Help.....saltwater levels

[justinl]

fish and inverts can do fine short term in low or high salinity. what really kills them in terms of salinity is quick change in salinity. If you want to drop your salinity, do it slowly over at least a day. I suggest a drip of freshwater.

[Joe Reefer]

I keep mine at a steady 1.026.

[muck]

1.025 - 1.026 here

[supersmile]

Why do you have to keep your hydrometer submerged in the tank all the time? How do you calibrate it? Mine had no instructions about that????

[kwirky]

My deep 6, on the package, said it should be soaked the first time for 24 hours, and again if it dries out. Might as well just leave it constantly submerged then. I've heard various others state the same. And my girlfriend's dad makes *ahem* moonshine, and he has to soak his hydrometer at all times or else he might make cyanide by accident lol. It's a swing needle hydrometer meant for wine/alcohol making.

from my own experiences, mine would fluctuate in reading according to my refractometer unless it was soaked recently.

I mean calibrating by finding the variance of your meter using a refractometer. here's a good article explaining hydrometers, their good accuracy, and how to get them accurate. A better term than "calibration" like i've used, would be the author's term "correction factor." It's about finding the correction factor for your own hydrometer.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/9/lines

sorry about the confusion over "calibration" lol. I meant "correction factor"

[midgetwaiter]

Having your salinity much over 1.026 will definitely make Xenia do that. I wouldn't expect the fish to be too troubled over it though.

[supersmile]

This may seem like a stupid question but how would you submerge your hydrometer in the tank? Mine just floats????? So you would keep your hydrometer in the tank at all times? How come you never see hydrometers in peoples tanks????