After temperature, Salinity is the most important measurement of seawater you can make for your tank. Therefore, refractometers and hydrometers are the most used tool in the hobby, or at least they should be.
Both hypersaline and hypo saline environments make unsuitable living conditions for pets in our tank. So it’s important to have proper and stable salinity in a saltwater aquarium.
Many of us that live in dry climates can find ourselves checking salinity daily and especially those who manually top off their tanks. One of the most common mistakes when reefers see their corals shrinking is that the salinity is too high or too low.
特异性重力或盐度结果可能不同的原因之一是工具未经校准。可以通过用小螺丝刀调整指示线来确认淡水线以确认淡水为零,可以校准仪进行校准。同样重要的是要知道您使用的是校准的折光仪seawater由于许多廉价的折射率实际上都是为盐水而设计的,这是一种简单的盐和水溶液,而没有在海水中自然发现的其他元素。
Conversely, hydrometers cannot be calibrated. These are notorious for being inaccurate; salt build up on the needle can seriously affect the results.
虽然有可能计算出实际的萨利·nity by figuring out the instrument error, this number varies frequently and cannot be considered reliable.
The longevity of accuracy for hydrometers can be increased by simply rinsing out the hydrometer with fresh water after each use, this decreases the salt build up before it dries in places unreachable for cleaning.
Refractometers require much less maintenance. Most brands only require a periodic calibration using RODI water or calibration fluid; additionally, you do not need to rinse them, most come with a microfiber cloth to dry the prism.
Because many reefers like the precision and control of their tank, and many corals such as Acropora require just that, a refractometer will prove to give you a higher quality salinity measurement. It is much easier to control issues in your tank by preventing salinity swingsbeforethey happen.
Although it may be less expensive to buy a hydrometer, but in the long run it may cost you a couple corals that are probably more expensive than the hydrometer itself. Even though fish are more tolerant of salinity changes than coral, it may be too late before you realize that your tank is in a hypo or hypersaline environment.