IceCap Digital Pocket Tester Review

[JCTReefer]

I have attached some pictures. Instructions come printed on the inside of the cover. Contents of the box are the probe itself and a plastic “disc” to remove the battery cover. Is there a way to turn on the back light? My backlight doesn’t seem to work.

The backlight should come on after a measurement has been taken. Looks like they've changed the instructions and the packaging also. Mine came with the scoop, but I don't use it. It's definitely more accurate without it.

 

[Scubabum]

Like many others here my IceCap Pocket tester reading was off when using the provided rubber cup. I saw this post on facebook and tried it. Now my Icecap reads spot on after performing these steps. Hope it helps someone out.......

Ok, with the pen off, click on the power button 7 times quickly. It will turn on and then keep pressing for a total of 7 times until you see the screen show -C-5. It is a little tricky and it make take you a few tries. Once you see the right screen, you are in setup mode. Now press and release until you see INIT. When you see that now press and hold the power button for a few seconds until you see -OH- and then right back to -C-5. At that point, the pen is reset to default values. Now you will need to remove the end cap and install it again to reboot the pen.

 

[aquaticlog]

Looks like they did stop shipping it with the cup. Mine had readings way under at first, after reset it seems better.

 

[Fringe09]

How in the world did the issue of low reading using the provided cup not get caught in quality assurance testing? You would think that they tested this method for months. Yet, it’s the consumer that found this defect.

 

[hart24601]

Just sent mine in for repair. Nothing fixed the issue.


https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...ket-tester-not-my-best-purchase-1-021.419110/

 

[JCTReefer]

Mine stopped taking multiple readings. You had to turn it off every time to get a second reading. So I did a reset. Now it's reading way high! Before without the cup it was reading .001 low. Now after reset its reading .003 high. So 1.028 is actually 1.025.... In the beginning using the cup would give me .002 low so I stopped using it. After the reset with the cup it's reading just .001 high. So I guess I'll start using the cup now. I don't think all these units are created equal accuracy wise. And I've also noticed different water levels in the scoop can effect the reading.The reset did fix the single reading issue.

 

[JCTReefer]

Thought this was interesting. From another forum I was reading. My aquacraft 35ppt calibration read 1.030 in the cup. Quote:
Originally Posted by MarksReef View Post
Do you have any 35 PPT calibration solution to test it with ?
Does reading in SG make it any closer?

Calibration solution is a tricky animal because you need solution designed for the instrument you are calibrating. Solution that reads 35ppt on a refractometer may not read 35ppt on a conductivity probe like the icecap. A calibration solution for a refractometer may use something other than sea salt that has a refractive index of 35ppt, but doesn’t have the same conductivity as seawater. Likewise, a solution designed for a conductivity probe may not have a refractive index of 35ppt. So when you are looking at calibration solutions you need to make sure the solution is designed for the instrument you are testing.

Now, that said, I do have an old bottle of pinpoint 53ms calibration solution, which is designed for the pinpoint conductivity probe. Pinpoint has stated that this solution is very close to seawater and it should read 35ppt on a standard refractometer as well.

Unfortunately, like I said, the solution is very old, so I’m not sure it can be trusted. When I tested with that solution I got a reading of 34.5ppt on the icecap probe and 40ppt on my Milwaukee refractometer. Again, I’m inclined to trust the Milwaukee refractometer here as the solution is several years old and may have evaporated, which would cause high readings. The reading on the Milwaukee refractometer also is much closer to my standard refractometer and my apex conductivity probe. I have a hard time believing that the three devices which produce very similar measurements are all off.

Reading in SG doesn’t make a difference. Like all conductivity probes, the icecap probe actually reads in ms (millisiemens) and just uses a mathematical calculation to convert to SG and PPT. If one is low they are both low.

 

[Scubabum]

Mine stopped taking multiple readings. You had to turn it off every time to get a second reading. So I did a reset. Now it's reading way high! Before without the cup it was reading .001 low. Now after reset its reading .003 high. So 1.028 is actually 1.025.... In the beginning using the cup would give me .002 low so I stopped using it. After the reset with the cup it's reading just .001 high. So I guess I'll start using the cup now. I don't think all these units are created equal accuracy wise. And I've also noticed different water levels in the scoop can effect the reading.The reset did fix the single reading issue.

Same situation here. Before doing the reset, I was not using the cup. After the reset it seems more accurate now with the cup. I have searched everywhere, emailed CoralVue and wish we could get some direction on how to properly calibrate the iceCap. I noticed the new models are shipping without the cup. I want to like this tester so much, but not sure I can rely on it. I find myself double checking with my Refractometer all the time.

 

[JCTReefer]

Same situation here. Before doing the reset, I was not using the cup. After the reset it seems more accurate now with the cup. I have searched everywhere, emailed CoralVue and wish we could get some direction on how to properly calibrate the iceCap. I noticed the new models are shipping without the cup. I want to like this tester so much, but not sure I can rely on it. I find myself double checking with my Refractometer all the time.

You know it's weird. I was messing with mine last night. Got it to the C5 screen. And decided to see what would happen if I tried to take a reading while in that mode. It took a reading and then I saw where it said 5% ... And then my meter was reading 1.038 instead of 1.028 like it had been. I took several reading and it said 1.038. So it jumped up reading .01 hundredth higher. After the initial reset it had been reading 1.028 with out the cup and 1.026 with the cup. Actual specific gravity of my DT is 1.025... So I did another reset after my experiment and now it's back to reading 1.028 without the cup and 1.026 with the cup. This almost tells me there's a way to adjust the meter calibration wise. But the manufacturer doesn't give any detailed instructions on the programming of it. When it was first bought before any resets , it was reading .002 low with the cup and .001 low with out. Now it reads .003 high without cup and .001 with cup. So mine is now more accurate with the cup after the resets. Right the opposite of it right out of the box. Weird.

 

[davejep]

This might help?
Looks to be the same pen just different brand name.

 

[Scubabum]

This might help?
Looks to be the same pen just different brand name.

Very interesting. If its that simple, I sure wish IceCap/CoralVue would release these instructions. Now to find some 30ppt calibration fluid. lol

 

[davejep]

If you can find a scale that weighs in grams, as simple as adding 30 grams of salt and then adding water to bring combined weight to 1000 grams

 

[JCTReefer]

I've been looking on line for 30ppt calibration fluid and the only place I've found it is in China. I don't really want to buy the Scionix meter just for the fluid. The scionix meter has an accuracy of +-.002 which is different from the icecaps +- .001 Looks like the same meter to me though. Here's a screen shot of the website. Guess I'd be better off just making some. I wonder why they chose 30ppt fluid instead of 35ppt. I'm sure there's a reason.

 

[davejep]

Just a further heads up.
I have my original one I bought and I have a replacement. That coralvue sent as a replacement.
I tried calibrating them with 30ppt that I mixed up using a gram scale. I did it like the video. Started on C/S after holding power button down, and then I immersed it in the 30ppm solution, after a few seconds it displayed 2% and then nothing else.
After doing both turning off and retesting, when I put it back in the 30 solution one read 20ppt the other read 25ppt. What the...
My only guess is one needs to be calibrated with 20 the other with 25ppt. Mixed up some of each and recalibrated.
Happy to say one reads pretty darn close to right on. The other won’t get even close. Going to turf the one that won’t read even close to right and keep the other.
Good luck people.

 

[corey01]

is there any model differences or revision codes on the units or packaging between your 2 meters to tell which one would need 20 and which would need 25?

 

[davejep]

The first one had the small cup with it, the other replacement one from coralvue was sent without a cup, in new packaging.
Unfortunately while playing around with them, they got mixed up and I couldn’t tell which was which.

 

[tampasnooker]

I'd been happy with one we use for our service routes and in the shop. This week, I noticed values dropping in every sample we tested. When we got back to the shop today, we checked it against a freshly calibrated refractometer. The pen was reading .002 low on every sample we compared after about 2 months of use.

 

[PigFarmer]

I just did the reset and by golly shes spot on now! Thanks for sharing! I might actually use this thing now

 

[Skep18]

I just did the reset and by golly shes spot on now! Thanks for sharing! I might actually use this thing now

CoralVue just did a video on calibrating their units on their YouTube channel.

 

[CwStrife]

CoralVue just did a video on calibrating their units on their YouTube channel.

Took them long enough. Scionix meters and the Milwaukee Refrac are way better options in my opinion. I've seen multiple of these in action and fail. Was sent coral from a place that used it and when compared to my Milwaukee and good old trust refrac it was of course off! The salt was 1.030 while the place was telling me it was 1.025... Had to show them, they then verified manually as well and couldn't believe it.

Personally i'd just stay away from these units because it could end up costing you your tank.