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Ryanrttu
06/29/2014, 07:39 PM
With the BRS refractometer

I watched a youtube video online on how to calibrate it last night before I used it, I calibrated it to zero last night (the video used distilled water & not the solution I have) and made 20g of water that's now in my QT going through the cycle. I was just reading the bottle almost a day later and saw not to calibrate it to zero and to calibrate it with this solution (pic below) to 35 ppt.

Before I take all this water out and start over, can someone please confirm this. I put a pic of the calibrated solution I have that came with the BRS unit.

http://i.imgur.com/4eI5IAf.png

hogfanreefer
06/29/2014, 07:59 PM
Yep always calibrate with solution in the range you wish to measure.

Don't panick it may not be far off. Re-calibrate with the 35 ppt solution and retest your water. Being off now during the cycle is no big deal. You have plenty of time to fix it.

S13<3
06/29/2014, 08:01 PM
yes you want to calibrate it to 35ppt cause thats the range your going to be reading. recalibrate the refractometer and test the water again. adjust salinity to desired level. im confused as to why you would dump the water and start all over? unless im missing something

alf1096
06/29/2014, 08:02 PM
Even if you are off just take some water out and put in fresh to bring it down. No need to throw it all out.

PaleHorse
06/29/2014, 08:03 PM
i used distilled water and had no problems.

Ryanrttu
06/29/2014, 08:10 PM
yes you want to calibrate it to 35ppt cause thats the range your going to be reading. recalibrate the refractometer and test the water again. adjust salinity to desired level. im confused as to why you would dump the water and start all over? unless im missing something

Now I'm not, didn't think to just dilute it which is what I'm going to do now after I just calibrated it and it's at 1.052. Making ro/di now and going to adjust.

1st of many mistakes to come :spin3:

SFish
06/29/2014, 08:19 PM
We all make them

xrayjeeper83
06/29/2014, 09:24 PM
I use rodi water and calibrate to .002

sabo
06/30/2014, 12:11 AM
That's a huge difference even if calibrated the wrong way. Are you reading it correctly?

Ryanrttu
06/30/2014, 08:39 AM
That's a huge difference even if calibrated the wrong way. Are you reading it correctly?

Yea its calibrated right now, if you calibrate that solution to zero and its supposed to be 35, thats basically 1.025 off so I had double the amount of salt in there.

SFish
06/30/2014, 09:25 AM
Another thing to think about is salt mixes tell you about how much to put in. When you added way over that amount that should have been a red flag to you.

Ryanrttu
06/30/2014, 09:28 AM
Another thing to think about is salt mixes tell you about how much to put in. When you added way over that amount that should have been a red flag to you.

Man you are so right. This was my first time mixing salt and I was like W.T.^, i'm running through so much salt! Is this how its always going to be?

In some regard it was kind of a relief to know that is not how much salt you use and that the bucket of salt I have will last longer than I previously thought.

In some good news, I fixed the problem pretty fast last night.

Hindsight is always 20/20. Live and learn.

mbingha
06/30/2014, 09:31 AM
I use rodi water and calibrate to .002

Sure, if you want to always be calibrated wrong. Calibration solution of 35 ppt is what should be used unless otherwise specified by the manufacturer.

inetmug
06/30/2014, 10:26 AM
The chances are extremely high that your distilled calibration will yield the same, or very close result. There are two types of refractometers out there. One is very coarse, and measures up to 70, the other is fine, and measures up to like 40. My guess, is unless you ordered the fine resolution version, you will not see a difference in the solution calibration versus your distilled calibration.

Although I would agree with the others, you need to use the solution in range as the best option. Post back your results of your 35 calibration, tell us what the water tests out at. As a secondary piece of data, take a sample to the LFS and see what they get.

Mcgeezer
06/30/2014, 07:27 PM
I use distilled water and mine is spot on. Moved it to zero just like instructions said.

Stackemdeep
06/30/2014, 09:34 PM
Knowing that refractometer calibration can yield errors, I take this out of the equation with my salt mix. I use a gram scale to weigh my salt and put it in quart bags so I have weeks of water changes ready to go. My buckets are marked so I mix the same every time. I spot check with my refractometer once in a while or when I open a new bucket. 705 grams of salt(red sea) and my lined bucket hits 1.026 every time. Anyone choosing to do this may not want to stack the bags of salt in the window sill while you are making them up or the neighbors will get the wrong idea. Saves all that adjusting with scoops and retesting while mixing and keeps everything consistent. Your salt label should have g/liter instructions and it is easy to convert. Good Luck.

inetmug
07/01/2014, 07:34 AM
Knowing that refractometer calibration can yield errors, I take this out of the equation with my salt mix. I use a gram scale to weigh my salt and put it in quart bags so I have weeks of water changes ready to go. My buckets are marked so I mix the same every time. I spot check with my refractometer once in a while or when I open a new bucket. 705 grams of salt(red sea) and my lined bucket hits 1.026 every time. Anyone choosing to do this may not want to stack the bags of salt in the window sill while you are making them up or the neighbors will get the wrong idea. Saves all that adjusting with scoops and retesting while mixing and keeps everything consistent. Your salt label should have g/liter instructions and it is easy to convert. Good Luck.

Triple beam scale, tons of while stuff.... yeah, I am sure the neighbors are restless....

you can do the same thing with a measuring cup once you get it dialed in.

Ryanrttu
07/01/2014, 07:38 AM
Knowing that refractometer calibration can yield errors, I take this out of the equation with my salt mix. I use a gram scale to weigh my salt and put it in quart bags so I have weeks of water changes ready to go. My buckets are marked so I mix the same every time. I spot check with my refractometer once in a while or when I open a new bucket. 705 grams of salt(red sea) and my lined bucket hits 1.026 every time. Anyone choosing to do this may not want to stack the bags of salt in the window sill while you are making them up or the neighbors will get the wrong idea. Saves all that adjusting with scoops and retesting while mixing and keeps everything consistent. Your salt label should have g/liter instructions and it is easy to convert. Good Luck.

In my case, it was my fault, not the refractometer. Ive double checked the meter and its spot on.