Hydros Salinity experiences

[drewzaun]

Sorry for posting 2 threads back to back but separate issues.

A few months back I added a salinity probe to my Hydros ecosystem. I let it run for about a month then calibrated it according to the instructions, and about a month ago recalibrated for a second time. It is still all over the place, I can’t have an alarm on it as it is very high or very low all the time. It ranges from around 32 PPT to over 40. I have a Hanna handheld salinity checker and it is never more than a few tenths from its previous reading.

Do these probes take a really long time to break in? What is your experience with them?

 

[n2585722]

Sorry for posting 2 threads back to back but separate issues.

A few months back I added a salinity probe to my Hydros ecosystem. I let it run for about a month then calibrated it according to the instructions, and about a month ago recalibrated for a second time. It is still all over the place, I can’t have an alarm on it as it is very high or very low all the time. It ranges from around 32 PPT to over 40. I have a Hanna handheld salinity checker and it is never more than a few tenths from its previous reading.

Do these probes take a really long time to break in? What is your experience with them?

Where is the probe placed? It could have to do with placement. I have one of mine in the refugium section of my sump to keep it away from the air bubbles. The most accurate one is in my iV but it is not real time. It is a sampled input.

 

[drewzaun]

Originally I had it in the second chamber in my sump with some rubble rock, I have since moved it to the overflow chamber. Ill try moving it back and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Flukes]

Sorry for posting 2 threads back to back but separate issues.

A few months back I added a salinity probe to my Hydros ecosystem. I let it run for about a month then calibrated it according to the instructions, and about a month ago recalibrated for a second time. It is still all over the place, I can’t have an alarm on it as it is very high or very low all the time. It ranges from around 32 PPT to over 40. I have a Hanna handheld salinity checker and it is never more than a few tenths from its previous reading.

Do these probes take a really long time to break in? What is your experience with them?

I have the same experience for a month. So I put the probe in 2 cups of new 35 pmm salt water. It never stabilizes. If I stir the water it jumps up. It's never close to my refractometer, Milwaukee digital hydrometer, or my glass hydrometer.
My next idea is to get the tank at 35 ppm and use it as the calibration reference.
It wouldn't be so bad if the probe wouldn't drift for no reason.

 

[n2585722]

I have the same experience for a month. So I put the probe in 2 cups of new 35 pmm salt water. It never stabilizes. If I stir the water it jumps up. It's never close to my refractometer, Milwaukee digital hydrometer, or my glass hydrometer.
My next idea is to get the tank at 35 ppm and use it as the calibration reference.
It wouldn't be so bad if the probe wouldn't drift for no reason.

How old is the probe? They will drift for a few weeks. Here is a graph of mine in my refugium section of my sump.

 

[Flukes]

How old is the probe? They will drift for a few weeks. Here is a graph of mine in my refugium section of my sump.

I installed my probe on February 19.
I put the probe back in the aquarium and told Hydros to recalibrate at 35 ppt. So far the probe is stable. That's more important to me than matching the Hydros calibration standard. We'll see how it goes for another week.

 

[rockdiver]

I really like Hydros products spent alot on them.
But this has to be the worse single item.
Mine also is all over the place.
The only pc of equipment from hydros that I dont like.
I dont think I will ever believe the reading even if it is correct.
Been almost a year and honesty just tired of recalibration all the time

But like I said I would never trade my Hydros system

 

[n2585722]

I really like Hydros products spent alot on them.
But this has to be the worse single item.
Mine also is all over the place.
The only pc of equipment from hydros that I dont like.
I dont think I will ever believe the reading even if it is correct.
Been almost a year and honesty just tired of recalibration all the time

But like I said I would never trade my Hydros system

They are also temp sensitive so it will depend on the temp what the reading will be. You can set a temp sensor to the salinity input that does help some with that.I have one in my iV also and it is the most susceptible to the temp. I added a temp sensor in the iV and it does help some. Also try and calibrate it as close to 77 as you can since the calibration does not take into account the temp as far as I can tell. In the iV I also do two drain and refills before the start of the iV test to help with the temp.

 

[drewzaun]

Ok I have an update and I think the end of my issues. After I placed the grounding probe into the sump and didn’t see the reading change I took a break from the troubleshooting. The other night I pulled a water sample and tested that, electrically isolated, with the reading being over 44 ppt just like the sump or display. I recalibrated again and this time I got a reading within a 10th of a ppt of the Hanna checker, and when I moved the probe back to the sump it has been stable at a believable reading.

I think the first issue, the bouncing, was due to perhaps turbulence where it was placed, the stray voltage, poor calibration on my part, or possibly just needing a break in period. Then I think the inductance destroyed the calibration the last time. As I corrected those issues I didn’t see any progress but once I got through the list completely it seems to work as advertised. If anything changes Ill post back, hopefully someone who is having similar problems can find a solution in this mess of a post…

 

[Rookie2025]

With the new hydros x3-s I'm contemplating adding salinity monitoring. How's everyone's probes doing?

$400 for controller and probe, not something I want to buy and struggle with

 

[n2585722]

With the new hydros x3-s I'm contemplating adding salinity monitoring. How's everyone's probes doing?

$400 for controller and probe, not something I want to buy and struggle with

It will depend on the environment where the probe is placed. The best place is the iV unit and use sampled readings. That isolates it from stray voltages and air bubbles. The probe measures the conductivity of the water. There several things that can interfere with the reading including tiny creatures crawling between the electrode. Other things can get between them including air bubbles. Also stray voltages or induced voltages can cause issue. So it all depends on where it is placed as to how well it does.

 

[rockdiver]

Well if your going to get the X3 just for that, I .wouldn't.
I have a alot of hydros gear and LOVE it works great.
The only thing that dosent is the salinity. Like what he said above alot of factors go into it.
Salinity in my tank stays right where it should I do have the probe but I never believe it and when it's warning me I check the salinity and it's right where it was when I did my water change week ago or month ago.
I have to say it's the only pc from hydros I dont like.
Plus the cord is to short if your controller is not close to the sump.
Just my opinion

 

[n2585722]

Well if your going to get the X3 just for that, I .wouldn't.
I have a alot of hydros gear and LOVE it works great.
The only thing that dosent is the salinity. Like what he said above alot of factors go into it.
Salinity in my tank stays right where it should I do have the probe but I never believe it and when it's warning me I check the salinity and it's right where it was when I did my water change week ago or month ago.
I have to say it's the only pc from hydros I dont like.
Plus the cord is to short if your controller is not close to the sump.
Just my opinion

The probe is a Apera made probe if you get it from Hydros. I don't think it will matter that much which one you get as long as you get a K10 probe. Also it does not matter which controller you have since none that I know of make their own probes and since they are all conductivity probes that measure how conductive the water is a lot of things can inteferre with it. I would never use it for auto control of anything but you can set a safe zone and get an alert if for some reason the reading gets out of that zone. Then you can check on things and determine what to do. One of the first things I would do is get a container and add some tank water to it and place the probe in the container and see if it still gets the same reading. That will eliminate a lot of the things that can interfere with the reading as quick check. Placing it back in the tank it may still read like it did in the container since what was causing the error is no longer in the probe.

 

[n2585722]

With the new hydros x3-s I'm contemplating adding salinity monitoring. How's everyone's probes doing?

$400 for controller and probe, not something I want to buy and struggle with

Here is the graphs for both pH probes and both salinity probes. There is a pH and salinity probe in the sump and a pH salinity probe in the iV. The pH and salinity is sampled every 2 hours in the iV the way I have it currently setup.

 

[Ish1130]

Turns out I’m having the same issue. I recalibrated and also double checked with my Hanna and it all matched. The moment the probe went in the sump the reading didn’t stabilize. I gave up for the night but I also got to thinking… if the probe is temperature sensitive etc then why not calibrate under the same conditions. So tomorrow I’m gonna try leaving the bottle mostly underwater so it keeps the same temp and place it near the area where the probe will be placed which is the middle chamber of my sump. I’ll keep everyone posted.