Tropic Marin Hydrometer

[Fury96]

Hi guys, new to the hobby and trying to measure my tank salinity but having issues, ive turned off my wavemakers to stop my hydrometer from moving in the tank but this is the reading i am getting. My temp is 25.8, am i doing something wrong? Or is this the accurate reading and i need to dose more salt? Its still moving abit as the return pump is on, if i turn off the return pump the heater switches off due to the stagnant water.

 

[Luisn17]

Looks low. But I will be careful with the meter inside the tank with rocks. That thing is so delicate. I use this website when my temperature is not 77, sorry I only know the Fahrenheit equivalent not the celsius.

Salinity Correction Calculator

Aquarium calculator; Correct a relative specific gravity (sg) measurement taken with a non-temperature-correcting unit.

www.hamzasreef.com

Did you give the meter a little spin ? Just so it spins in place slightly and it removes any air bubbles. Again be careful. Go slow adding salt, easier to add than remove.

 

[zfisk]

Turn the return off, it’s no biggie to have the heater off for a few minutes. It does look like the salinity is very low but still turn all the flow off to get an accurate measurement.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Definitely get a plastic 500ml graduated cylinder and measure in that instead of the tank. And that is definitely showing you are low.

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

Looks to me like salinity is very low. How old is this tank? Are there any living things in it? How many gallons of actual water are in it?

 

[Fury96]

Thanks all for your replies. This is a new tank with no living things in it. Just freshly cycled and 120Litres.

 

[Fish Fan]

To me it looks low too

An easier way to use this hydrometer instead of turning off half your tank each time is to get a 500 mL graduated cycling and read the hydrometer inside the cylinder. Glass is ideal as you can see through it easier, but plastic is better than nothing too.

Good luck!

 

[W31Olds]

Salinity is way too low. So, a word of Caution. You need to get another device to measure Salinity. I can 100 percent guarantee that you will break this if using it often. The TM is the "Gold Standard". I have one and only use it to reference my Hanna's offset. That's what I use for quick readings on all my Tanks.

 

[Fury96]

To me it looks low too

An easier way to use this hydrometer instead of turning off half your tank each time is to get a 500 mL graduated cycling and read the hydrometer inside the cylinder. Glass is ideal as you can see through it easier, but plastic is better than nothing too.

Good luck!

Hi again Fish Fan, thanks for the advice i'll look into a graduated cyclinder. With adding salt, should i be adding it to a bucket and stirring it? As i have been adding it directly to the tank and using two wavemakers to dissolve it and occadionaly moving the sand so it doesnt sit on it.

 

[Fish Fan]

Hi again Fish Fan, thanks for the advice i'll look into a graduated cyclinder. With adding salt, should i be adding it to a bucket and stirring it? As i have been adding it directly to the tank and using two wavemakers to dissolve it and occadionaly moving the sand so it doesnt sit on it.

Because you don't have any livestock yet, you're not really hurting anything by adding the salt to the tank, but as a rule you never add salt to a tank, it can be dangerous to livestock, so premix in a bucket. In fact, it's a great idea to have a bucket, small circ pump, and heater so you can premix and heat the water so that the temp and salinity (and ideally alkalinity) match your display tank. This minimizes shock to the livestock from changing water, and allows you to safely change a greater percentage of the tank's volume if/when needed.

 

[Indiana Reefin]

You need a 500 ml graduated cylinder. I got mine on Amazon for cheap

 

[BeanAnimal]

Looks low. But I will be careful with the meter inside the tank with rocks. That thing is so delicate. I use this website when my temperature is not 77, sorry I only know the Fahrenheit equivalent not the celsius.

Salinity Correction Calculator

Aquarium calculator; Correct a relative specific gravity (sg) measurement taken with a non-temperature-correcting unit.

www.hamzasreef.com

Did you give the meter a little spin ? Just so it spins in place slightly and it removes any air bubbles. Again be careful. Go slow adding salt, easier to add than remove.

Built specifically for the tropic marin

Tropic Marin Precision Hydrometer Correction Calculator | BeanAnimal's Reef

Use this simple calculator to temperature correct your Tropic Marin Precision Floating Hydrometer readings and never guess about your aquarium salinity again!

beananimal.com

 

[winxp_man]

Salinity is way too low. So, a word of Caution. You need to get another device to measure Salinity. I can 100 percent guarantee that you will break this if using it often. The TM is the "Gold Standard". I have one and only use it to reference my Hanna's offset. That's what I use for quick readings on all my Tanks.

Dead on what I use mine for. Every few weeks check sal with TMH and see what the Hanna does.

Best combo.

 

[Fury96]

Because you don't have any livestock yet, you're not really hurting anything by adding the salt to the tank, but as a rule you never add salt to a tank, it can be dangerous to livestock, so premix in a bucket. In fact, it's a great idea to have a bucket, small circ pump, and heater so you can premix and heat the water so that the temp and salinity (and ideally alkalinity) match your display tank. This minimizes any sock to the livestock from changing water, and allows you to safely change a greater percentage of the tank's volume if/when needed.

Thanks Fish Fan, i'll keep adding salt to the tank for now since i have no live stock, ill start premixing into a bucket with a pump and heater after i get my salinty sorted.

 

[Fury96]

Dead on what I use mine for. Every few weeks check sal with TMH and see what the Hanna does.

Best combo.

I'll look into purchasing the hanna as it's not too expensive

 

[RobertK]

Suggestions:
1) buy a 500 ml graduated cylinder (already recommended by several others!)
2) Use BeanAnimal's calculator (linked above by Bean himself) to correct for temperature
3) Mix up a batch of Randy's specific gravity standard to make sure your hydrometer is accurate. This would be a one time check to make sure it came from the factory as intended.

Reef Aquarium Salinity: DIY Calibration Standards

Reef Aquarium Salinity: DIY Calibration Standards By Randy Holmes-Farley One of the most important issues facing marine aquarists is providing a suitable environment for their aquaria's inhabitants. Among the important properties for a marine...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

This how you will want to do that, I love my TM. I love it so much I buy about 3 a year… :)

 

[Fury96]

This how you will want to do that, I love my TM. I love it so much I buy about 3 a year… :)

So it's supposed to float in the graduated cyclinder? It doesnt touch the bottom correct?

 

[RobertK]

correct

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Make sure you read it correctly. You read the specific gravity at the overall water surface, not the little bit that climbs up (or down) the hydrometer:

A Tropic Marin hydrometer showing the meniscus rising to about 1.0260, but the actual reading is about 1.0265.