Hydrometers? Refractometers? Bwah?!

Oddball~

Oddball~

Brackhead
Nov 18, 2004
875
0
0
45
Dallas, TX
ok ok ok ok...

I did a 5 gallon water change to my 20 gallon on Saturday, mixing 3/4 cups of marine salt into the 5 gallon bucket and mixing until it was fully dissolved. I then change the water, etc etc...

I got a hydrometer of course, but the "Instant Ocean" Hydrometer I got registers from 1.000 to 1.070 slowly increasing increment size as it get saltier.

I need about 1.005-1.008 SG and I can barely read the amount around 1.010.

I need to change about .002 per water change, and if PufferPunk was right, 3/4 should do it. My figure eights are fine and have intenser coloration and are acting much more active, so I'm assuming they're OK...


The reason i ask about refractometers is that i hear my hydrometer is inaccurate and refractometers are much more accurate and is easier to read lower SGs then it is to read from a hydrometer...

I haven't tested my SG in my VERY slight BW tank because for fear that i would waste my precious $$ on the hydrometer....but refractometers are $40 MINIMUM! Gah! I can't live on $40 hear and there, $20 there, etc etc...I've spent $300+ on a 20 gall tank and two puffers!

Is my Hydrometer OK?????



P.S. - I heard i can just put the salt in my filter behind the Bio-Bag in my filter instead of mixing in a bucket... is this true?

P.P.S. - I've gotten PetLand to order some BBGs for my tank! Getting 3 hopefully this week!
 
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Petland has these two Pacus in a large tank (not tall at all, but kinda wide)... THEY WERE IMMENSE and they had three-four Plecos...simply awesome...(thats not the point)

Can I feed my puffers shrimp tails from my Supermarket? Are they sanitary? They're uncooked and seem.... LARGE....yea....and about CLAMS...can i just plop a clam into my tank and see the action? My Figure Eights seem to have ADD so they may just peck at it and swim away if they think its a rock.
 
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I heard i can just put the salt in my behind
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Won't that sting? I would absolutely get a hydrometer. In nature, the SG in BW fluctuates, so it doesn't have to be exact.
 
Thanks Pufferpunk for that great...uh.... typo notification...i meant behind the bio-bag thingy thats has the carbon...

but the problem is the .002 change hardly registers in the hydrometer... i have one and i can barely see the increments
 
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Can I feed my puffers shrimp tails from my Supermarket?
Click to expand...

Yea you can. You need to freeze them 1st though, if they are raw, to kill off any nasties, then thaw in warm water. You may want to bounce it off a thread at 1st, so it looks alive. They'll get the hang of it.
 
Take the hydrometer in and have it tested by a refractometer--while they are sometimes inaccurate, they are reliably so. This means that if you find it is +.004, it will always read +.004 when cared for properly, and can be used safely.

And, while I can agree that this hobby has some costs--IMO, very few are unexpected (ie, disasters like tanks breaking), and they all have a cost. If you plan and research properly before purchasing anything, you can identify all the costs and plan for them accordingly. Trying to 'wing it' without the proper tools is setting yourself up for failure.
 
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