product review: instant ocean hydrometer

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evelyn80

Guru at procrastinating
Aug 10, 2008
1,935
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30
in your house!!
Company: Marine Land Instant Ocean

[FONT=&quot]Link to product description : http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4952[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Price range: 8$-20$[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Pros: Inexpensive, easy to read results[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]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.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Star rating (1-5 with 5 being the best)[/FONT]
**

[FONT=&quot]How long have you used the product?: I have used the product for 2 weeks and am already having problems.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]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.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]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![/FONT]

p_116658_24589D.jpg
 

Sploke

resident boozehound
Staff member
Oct 20, 2005
6,797
64
75
42
South Windsor, CT
Real Name
Matt
[FONT=&quot]Company: [/font]Instant Ocean (Marineland)

[FONT=&quot]Link to product description: [/FONT]http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4952

[FONT=&quot]Price range: [/FONT]8$-20$

[FONT=&quot]Pros: [/FONT]Inexpensive

[FONT=&quot]Cons: [/FONT]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

[FONT=&quot]Star rating (1-5 with 5 being the best)[/FONT]
*

[FONT=&quot]How long have you used the product?: [/FONT]Used it for about six months before replacing it with a refractometer

[FONT=&quot]Build quality and value for your money: [/FONT]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.

[FONT=&quot]Other comments: [/FONT]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

Registered user
Dec 11, 2006
3,978
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0
NS, Canada
I used it once, wildly varrying results. Didn't really matter, there was nothing in the tank :D
 

Miss my puffer

AC Members
Oct 26, 2003
193
0
0
michigan
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Company
Instant Ocean
[FONT=&quot]Model[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Link to product description [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Price range[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Pros[/FONT]
Cheap.
[FONT=&quot]Cons[/FONT]
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.
[FONT=&quot]Star rating (1-5 with 5 being the best)[/FONT]
1 (-1 if it is possible)
[FONT=&quot]How long have you used the product?[/FONT]
2 days to long
[FONT=&quot]Build quality and value for your money. [/FONT]
Save your money and buy a refractometer
[FONT=&quot]Other comments [/FONT]
 
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