Hydrometer vs. Refractometer

[cloakerpoked]

I'm wondering what you guys use to measure your salinity. I don't believe in taking many shortcuts in this hobby, but paying so much for a refractometer just seems to be a little bit over the top to me personally. I have about 8 different hydrometers (including one that floats with the lead or whatever the heck it is in there) and they all agree for the most part (+- .003 from the mean) so I don't really see a need to go out and buy another gizmo to measure things. Besides, I'm pretty sure if I did a separate poll, we'd get people from 1.021 to 1.028 all keeping different kinds of reefs very successfully anyhow.

 

[Suppressivefire]

Refracto all the way, I checked my hydrometer and it was 5 points off :/

 

[Gimili the Great]

i use a refractometer simply because of the easy of use and not having to worry about if the swing arm has some salt on it or anything like that

 

[chazde3]

I used a hydrometer for a long time. I just recently bought a used refractometer used from a buddy and I will never go back. After using the refractometer I found that my hydrometer was accurate, but the refractometer is much faster and easier to use.

 

[cloakerpoked]

Refracto all the way, I checked my hydrometer and it was 5 points off :/

Have you done any tests to see if it was consistently 5 points off, because I could even live with that. The really scary thing would be if it was 5 points off at 1.028, and 2 points off at 1.019 and a random assortment of points off at various points between those two.:squigglemouth:

 

[Reef Empire]

Refractometer. One of the best tools in the arsenal!

 

[Sikryd]

Refractometer. One of the best tools in the arsenal!

+1

Plus takes about 2 seconds to check the tank...or tanks as the case may be.
It costs less than a frag for a used one....

 

[Gimili the Great]

you forgot to add digital equipment as some use those fancy little whizz bang dealies

 

[Hypertek99]

I use both.

 

[cloakerpoked]

+1

Plus takes about 2 seconds to check the tank...or tanks as the case may be.
It costs less than a frag for a used one....

As opposed to the 15 seconds my hydrometer takes :xd:

 

[Sr5_Reef]

havent checked in a couple months.... but last time i checked it vs a reefractometer.

 

[kass03]

I use my Seatest hydrometer thats prolly 20 years old or more. Plus the dog bit it and broke it so it's superglued lol.

I did test it against a refractometer though and it was 4 points off. Luckily I always had a salinity of 1.022-23 which was actually 4 higher.
I recently bought a new one and that one says 1.029 so I'm afraid to use it until I test that one.

I say if you don't want to buy a refractometer at least test your hydrometer against one. We did it at a club meeting once.

kass

 

[laskopyre]

I use a refractometer. Great tool.

 

[mevstheworld]

refractometer here also. My float hydrometer was very accurate, but the ref. makes it simple for adjustments.

 

[Paul_N]

I use the hydrometer once a week and refract every other week. My hydrometer is off by .002(reads lower) so as long as i account for that I'm good.

 

[FateX8]

refractometer all the way
for all the money you put into your tank, is it really that expensive?!

 

[Chrissy]

I use the hydrometer once a week and refract every other week. My hydrometer is off by .002(reads lower) so as long as i account for that I'm good.

What brand hydrometer do you use?

 

[SDguy]

I own a refractometer. I checked my Seatest swing arm hydrometer against it several times. The hydrometer always reads 0.002 high. I usually just use the hydrometer, and subtract 0.002.

 

[Tswifty]

From some articles I have read, it seems Hydrometers can be a good tool "IF" you know how much they are off (if at all). One of the articles stated that they were "precise" but not necessarily "accurate." Meaning that you will more than likely get the same reading each time you use it, but that reading may not necessarily be accurate.

So I use a refractometer just for the piece of mind. However, if you know how much your hydrometer is off... then you'll probably be fine. I would just periodically check it's accuracy to make sure the .002 off (or whatever the error on your particular unit is) hasn't changed.

 

[schminksbro]

Refractometer. The Problem with swing arms checked against a refractometer is that a little bit of salt will change them over time.