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Lionfawn 
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 Topic: HELP
Posted: August 07 2008 at 7:23pm |
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I just bought a hydrometer from redsea, it reads 1.030, but my old one from corallife reads 1.021. Is there a way to test these??
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dew2loud1
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Posted: August 07 2008 at 7:57pm |
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Generally older ones read low because salt has built up on the float over time and weighs it down, other than that I don't trust hydrometers one bit, I've opened the package of three brand new ones and they all read different by .005 which is a lot IMO...
Not to start a debate again but think about a refractometer about $45 online right now, or take your water to someone who has one and compare to your hydrometers...
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Aquaristnewbie
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Posted: August 07 2008 at 8:00pm |
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did you soak it in your tank for a day before trying to use it? I remember hearing somewhere that you do that, rinse it in freshwater and then you are good to go. I rinse mine after every use. I don't know if I am making more work for myself but someone told me that is what you do.
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Lionfawn
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Posted: August 07 2008 at 8:11pm |
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Nope just stuck it to the side. It is one of the in tank hydrometer with temp gauge. I am afraid my tank is about to crash but I cannot figure out why. I have lost a true perc, damsel, and gobi in the last week. My kenya, polyps, and colt coral all look good. My GBT anenome looks a little pissed also. I have used the "dipstick" type of tests and it reads, nitates around 0, amonia 0, ph good (it is a color read). I am going to test for phosphates in a little bit. I have been running carbon this week as well. Oh I have a 50gal hex with about 40# rock, 25# sand. The rocks and sand and critters have been running for a year but got moved to the new tank about 3 months ago with no trouble until now.
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Lionfawn
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Posted: August 07 2008 at 8:25pm |
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Phosphates are 0
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Aquaristnewbie
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Posted: August 07 2008 at 8:38pm |
I don't know if this matters much maybe someone on here with a little more experience can explain more but if it is a used tank do you know if medication was ever used on it? I have heard that if it ever has sometimes it can leak back out and hurt your tank later or something. I don't really know what I am talking about so hopefully someone on here can point you in the right direction. I hope it all works out. I do not know what I would do in a similar situation. So coming here is probably a great idea 
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Lionfawn
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Posted: August 07 2008 at 8:46pm |
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I hav ehad this tank for about 5 years. I had it running as a freshwater before I transfered everything over 3 months ago. I have not used any copper meds on the tank. The saltwater stuff was in my 12 gal nano before transfering it over.
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Cameron
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Posted: August 08 2008 at 12:20am |
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You scared me inot buying a Refractometer
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[COLOR="Red"](801)664-4240
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Andreason
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Posted: August 08 2008 at 9:58am |
I think you are supposed to soak them in sw for 24 hours and rinse them every time you use them.
Have you tried doing some water changes? Perhaps you have some metal or other contaminant?
Wendy
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Lionfawn
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Posted: August 08 2008 at 11:26am |
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I have done 4 or 5 4 gal water changes in the alst 3 weeks using RO water. Is it possible that the fish just got stressed and died from the move?
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Andreason
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Posted: August 08 2008 at 3:32pm |
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No, if they were stressed from the move you would have seen problems before now. Have you checked other parameters? And where is your thermometer? A tall hex might have big temp diff between top by the light and the bottom. What kind of filtration are you using? 40 lbs of rock for a 50 gal tank is a little light IMO. You can also try taking your water to the LFS for testing.
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Lionfawn
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Posted: August 08 2008 at 3:38pm |
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It is hard to get alot of rock in the hex due to the small footprint. I have a hob filter with live rock, plus my carbon and phosban in it. I have a powerhead (don't know what kind) also to add circulation. My water circ is pretty good as I can see all of my coral moving and some sand shifting behind the rock. The water temp is pretty steady becouse of the good circulation.
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Lionfawn
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Posted: August 11 2008 at 11:22am |
Just an update. It looks like the problem all along with my tank was the salinity. It looks like my new hydrometer ( I am waiting for a refractor to come in) was correct all along. My old hydrometer was reading 1.024 when it was actually 1.032 and above. I think that it has been like this for a couple of months. I had noticed ,but did'nt give it a second thought, that I was having to add more salt than the instructions said to. It cost me all of my fish . Surprisingly my corals faired pretty well through it all. I even have a tiny xenia that I had pretty much wrote off is now pulsing (it was a hitchiker half the size of a penny).
Moral of the story............I don't have one, this hobby is hard 
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tileman
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Posted: August 11 2008 at 12:49pm |
There has always been alot of debate on this subject. Refractormeter or hydrometer.
With all the money I have invested in this hobby, I dont hesitate in buying a good refractormeter. Just my opinion!! I think of it as part of the" insurance plan", like a backup generator is part of the plan, someone reliable to take care of the tank when Im gone, its all in the "insurance plan"
Again!! Just my opinion.
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