sg way high HELP

[friendlyfire]

I'm not sure if I am using the hydrometer right but when i fillit the needle just bobs at the top. I olny put in three bags of salt that say they make 50 gallons and my tank is 125 with a 75 gallon sump half full so approx. 160 to 165 gallons of water. what should i do

 

[mmkeeper]

Shake all the bubbles off the arm and then by a refractor instead of the hydrometer they are alot better.

 

[Krish]

I agree...Refractometer is the way to go, however, whenever using a hydrometer, be sure that there are no bubbles attached to the swing arm as already suggested.

 

[friendlyfire]

got the bubbles off and it shook out at 1.029 what now

 

[mmkeeper]

Your salt level is high by the way you tested. To lower it add ro/di water.

 

[IAP Brian]

Hydrometers are pretty accurate ( if they aren't full of bubbles or calcium build-up or anything else that screws them up) but can be accurately off. I have a Coral life one that is off by .004. It would be good to take it to a LFS and have them check it against their refractometer. If it is off use a sharpy to "correct" the scale. Or you could just say heck with it and get a refract.

 

[twilliard]

refracto all the way!

Ya ditch that thing. Refracto's are Cheap on ebay

 

[balogh03]

Hydrometers are pretty accurate

I agree with that, i have two (instant ocean) and they are only off by about .0005 both ways compared to the refractometer. I would deffinently want to see where yours lies, but once you figure out how much it is off by, you can always use it for the "quick" tests as i use mine for.

-augustus

 

[burning2nd]

taste the water.....

your tougue will work better then that hydrometer...

The thing with hydrometers is they take time to work good....

let it sit with salt water in it for a few days.... the bubbles will dissaper
over time when you put water in it, the bubbles wont stick to the stick,

But a refractometer is the way 2 go.

 

[Meche]

let it sit with salt water in it for a few days....

Dude are you serious?!

Naw, all I (used to) do is fill it up carefully and tap it on the table to remove the bubbles. No reason it should take you days to measure salinity.

 

[Krish]

I agree...A hydrometer needs to be "calibrated" as well before the first use by putting regular freshwater in it and allowing it to sit for 24 hours. After that, it should be fine to use. Allowing the hydrometer to sit days with saltwater in it will cause salt to possibly build up on the swing arm giving you a false reading which is why it is suggested to rinse out the hydrometer thoroughly with freshwater after each use so as to prevent salt from building up. I use a hydrometer and how I check mine for accuracy is compare it to natural sea water from the ocean here. Everytime I hit the beach etc I bring back a bit of water and pop it in my hydrometer. I've been fine so far doing it that way although refractometers are the way to go and I have been guilty in not getting one

 

[burning2nd]

no... thats not what i mean,

it needs to brake in, thats what i ment it gets coated with like salt or something and works better with time.

 

[Krish]

LOL! If it is coated with salt on it would mean it would have salt buildup on it which would give you a flase reading IMO