What's the best Salinity checker?

[bam123]

I need an accurate salinity checker. Tired of refractors that seem to need constant adjusting. Opinions welcomed.

 

[JohnGP]

Vee Gee;
Clicky

 

[richarddeweerd]

Call me oldschool; but nothing beats my old floating hydrometer. I've used this one for years, it is so easy to use.

 

[bam123]

Call me oldschool; but nothing beats my old floating hydrometer. I've used this one for years, it is so easy to use.

I remember those. I don't trust them as microbubbles cause a problem and they get water everywhere.

 

[ScottB]

+1 Vee Gee

 

[joe berkman]

Two years with Milwaukee. So far so good.

 

[ReefKeeperElite]

Milwaukee MA887 has always been accurate and convenient for me.

 

[Gablami]

Misco seawater refractometer is the next level. Not saying it’s necessary, but you asked for the best.

 

[muzikalmatt]

Milwaukee MA887 has always been accurate and convenient for me.

^ This right here. Mine's been flawless since I got it and it's so much more convenient than most other options. I check the calibration every once in a while, but it's been right every time I've checked.

 

[bam123]

Misco seawater refractometer is the next level. Not saying it’s necessary, but you asked for the best.

Holy crap! 400 bucks?!?

 

[piranhaman00]

Been searching for this too. Milwaukee are prone to read high by 0.002 I see from most people. Seems like refractometers are best bet with contant calibrating.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Over the years I've grown to dislike measuring salinity with refractive index. Obviously it works because almost everyone uses refractometers, but there are too many variables that could skew the results for my taste.

I got a conductivity meter (Pinpoint Salinity Monitor) and couldn't be happier. I haven't had to touch the calibration since I purchased it about 3 years ago.

 

[Gernader]

Sybon Refractometer is great for me! It doesn‘t require to recalibrate for months!

 

[chvvkumar]

I love my Hanna meter. I used hydrometers and refractometers and still have them as a backup but the Hanna is unbeatab le in terms of convenience.

Dip in, check salinity and done. With the other two types of meters I've had to fiddle with them constantly to make sure there are no micro bubbles (hydrometer) and calibration (refractometer).

 

[piranhaman00]

I love my Hanna meter. I used hydrometers and refractometers and still have them as a backup but the Hanna is unbeatab le in terms of convenience.

Dip in, check salinity and done. With the other two types of meters I've had to fiddle with them constantly to make sure there are no micro bubbles (hydrometer) and calibration (refractometer).

At only 60$ its cheap relatively, how does it compare with your refactometers? Do you consider it accurate? I know the Milwaukee people compensate for.

 

[chvvkumar]

At only 60$ its cheap relatively, how does it compare with your refactometers? Do you consider it accurate? I know the Milwaukee people compensate for.

The thing is, the Hanna is consistent. While I can't comment on accuracy since I only have the three I mentioned with me and all three give me different readings, the Hanna is precise but I am not sure of accuracy.

 

[Gablami]

Holy crap! 400 bucks?!?

It’s hard to find a refractometer that takes accuracy to a 4th decimal point. Some might feel like there’s a big enough difference between 1.0269 and 1.0260. Aim small miss small.

But that said, I also think the pinpoint salinity probe is awesome. It worked really well for me. And when the switch got finicky, the company replaced the entire device for me without issues.

I think it’s good to have two different methods to check salinity. Conductivity and refractometer, just to double check each other. If you have redundancy, you don’t need to get the most expensive model (kind of like dual return pumps).

 

[Miller535]

Vee Gee;
Clicky

That's by far the most expensive one I have ever seen. Is there something special about it that I am missing?

 

[Daniel92481]

I prefer the Hanna digital salinity/temp checker. The accuracy is spot on and only needs recalibration every 3 months, or so. It changed my life.

 

[Marc2952]

Two years with Milwaukee. So far so good.

I love my Milwaukee even though it shows 1.025 as 1.026 but i know how to work around that.