IceCap Digital Pocket Tester Review

[Confuse]

I'm looking to purchase one of these, how exactly do you calibrate them to keep them accurate?

 

[myzislow]

No calibration, just make sure you wipe clean and pat dry after you're done.

 

[corey01]

Just ordered one from SA after spending the last hour testing and calibrating my refractometer over and over. it looses calibration within minutes and its driving me crazy. I never get the same reading twice. lets hope this makes things simpler.

 

[Jaysushi]

I calibrated my red sea refractometer with calibration fluid. The icecap salinity meter matches spot on with the refractometer. I’m very impressed with this little device. Wish there was a way to calibrate it though if it ever gets thrown out of whack. I guess the method is to make sure you clean it thoroughly after using it.

 

[Confuse]

Dang! I was about to order it and saw it's out of stock again. =[ Anyone know a place that has them in stock?

 

[corey01]

I just checked SA there was 3 i think when I ordered mine but they are all gone now. im not sure who else would have it. tried looking at the coralvue where to buy section but it dosent seem very helpful. think its just where icecap products in general are. not the salinity tester exclusively.

Edit: ebay seems to have them at an inflated price.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It is very easy to check for proper operation of a conductivity meter like this, just be sure the fluid is a 53 mS/cm (35 ppt) fluid or DIY and not a different conductivity intended to calibrate a refractometer to 35 ppt. They can be different needed fluids. [emoji3]

 

[Fringe09]

Here is a video with FAQ. Answers questions asked here.

 

[corey01]

Dang! I was about to order it and saw it's out of stock again. =[ Anyone know a place that has them in stock?

Looks like VIP-reef has them in stock @ MSRP
http://www.vipreef.com/icecap-salinity-meter-digital-pocket-tester/

 

[Confuse]

@SaltwaterAq Any word on the next shipment?

 

[Tony Thompson]

It is very easy to check for proper operation of a conductivity meter like this, just be sure the fluid is a 53 mS/cm (35 ppt) fluid or DIY and not a different conductivity intended to calibrate a refractometer to 35 ppt. They can be different needed fluids. [emoji3]

Hi @Randy Holmes-Farley , Sorry but I have already raised this question on this discussion re the Icecap Conductivity meter. Can you please explain to me why the readings for PSU (Practical Salinity Unit) are way of the reading for Salinity ppt, surely they should be practically the same?

Even in the video demonstration the readings are 30.6ppt and PSU 39.3. Now I understand why people are getting excited about a replacement for their refractometers, but I would love to know the reason the device is displaying PSU especially as it seems way off.

Am I missing something here?

I also do not understand people's fixation with specific gravity. Surely its the salinity you need to concentrate on. Salinity in ppt is not dependant on temperature. This also raises the question of at what temp the Conductivity was calibrated. The demo mentions the temp reading but gives no indication of whether this is in fact used as a form of Auto Compensation.

I would love to see this device display in mS/cm and tested against a reference sample at temp. or at least check the Salinity ppt against a reference of 35ppt at 25c

For people to say they don`t` trust thier refractometer then referencing this device against the very same refractometer seems a little off to me.

I am not knocking the product, I expect it may work fine. I use a Hanna Conductivity meter myself for both monitoring my tanks and my salt mixes. calibrated at 53mS/cm at 25c

I just find it really annoying when manufacturers promote their products without any specific reasoning behind their statements.

I hope this is not seen as knit picking, but I will never apologise for being a skeptical reefer.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Hi @Randy Holmes-Farley , Sorry but I have already raised this question on this discussion re the Icecap Conductivity meter. Can you please explain to me why the readings for PSU (Practical Salinity Unit) are way of the reading for Salinity ppt, surely they should be practically the same?

Even in the video demonstration the readings are 30.6ppt and PSU 39.3. Now I understand why people are getting excited about a replacement for their refractometers, but I would love to know the reason the device is displaying PSU especially as it seems way off.

Am I missing something here?

I also do not understand people's fixation with specific gravity. Surely its the salinity you need to concentrate on. Salinity in ppt is not dependant on temperature. This also raises the question of at what temp the Conductivity was calibrated. The demo mentions the temp reading but gives no indication of whether this is in fact used as a form of Auto Compensation.

I would love to see this device display in mS/cm and tested against a reference sample at temp. or at least check the Salinity ppt against a reference of 35ppt at 25c

For people to say they don`t` trust thier refractometer then referencing this device against the very same refractometer seems a little off to me.

I am not knocking the product, I expect it may work fine. I use a Hanna Conductivity meter myself for both monitoring my tanks and my salt mixes. calibrated at 53mS/cm at 25c

I just find it really annoying when manufacturers promote their products without any specific reasoning behind their statements.

I hope this is not seen as knit picking, but I will never apologise for being a skeptical reefer.

I've not looked into this specific device, but I agree that it is very disappointing if it cannot read in mS/cm. That is what it measures, and anything else is a calculation that may have different assumptions than you might want.

I really cannot imagine what is going on if PSU and ppt disagree so much.

Do they define ppt anywhere in the documentation? One possible definition is ppt sodium chloride. But that value does not differ from PSU to the extent you show.

In that regard:

37.14 ppt sodium chloride = 35 PSU seawater = 53mS/cm

 

[Tony Thompson]

I also took this into consideration Randy. I have a swimming pool and have spoken to others that run salt water as their form of sterilisation. Maybe this product was originally designed for the swimming pool use. The absence of trace elements would suggest a difference in PSU , but I am afraid my chemistry knowledge is not any where near enough to make the calculation. But even with a correction for interference of other elements besides salt, I can not see a reason for such a large deviation.

Or am I way off as usual, ha ha.

Yes I also find it strange that a conductivity meter does not display in mS/cm.

Thanks for you reply, as always.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I also took this into consideration Randy. I have a swimming pool and have spoken to others that run salt water as their form of sterilisation. Maybe this product was originally designed for the swimming pool use. The absence of trace elements would suggest a difference in PSU , but I am afraid my chemistry knowledge is not any where near enough to make the calculation. But even with a correction for interference of other elements besides salt, I can not see a reason for such a large deviation.
.

No, that wouldn't do it. Aside from two notable exceptions that are not important to the conductivity of seawater (H+ and OH-), all ions contribute to conductivity very roughly the same amount per ion (within a factor of two or so). So anything that is present at low levels will not substantially impact the total conductivity.

I discuss that here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090217...iumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=1804

"The most important fact for measuring seawater salinity is that anything that is not present at relatively high concentrations just doesn’t contribute significantly to the total. In fact, Na+ and Cl¯really dominate in seawater, comprising >90 percent of the total ions present. Magnesium adds another 5 percent and sulfate adds another 2.5 percent. Thus, as long as these four ions are roughly right (>97 percent of the total ions), imbalances in the other ions will have relatively small contributions to the conductivity."

 

[Tony Thompson]

No, that wouldn't do it. Aside from two notable exceptions that are not important to the conductivity of seawater (H+ and OH-), all ions contribute to conductivity very roughly the same amount per ion (within a factor of two or so). So anything that is present at low levels will not substantially impact the total conductivity.

I discuss that here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090217...iumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=1804

"The most important fact for measuring seawater salinity is that anything that is not present at relatively high concentrations just doesn’t contribute significantly to the total. In fact, Na+ and Cl¯really dominate in seawater, comprising >90 percent of the total ions present. Magnesium adds another 5 percent and sulfate adds another 2.5 percent. Thus, as long as these four ions are roughly right (>97 percent of the total ions), imbalances in the other ions will have relatively small contributions to the conductivity."

Thanks Randy, it was just something that I thought may explain the high reading, as salt water swimming pools equipment produces Hypochlorous acid I thought this may increase the conductivity and effect the calculation.

Another bit of knowledge gained though so thanks for that. Bet wishes.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If you ever find out what the difference relates to, let us know.

 

[Kentech5]

Do they define ppt anywhere in the documentation? One possible definition is ppt sodium chloride. But that value does not differ from PSU to the extent you show.

In that regard:

37.14 ppt sodium chloride = 35 PSU seawater = 53mS/cm

There’s very little in the way of documentation that comes with the device. It really seems to be only what’s printed on the inside of the cover.

 

[Philt56]

Has anyone compared to Pinpoint salinity monitor? About 50% more but it also can be calibrated.

Also have people checked temperature accuracy? I’ve yet to get 2 devices that display temperature to read the same 1.5 is a lot to me.

 

[corey01]

as far as temperature I have noticed it being in line +/- .3 degrees to one of my reefkeepers
and spot on to my cheap probe thermometer that monitors my mixing brute can.
I didn't notice my other reefkeeper on temp when I had measured the other tank.

 

[K100286]

According to their video calibration can be done by putting RODI water in the cup which should show 0.