At what salinity will.....

[CHIEF_OF_THE_REEF]

At what salinity will you not be able to keep anything hard alive?

Reason I ask is this.. I cant keep anything hard alive, and some things soft do not do well either.. I have a refractometer that I have bought and used from the very beginning. I also have the juice to keep it calibrated. Well if you look at all my past threads on the issue of keeping this stuff alive, I have pretty much gone thru every possible thing that could be the issue, except for that dang refractometer being off. I bought a cheapo salinity checker from Petco which is when I really started to think about that being the issue. When I checked it my salinity was between 1.028-1.030. I am going to go to the "real" fish store tomorrow and get me another checker, and have them check as well to see what they get. But my question is, at what salinity will your corals slowly start to die off because it?


Mike

 

[Slocke]

Good luck
I just had a just calibrated refractometer that told me my salinity was 1.030. Luckily I checked with the LFS before going crazy and found out the new refractometer was broken. I’ve had 3 different salinity meters and the only one that seems reliable is the 5$ instant ocean hydrometer ironically.

 

[CHIEF_OF_THE_REEF]

Good luck
I just had a just calibrated refractometer that told me my salinity was 1.030. Luckily I checked with the LFS before going crazy and found out the new refractometer was broken. I’ve had 3 different salinity meters and the only one that seems reliable is the 5$ instant ocean hydrometer ironically.

Yeah, I need all the luck I can get. I will see what the store says tomorrow, hopefully have more to compare it to.

 

[coralfishreef]

Problems start around 1.028 in my experience. For me, it’s better to run between 1.024 to 1.026. I target 1.026, but 1.025 is fine too.

I use a TM hydrometer to calibrate my refractometer. I’ve purchased several premixed refractometer calibration fluids and they all gave different readings.

 

[Danroo]

Salinity Hannah checker is president accurate. Everytime I calibrate it don’t find anything different. Have been using for a year now.

 

[coralfishreef]

Good luck
I just had a just calibrated refractometer that told me my salinity was 1.030. Luckily I checked with the LFS before going crazy and found out the new refractometer was broken. I’ve had 3 different salinity meters and the only one that seems reliable is the 5$ instant ocean hydrometer ironically.

Nothing wrong with swing arms. I’ve used them in the past and they work.

Initial verification of factory calibration, tap out any bubbles, and make sure to rinse well before storing. If the swing arm factory calibration is slightly off, just mark a new line with a marker.

 

[phillybean]

My biggest loses were due to Salinity.

First time, new tank with the IO swing arm. Maybe I wasn't cleaning it properly, but any Acro I added died within a week or two. Bought a refractometer and discovered the issue, salinity way to high.

Second time was with a refractometer. Things started to go downhill, everything seemed good parameter wise, so I just kept doing 20 gallon water changes every few days. Things got a lot worse. Ended up losing just about every SPS, as well as a couple clown fish (new additions). I think when I finally figured out it was the salinity I was up to 1.031. Turns out the refractometer would change up to 0.05 right after calibration. Now I use a digital one, before I trusted it I tested it at 3 different LFS's on their tanks and I check it once a month with calibration fluid (it can't be calibrated so all I can do is check it).

 

[CHIEF_OF_THE_REEF]

1.030 is what the new digital refractometer from milwaukee says... I am at a loss of words. If this has been the issue this entire time, I may lose my mind..