New to having to worry about calcium and magnesium

[Deep]

A refractometer

How did you calibrate it?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

if it is red sea, how is your Alk at 10 ( assuming salinity is around 35 ppt)?

I'm just telling you what the results were...idk, I'm looking for help

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

How did you calibrate it?

I had a guy at a shop calibrate it with the little screwdriver

 

[Deep]

I'm just telling you what the results were...idk, I'm looking for help

I am asking you that just to tell you that your salinity is probably incorrect measure. If your salinity measure was correct, then at 1.026, your alk should be close to 8 not 10.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I am asking you that just to tell you that your salinity is probably incorrect measure. If your salinity measure was correct, then at 1.026, your alk should be close to 8 not 10.

I can take it by a shop tomorrow and have them check it

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I can take it by a shop tomorrow and have them check it

It could be the test kit tbh

 

[Deep]

I had a guy at a shop calibrate it with the little screwdriver

Thats not how it should be done. Did he calibrate with 35 ppt solution ? YOu need to first get this right. If you find the refractometer calibration difficult then get a Hanna - its worth its weight in gold.

 

[Deep]

It could be the test kit tbh

I have seen countless reefers starting off who have their salinity incorrect - and that just creates a cascading effect of problems. Get a good salinity probe and learn to calibrate/test yourself.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Thats not how it should be done. Did he calibrate with 35 ppt solution ? YOu need to first get this right. If you find the refractometer calibration difficult then get a Hanna - its worth its weight in gold.

I believe he did use the solution but to be safe I can take it to a shop tomorrow...Hanna checkers are awesome but I don't have the money

 

[Deep]

I believe he did use the solution but to be safe I can take it to a shop tomorrow...Hanna checkers are awesome but I don't have the money

okay then you should just learn to calibrate it yourself. Do you make your own salt water or do you get it from the lfs?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I have seen countless reefers starting off who have their salinity incorrect - and that just creates a cascading effect of problems. Get a good salinity probe and learn to calibrate/test yourself.

I have seen countless reefers starting off who have their salinity incorrect - and that just creates a cascading effect of problems. Get a good salinity probe and learn to calibrate/test yourself.

I'll try to find the solution tomorrow (it's night here) and calibrate it myself...if that's what's wrong I certainly need to prioritize it

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

okay then you should just learn to calibrate it yourself. Do you make your own salt water or do you get it from the lfs?

I make my own

 

[Goaway]

I have seen countless reefers starting off who have their salinity incorrect - and that just creates a cascading effect of problems. Get a good salinity probe and learn to calibrate/test yourself.

My lfs can't even calibrate correctly. I use Randy's calibration fluid and my parameters match my reef crystals salt mix at 1.026.
ALL test kits can be wrong.
Sadly, we all can't afford multi lines of test kits to compare. Having a friend is helpful if you have questionable results or a shady lfs.

What salt mix do you use? I may have scanned over that.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

My lfs can't even calibrate correctly. I use Randy's calibration fluid and my parameters match my reef crystals salt mix at 1.026.
ALL test kits can be wrong.
Sadly, we all can't afford multi lines of test kits to compare. Having a friend is helpful if you have questionable results or a shady lfs.

What salt mix do you use? I may have scanned over that.

 

[Goaway]

I'll try to find the solution tomorrow (it's night here) and calibrate it myself...if that's what's wrong I certainly need to prioritize it

If you want, I can give you a link to Randy's calibration fluid. Yes it works. It's home made from ro/di water and table salt.

 

[Deep]

I'll try to find the solution tomorrow (it's night here) and calibrate it myself...if that's what's wrong I certainly need to prioritize it

and get yourself a salifert Alk test kit. I think your Alk is really 8, in which case your salinity measure if probably correct.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

If you want, I can give you a link to Randy's calibration fluid. Yes it works. It's home made from ro/di water and table salt.

I'd like that

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

and get yourself a salifert Alk test kit. I think your Alk is really 8, in which case your salinity measure if probably correct.

I'll go with Red Sea...like I said before I'm not a big Salifert fan

 

[Goaway]

This is long article and worth the read. Randy lives here in the chemistry forums.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/

Do-it-yourself Refractometer Standards

Is what you are looking for.

1. Measure ¼ cup of Morton's Iodized Salt (about 73.1 g).
2. Add one teaspoon of salt (making about 79.3 g total salt).
3. Measure the full volume of a plastic 2 L Coke or Diet Coke bottle filled with purified freshwater (about 2104.4 g).
4. Dissolve the total salt (79.3 g) in the total water volume (2104 g) to make an approximately 3.65 weight percent solution of NaCl. The volume of this solution will be slightly larger than the Coke bottle, so dissolve it in another container.

Finding this was like striking gold. I am not kidding you.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

This is long article and worth the read. Randy lives here in the chemistry forums.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/

Do-it-yourself Refractometer Standards

Is what you are looking for.

Ok, I really appreciate it
Thank you... hopefully this helps