product review: instant ocean hydrometer

[evelyn80]

Company: Marine Land Instant Ocean

Link to product description : http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4952

Price range: 8$-20$

Pros: Inexpensive, easy to read results

Cons: It gives many different results from the same water. The arm collects salt in the hinges and gums it up and stops it from moving.

Star rating (1-5 with 5 being the best)
**

How long have you used the product?: I have used the product for 2 weeks and am already having problems.

Build quality and value for your money. : built with strong plastic but at the hinges for the arm, salt often collects and causes it to stop working. Readings are easy to read but often inaccurate.

Other comments: Dissatisfied but was sort of expecting it. I only bought this product because i needed a salinity measurer fast and couldnt get a refractometer. Built strong but doesnt work well. If i was to restart saltwater i would not purchase this product. All and all a real show of the saying you get what you pay for!

[12 Volt Man]

strange. I have been using the same one for the last few years and it still works great. I keep threatening to get a new one but keep procrastinating LOL

[evelyn80]

mabye i got a bad one but i know i dont like it. still looking for a good refractometer

[Sploke]

Company: Instant Ocean (Marineland)

Link to product description: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4952

Price range: 8$-20$

Pros: Inexpensive

Cons: Can be inaccurate/out of calibration, prone to non-repeatable results, prone to salt stains, requires frequent cleaning to maintain what little accuracy they begin with

Star rating (1-5 with 5 being the best)
*

How long have you used the product?: Used it for about six months before replacing it with a refractometer

Build quality and value for your money: You have to be careful with them - I dropped mine and cracked it. They also are easy to misread - a tiny bubble on the swingarm will throw the reading way off. As accurate as you'd expect for the price. Hydrometer measurement scales are also calibrated to a specific temperature, and the adjustment needed for measuring at temperatures other than the calibrated one can be significant. I couldn't find any reference to calibration temperature.

Other comments: You get what you pay for. Probably sufficient for a brackish tank or a FOWLR setup being run at slightly lower salinity. I was keeping my reeftank at 1.026 by the hydrometer - after checking it with a calibrated refractometer, I found it was actually closer to 1.029. After replacing it with a refractometer, I haven't looked back.

[Dwarf Puffers]

I used it once, wildly varrying results. Didn't really matter, there was nothing in the tank :D

[Miss my puffer]

Company
Instant Ocean
Model

Link to product description

Price range

Pros
Cheap.
Cons
I got mine on clearence (first sign probably?) so I could test my fowlr tanks downstairs and didn't have to run up and down stairs to try and find my hydrometer. The readings were 1.029 which was slightly higher than the 1.023 I thought I was running. I ran my water in to the pet store to see which one was right (it was 1.023), then bought a refractometer and junked the IO hydrometer.
Star rating (1-5 with 5 being the best)
1 (-1 if it is possible)
How long have you used the product?
2 days to long
Build quality and value for your money.
Save your money and buy a refractometer
Other comments