will be applied to all salinity readings going forward - readings that were taken in the past will not change.

How to Configure TC Factor for the First Time

1. Ensure that a temperature probe is plugged into the same module as your salinity probe
2. Navigate to the `Advanced` tab of the salinity probe configuration
3. Change the TC factor value to any non-zero positive number (2.1 is a good starting point)
4. Click "Update Apex" in the top right corner to upload the new configuration
5. Perform a salinity calibration
6. Salinity readings going forward will now have temperature compensation applied accordingly

Calibrating Salinity
There are a number of factors that require attention when calibrating the salinity probe. If any one of them are ignored, the resulting readings will be incorrect. Some of these are described in the documentation, and some are not.

We have learned that salinity readings are affected by temperature. As a result, temperature plays a very important part in the calibration process. When temperature compensation is disabled, and the Apex salinity calibration solution is used (the grey pouch, 53,000 microsiemens), the temperature during calibration is assumed to be 77.0 degrees fahrenheit. This is rarely actually the case, and folks calibrating their salinity probes who aren't aware of this detail will almost certainly experience inaccurate readings.

If however, you have a temperature probe, you do not need to warm the calibration solution to precisely 77.0 degrees. Apex will instead calibrate the salinity using the temperature reading provided by the probe. Note that this still means that the solution must be at precisely the same temperature as the probe! To accomplish this, you can simply float the calibration solution pouch in water near the temperature probe location for 15 minutes. Note that the calibration solution temperature can change rapidly - for instance, holding the pouch in your hand while performing the calibration will affect the accuracy. Be sure to keep the pouch in the water during the entire calibration process to ensure that the solution temperature doesn't deviate.

How to Calibrate Salinity

1. Ensure that your TC factor has already been configured with a non-zero value
2. Float the calibration solution pouch near your temperature probe for 15 minutes
3. Navigate to the `Basic` tab of the salinity probe configuration
4. Click `Automatic Calibration`
5. When asked to dry the salinity probe, remove it from the water and rinse with RO/DI. Then gently shake the probe, and pat the bottom dry with a paper towel
6. When asked to insert the salinity probe into the calibration solution, open the pouch and insert the probe. Be sure to keep the pouch submerged in water during this process so the temperature remains stable
7. Gently shake the probe in the calibration solution to remove any bubbles that might be trapped. This step is VERY important - shake for a little longer than you might otherwise
8. Wait for the readings to stabilize, and complete the calibration. You're all done!

Note that the manual calibration process might work here as well, though I've never done that and so have no idea what it does or doesn't involve

Finding More Information
I spent several days searching for information on this topic. This post is, as far as I know, the most complete source of information on Apex salinity calibration and temperature compensation currently available. As a new Apex owner, I was shocked to find that none of this information was included in any of the documentation I could find. When asking Neptune customer support about this, they referred me to the PM2 documentation. There is definitely more information there than the "regular" Apex docs, however it is still not complete and does not fully apply to the use of the base module for salinity readings.

If you find that any of the information in this post is inaccurate, or if you have information that is not included here but should be, please post a comment on this thread!!

Summary
I have found the Apex salinity sensor to be relatively accurate when correctly configured. Of particular importance is configuring temperature compensation, ensuring stable temperature conditions during calibration, and ensuring the correct order of operations. I hope that others who may be struggling with their Apex salinity sensor are able to use this thread to fix things up. Happy reefing!

Excellent post, thank you very much for sharing... this was exactly what I needed!!!

 

[DrMMI]

My salinity is definitely a little more stable, but still not perfect. Do you think I need to reduce the TC? I started at 2.1%.

 

[eag]

My salinity is definitely a little more stable, but still not perfect. Do you think I need to reduce the TC?

The fluctuations observed after 8am look more or less normal and I observe fluctuations like this in my system, particularly when I have water level change in my overflow box. The movement prior to 8am is larger and unexpected

If it were me, I would only further tweak TC if I could observe a correlation between temperature and salinity swing. In your case, I do not see this after 8am. The lowest temp and the highest temp produced similar conductivity results, despite a small amount of intra-wave fluctuation (i.e. lowest temp read just shy of 38 points, and while temp was highest we still read around the same just shy of 38).

 

[Sean Clark]

Thanks for sharing this information. As you can see this worked perfectly for me. My temperature fluctuations stay the same and my salinity flattened out.

 

[eag]

My salinity is definitely a little more stable, but still not perfect. Do you think I need to reduce the TC? I started at 2.1%.

This does not look like a TC issue

 

[DrMMI]

This does not look like a TC issue

Yeah it leveled out after that. I'm not sure what that sudden increase was from.

 

[Jay B]

Yes that is correct, and yes I also found it confusing, hence my search for answers. Frankly, I think Apex could make just two small changes that would vastly improve the experience: update the software so that setting TC in the absence of a temperature probe is a recoverable/handled condition (thus allowing it to be enabled by default), and add temperature-related text to the calibration wizard and documentation (to avoid this very common calibration mistake).

I am not tech savvy, don't have time to go through every set of directions, don't have time to wait for Neptune support and had no idea any of this was going on with my salinity readings which I thought were junk so I thank you for this thread. I also just referred to my refractometer for actual readings.
I think that if you have salinity and temp in the same head unit that the Apex should automatically recognize this and apply the TC factor without the user having to do this and the wizard should have the steps included if this condition is not met or the user wants to adjust to a different factor. This would be way better than 0 which is what I had for several years. It should be plug and play as much as possible as it is supposed to be designed for 1 purpose. Probably could be corrected in a software update maybe.
Anyway, thank you for this information. It helped me a lot.

 

[powers2001]

After reading a lot of negativity with the NS Salinity probe and a little thought I've came up with an idea. There are rumors of a Trident # 2. Build into this salinity monitoring plus Nitrate and Phosphate monitoring and control. If the Trident 2 uses light chromatography to calculate sample amounts, (Sorry can't remember what the light beam measuring method is called. Hanna checkers use it.) You could easily measure salinity with that method.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

After reading a lot of negativity with the NS Salinity probe and a little thought I've came up with an idea. There are rumors of a Trident # 2. Build into this salinity monitoring plus Nitrate and Phosphate monitoring and control. If the Trident 2 uses light chromatography to calculate sample amounts, (Sorry can't remember what the light beam measuring method is called. Hanna checkers use it.) You could easily measure salinity with that method.

I would love to see this trident number two except I don’t have the patience to wait a couple years

 

[Jeff Crawford]

When in the calibration wizard for conductivity, at what step does the “TC” adjustment show? After the dry run? After the solution selection? I only have one solution pack on hand

 

[Sean Clark]

When in the calibration wizard for conductivity, at what step does the “TC” adjustment show? After the dry run? After the solution selection? I only have one solution pack on hand

It is not in the wizard. You need to go into the conductivity probe configuration page and then click on the advanced tab to get the to TC adjustment field.

 

[Jeff Crawford]

I see it! thanks much

 

[Jeff Crawford]

so you make the tc adjustment and then calibrate in the 53000 solution, will the reading be at or near 35 from the solution?

 

[Sean Clark]

so you make the tc adjustment and then calibrate in the 53000 solution, will the reading be at or near 35 from the solution?

Yes. Make sure that you have temperature compensation turned on and that your temp probe and salinity probe are both plugged into the same module, also ensure that the calibration solution and water temp are the same for the best results. This should result in a 34.9-35.1 reading after calibration.

 

[Jeff Crawford]

the reading of the solution just after calibration has been near 35 with no tc adjustments,, then when would put it in the sump it would read about 37-38, my hope is that it reads about 35 from the solution and around 35 in the sump after the tc calibration, thanks again, I am out on the road but will give it a try tonight.

 

[BanjoBandito]

I followed this guide and now my probe is rock solid. Shows consistent salinity.

 

[Jeff Crawford]

It is not in the wizard. You need to go into the conductivity probe configuration page and then click on the advanced tab to get the to TC adjustment field.

 

[Jeff Crawford]

well I have followed this direction, when manual calibration is hit, on step 3 (it stays in an infinite loop on dry settling at 68 with a flashing clock, never seems to settle but the next button can be pushed

 

[Sean Clark]

well I have followed this direction, when manual calibration is hit, on step 3 (it stays in an infinite loop on dry settling at 68 with a flashing clock, never seems to settle but the next button can be pushed

If you have the probe out of the water and lightly dab the end with a paper towel, it should recognize it as dry and give alow you to proceed to the next step.
68 sounds high from what I recall.

I presume that you have adjusted the TC factor already.

I would try using the Task function for the salinity probe calibration and see how that goes since you are getting stuck in a loop.

 

[Jeff Crawford]

well I have followed this direction, when manual calibration is hit, on step 3 (it stays in an infinite loop on dry settling at 68 with a flashing clock, never seems to settle but the next button can be pushed

I just pushed next on both settling loops and the calib solution read 34.4-34.6 (it had become 77f and my tank at 78f reads 36.9-37, my refractometers say Im dialed at 35 (refractometers calibrated) so maybe I should just accept 37 as the number to stay stable at? just like my calcium readings near 750 when hanna says they are about 550?