Great video guys! BTW, the easiest/cheapest way to make a good water "scoop" for the Tropic Marin Hydrometer is to use a short length of PCV pipe with a cap clued onto one end. It doesn't take excess water volume out of the tank and is perfect for hydrometer measurement!
Spending soo much money on an apex just to buy an external adapter to get accurate readings from the salinity probe is crazy. This is something neptunes needs to address.
hanna checker has a big issue where after two years of usage, it just wont hold calibration for more than a day, it even drifts right in front of your eyes moments after calibration. had to get a new one and looks like they updated it, loved this thing and hopefully the issue is resolved in the new version.
I have the Hanna version of Milwaukee’s digital refractometer… curious if there’s any difference between the two….I’ve tested Hanna digital refractometer vs manual refractometer and was spot on…I wouldn’t trust Hanna’s cheaper salinity checker though
The Milwaukee one is cool, BUT, the accuracy of the sensor is +-0.002 SG and the calibration check solution it comes with is absolute garbage. I think the best use is to get you close while mixing and then use a refractometer to get an accurate reading.
I love my Apex and use it for so much, but let's be honest, the salinity probe is garbage. I'd like them to make a small module that goes into the tank and uses an optical test for it instead of conductivity.
Let's see some testing instead of taking one's word for it. It's hard to believe brs refractometer outbeat anything. Temp is extremely important in getting an accurate reading on a refractometer, which they don't account for unlike the electrical alternatives. I plan on trying the Milwaukee " chinese techtronic kaka ", but doubt it is reliable. Hannah is hands down the best. Made in Italy.
The BRS refractometer won in the "chosen by you" category (amount of sales) because it is cheap and accessible. I don't think anyone claimed it was the most accurate or reliable.
Apex conductivity probe is a horrible recommendation to be honest. It works 50% of the time if you’re lucky. Believe Hydros’ solution coming out this August will stabilize accuracy doing two things that Apex isn’t 1) Hydros is using a K10 factor salinity probe vs K1 factor probe. What does that mean? K10 is specifically designed for testing saltwater. K1 probe is mostly for freshwater. On the far end of the K1 probe’s testing capability is for salinity where the accuracy diminishes. It’s why you need to use a proper K10 factor saltwater conductivity probe. 2) Hydros has a simple product called the Hydros iV which facilitates the conductivity test away from your equipment which is also a major cause for inaccuracies due to it possibly picking up stray voltage from neighboring equipment in your sump. What’s nice about the Hydros iV is that it can also test alkalinity with the hydros software built in (for free) using any high precision dosers of your choice
Hydrometer: you NEVER have to calibrate it, the reading will be equally accurate with a freshly made seawater and with tank water since neither organics nor pollutants will interfere with a reading opposed to those using refraction of light or conductivity. And it's dirty cheap. P.S. there are event very accurate ones, like Tropic Marin high precision hydrometer. Why even bother with trying anything else?
How does the hydrometer account for temp? Ain't accurate unless you are taking the measurement at the same exact temp every time which is impossible since such a small amount of liquid will cool extremely quick based on ambient temps. Never seen a lab use a handheld refractometer for accuracy.
@@SkunkShrimp Probably it's a good idea to measure a temperature in a mixing bucket/beaker/aquarium the moment you are taking a measurement and use a calculator/conversion table if water tests are being concluded in an extremely hot/cold environments. Furthermore, the test only takes a minute, so how fast do you think a volume of, say for an example of 500ml, loses its temperature by 1 deg. C in normal conditions? Measured s.g. of 1.0260 with a hydrometer calibrated @25 C with an actual sample temperature of 24 C equals to real s.g. of 1.0257. Is this difference crucial? Would you be able to measure this difference with an optical refractometer? Digital devices have bigger measurement errors! I think temperature compensation is the least important thing. P.S. I am not a scientist and I have never been to a lab but I doubt they would use anything like a handheld Hanna either. P.P.S. ATC can be a fairly inaccurate function too and vary from device to device. And now you have two variables: measurement error of salinity dependant of accuracy of a device and calibration of it and error of temperature measurement by the same device. And refractometers I know have to be calibrated with a fluid of 20 degrees C. How easy it is? Some digital meters have to be calibrated with a special reference solution. Its another problem in itself.
@@potsmokeris so basically in short, humans are consistent and electronics are not? Hannah might have a bigger error margin, but it eliminates the biggest error, humans. Temp error > digital error. Look into it more.
@@SkunkShrimp Hanna does not eliminate a human error since human operates a device: has to calibrate it, make sure the measurement was done correctly, etc. It may minimize human error by a showing a digit and not a measuremnt which user has to interpret but I say it just replaces a human error with a digital one. Many users use hydrometers to check their digital and optical devices for accuracy and they do that for a good reason: you only have to check if water is 25 degrees C (if not, apply a formula, or use a conversion table) and that's basically it... Regarding temp. error vs salinity error: I have seen Hanna pens showing off results by 3 ppt (3 ppt less than actual ppt)! You had to be off by 9 degrees Celcius for the same error. By 9 degrees! Even if Hanna pen showed 2 ppt less than it actually is, you should be off by almost 5 degrees C using a hydrometer (measuring a fluid of 20 degrees C instead 25 C). No way water freezes from 25 to 20 C so fast that you won't be able to take a reading!
My personal favorite is the Hanna salinity tester!
Great video guys! BTW, the easiest/cheapest way to make a good water "scoop" for the Tropic Marin Hydrometer is to use a short length of PCV pipe with a cap clued onto one end. It doesn't take excess water volume out of the tank and is perfect for hydrometer measurement!
I have this for testing my reef aquarium water salinity, and it doesn't need to be calibrated
Spending soo much money on an apex just to buy an external adapter to get accurate readings from the salinity probe is crazy. This is something neptunes needs to address.
Thomas always gets a 👍
hanna checker has a big issue where after two years of usage, it just wont hold calibration for more than a day, it even drifts right in front of your eyes moments after calibration. had to get a new one and looks like they updated it, loved this thing and hopefully the issue is resolved in the new version.
I have the Hanna version of Milwaukee’s digital refractometer… curious if there’s any difference between the two….I’ve tested Hanna digital refractometer vs manual refractometer and was spot on…I wouldn’t trust Hanna’s cheaper salinity checker though
Mine reads .002 sg every time. Any ideas on how to adjust. I have just been keeping it in mind. Yes I zero it with the cal fluid.
The Milwaukee one is cool, BUT, the accuracy of the sensor is +-0.002 SG and the calibration check solution it comes with is absolute garbage. I think the best use is to get you close while mixing and then use a refractometer to get an accurate reading.
Milwaukee is Chinese techtronic. .002 is probably more like .02.
SPS kit should come standard with the apex salinity probe kit
I love my Apex and use it for so much, but let's be honest, the salinity probe is garbage. I'd like them to make a small module that goes into the tank and uses an optical test for it instead of conductivity.
Let's see some testing instead of taking one's word for it. It's hard to believe brs refractometer outbeat anything. Temp is extremely important in getting an accurate reading on a refractometer, which they don't account for unlike the electrical alternatives. I plan on trying the Milwaukee " chinese techtronic kaka ", but doubt it is reliable. Hannah is hands down the best. Made in Italy.
The BRS refractometer won in the "chosen by you" category (amount of sales) because it is cheap and accessible. I don't think anyone claimed it was the most accurate or reliable.
Apex conductivity probe is a horrible recommendation to be honest. It works 50% of the time if you’re lucky. Believe Hydros’ solution coming out this August will stabilize accuracy doing two things that Apex isn’t 1) Hydros is using a K10 factor salinity probe vs K1 factor probe. What does that mean? K10 is specifically designed for testing saltwater. K1 probe is mostly for freshwater. On the far end of the K1 probe’s testing capability is for salinity where the accuracy diminishes. It’s why you need to use a proper K10 factor saltwater conductivity probe. 2) Hydros has a simple product called the Hydros iV which facilitates the conductivity test away from your equipment which is also a major cause for inaccuracies due to it possibly picking up stray voltage from neighboring equipment in your sump. What’s nice about the Hydros iV is that it can also test alkalinity with the hydros software built in (for free) using any high precision dosers of your choice
Hydros has a better way to monitor salinity. You should probably acknowledge them.
Hydros app is trash as well as their reliability.
Hydrometer: you NEVER have to calibrate it, the reading will be equally accurate with a freshly made seawater and with tank water since neither organics nor pollutants will interfere with a reading opposed to those using refraction of light or conductivity. And it's dirty cheap. P.S. there are event very accurate ones, like Tropic Marin high precision hydrometer. Why even bother with trying anything else?
How does the hydrometer account for temp? Ain't accurate unless you are taking the measurement at the same exact temp every time which is impossible since such a small amount of liquid will cool extremely quick based on ambient temps. Never seen a lab use a handheld refractometer for accuracy.
@@SkunkShrimp Probably it's a good idea to measure a temperature in a mixing bucket/beaker/aquarium the moment you are taking a measurement and use a calculator/conversion table if water tests are being concluded in an extremely hot/cold environments. Furthermore, the test only takes a minute, so how fast do you think a volume of, say for an example of 500ml, loses its temperature by 1 deg. C in normal conditions? Measured s.g. of 1.0260 with a hydrometer calibrated @25 C with an actual sample temperature of 24 C equals to real s.g. of 1.0257. Is this difference crucial? Would you be able to measure this difference with an optical refractometer? Digital devices have bigger measurement errors! I think temperature compensation is the least important thing.
P.S. I am not a scientist and I have never been to a lab but I doubt they would use anything like a handheld Hanna either.
P.P.S. ATC can be a fairly inaccurate function too and vary from device to device. And now you have two variables: measurement error of salinity dependant of accuracy of a device and calibration of it and error of temperature measurement by the same device. And refractometers I know have to be calibrated with a fluid of 20 degrees C. How easy it is? Some digital meters have to be calibrated with a special reference solution. Its another problem in itself.
@@potsmokeris so basically in short, humans are consistent and electronics are not? Hannah might have a bigger error margin, but it eliminates the biggest error, humans. Temp error > digital error. Look into it more.
@@SkunkShrimp Hanna does not eliminate a human error since human operates a device: has to calibrate it, make sure the measurement was done correctly, etc. It may minimize human error by a showing a digit and not a measuremnt which user has to interpret but I say it just replaces a human error with a digital one.
Many users use hydrometers to check their digital and optical devices for accuracy and they do that for a good reason: you only have to check if water is 25 degrees C (if not, apply a formula, or use a conversion table) and that's basically it...
Regarding temp. error vs salinity error: I have seen Hanna pens showing off results by 3 ppt (3 ppt less than actual ppt)! You had to be off by 9 degrees Celcius for the same error. By 9 degrees! Even if Hanna pen showed 2 ppt less than it actually is, you should be off by almost 5 degrees C using a hydrometer (measuring a fluid of 20 degrees C instead 25 C). No way water freezes from 25 to 20 C so fast that you won't be able to take a reading!