I got the Hanna Temp and salinity checker for Christmas, I decided to calibrate it and check my water this morning to see how it compares to my existing devices. Obviously there were some discrepancies and now I’m looking for some advice.
I used the 35 ppt Hanna solution to calibrate the device. Just for kicks, I put a drop of the calibration solution on my Amazon refractometer and it reads about 36. The package says not for use with refractometers, so I’m not sure if that’s accurate or not. But I tested my tank water and I’m getting 33.6. The refractometer is saying 35 ppt. If the refractometer is in fact 1 ppt higher than my tank water is probably around 33.6-34.
The second discrepancy is my temperature. This is the one that really concerns me. I’ve been using an Aquaneat thermometer from Amazon since the beginning to monitor my aquarium temperature. I’ve got my heater dialed into about 79 degrees. This morning I checked the temp with the Hanna thermometer and it reads 73.2. The Aquaneat thermometer is saying 80.2 (weird, because I’ve never seen it read that high). As a third check, I tested the tank with a meat thermometer and got 73.0. Pretty close to the Hanna.
Originally, I thought my Eheim Jager heater was out of calibration because I had to adjust the red dial quite a bit to get it dialed in, but now with these results I’m thinking it’s really the AquaNeat thermometer that’s off and my tank has been too cold for weeks.
Questions-
1. Is the Hanna Salinity/temp checker reliable to adjust the tank heater to?
2. How fast should I adjust the tank temperature. 73 degrees is too low for my liking. I’d like to fix this.
3. What’s a good continuous thermometer for my tank to replace the AquaNeat
4. Can you really not use the Hanna salinity calibration solution on a refractometer? If the Hanna calibration solution should be reading 35 on the refractometer, then my refractomer is 1 ppt high and my salinity would be 33.6 on the Hanna and 34 on refractometer.
Over the last week, one of my snails has been pretty stationary on the back glass. The other two are moving around, but not as fast as I’d expect them too. This morning I found the one upside down on the sand bed dead. I suspect the water being too cold is slowing them down/killing them. Water parameters otherwise seem good.
I used the 35 ppt Hanna solution to calibrate the device. Just for kicks, I put a drop of the calibration solution on my Amazon refractometer and it reads about 36. The package says not for use with refractometers, so I’m not sure if that’s accurate or not. But I tested my tank water and I’m getting 33.6. The refractometer is saying 35 ppt. If the refractometer is in fact 1 ppt higher than my tank water is probably around 33.6-34.
The second discrepancy is my temperature. This is the one that really concerns me. I’ve been using an Aquaneat thermometer from Amazon since the beginning to monitor my aquarium temperature. I’ve got my heater dialed into about 79 degrees. This morning I checked the temp with the Hanna thermometer and it reads 73.2. The Aquaneat thermometer is saying 80.2 (weird, because I’ve never seen it read that high). As a third check, I tested the tank with a meat thermometer and got 73.0. Pretty close to the Hanna.
Originally, I thought my Eheim Jager heater was out of calibration because I had to adjust the red dial quite a bit to get it dialed in, but now with these results I’m thinking it’s really the AquaNeat thermometer that’s off and my tank has been too cold for weeks.
Questions-
1. Is the Hanna Salinity/temp checker reliable to adjust the tank heater to?
2. How fast should I adjust the tank temperature. 73 degrees is too low for my liking. I’d like to fix this.
3. What’s a good continuous thermometer for my tank to replace the AquaNeat
4. Can you really not use the Hanna salinity calibration solution on a refractometer? If the Hanna calibration solution should be reading 35 on the refractometer, then my refractomer is 1 ppt high and my salinity would be 33.6 on the Hanna and 34 on refractometer.
Over the last week, one of my snails has been pretty stationary on the back glass. The other two are moving around, but not as fast as I’d expect them too. This morning I found the one upside down on the sand bed dead. I suspect the water being too cold is slowing them down/killing them. Water parameters otherwise seem good.