My kent hydrometer was bought like a couple of days ago and it told me to leave it in saltwater for 24 hr so i let it sit in my tank to tune the needle but after that it has moved even after I refilled it. I have ten gallon Nano tank. I had two salt bags for 5 gallons each, I only put a bag and a half of the salt in (since the whole ten gallons isn't water) so, would it be likely that it's too little salt or the hydrometer
My kent hydrometer
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redfishbluefish
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This is a swing-arm hydrometer....which is consistently inaccurate. My guess is that you don't have enough salt for the swing-arm to read. I would highly suggest you look into purchasing a refractometer. You can pick them up relatively inexpensively on places like ebay.....maybe 30 - 35 dollars.
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Hydrometer is not the most accurate lil device. Might want to get a Refractometer to check SG.
I agree with the above, a swing-arm hydrometer and horror stories definitely go hand in hand, but another possibility is that there's just not enough salt in the water and that hydrometer is exactly right. There's a lot of people out there that use these things without any problems.
IMO, just use about 80% of that salt you have and then test. (after 24 hours of mixing) Make sure there's no micro bubbles attached to that arm. If it's too salty, just take a cup of water out and replace it with freshwater. Wait 5 minutes or so, test and then repeat if needed. (1.024-1.026) GL.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php
IMO, just use about 80% of that salt you have and then test. (after 24 hours of mixing) Make sure there's no micro bubbles attached to that arm. If it's too salty, just take a cup of water out and replace it with freshwater. Wait 5 minutes or so, test and then repeat if needed. (1.024-1.026) GL.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php
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+1 on using a refractometer… you'll thank yourself in the long run. hydrometers are really hard to calibrate most of the time. refractometers can be recalibrated every time before you test your tank so theres really never an issue with your salinity. plus most salt brands will tell you on the package how much mix to use per so many gallons of water. i use reef crystals and every half a cup of salts equivalent to one gallon of water. so when i do a ten gallon water change i know that ill need 5 cups of salt to get the sg I'm looking for.
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