Using a Hydrometer(emergency) Updated

[Alchemy129]

Ok heres the thing , I just bought some brackish fish for a tank i was going to convert to a stabilized brackish. I have aquarium salt and I bought a hydrometer. Its a instant ocean hydrometer from marine labs I got at feeders supply. Anyway I was aiming for a consistant 1.010 lvl. But thats not the question, this hydrometer is either broke or i'm doing something horribly wrong. No matter how much salt I add it stays just above 1.004. The directions on the package are useless. Do i just fill the thing up and sit it down flat and wait, it always has the same result, please help as I have fish sitting in a bag as we speak. And what the heck is a weir?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Hmm, first off, brackish fish need marine salt, not aquarium salt, which is probably most of your problem.

Secondly, hydrometers are all usually way off. When you put it in freshwater, does it still read 1.004? If it does, it's junk definitley and you should return it.

The weir is the part on the side of the hydrometer that water flows over.

HTH

 

[7Enigma]

One last question,

When you bought these fish they were in full brackish conditions? Or you researched and found that they prefer/require brackish?

If the fish were not in brackish conditions at the LFS, you DO NOT want to drop them into brackish water as it could severely shock them. If they were in a brackish tank at the LFS I'd recommend returning them until you get your tank setup appropriately. And I assume you have no other fish currently in the tank, because a rapid adjustment from FW to brackish is just as bad as the other way around.

HTH

 

[Hara]

another thing, which you may/may not have already done, but the hydrometer needs to be seasoned. Fill it with water and let it sit overnight before using.

 

[Alchemy129]

I've figured out the hydrometer is only really meant for real saltwater, so i'm taking it with me when i'm going to another LFS to test it it in one of there salt water tanks, its the only place around here that still has saltwater fish. Anyway i'm going to buy the sea salt there and a new hydrometer if neccessary. And to answer some questions, I have 2 young GSP's that are going into a 20 gallon species tank that is currently freshwater, with alot of aquarium salt(the medicine kind). THey were kept in freshwater at the lfs where he threw aquarium salt in the tank every other day to keep them healthy. But he couldn't do brackish cause all his tanks were looped together. I understand i should gradually build up to brackish and not just throw them from one biotype into another. So using the hydrometer how much should i go up and how often should i go up? I'm thinking like .002 every other day, would that be good? Should I do a big water change first to get rid of the normal aquarium salt i have in thre now, or is that not a issue?
Thanks guys for the help.