High Tech

[land locked]

I am very interested to see if the Pinpoint salinity monitors are worth the ease of use and frequency vs cost of the unit. I also have seen many digital Ph monitors. Are these electronic devices accurate? I feel like since I am so new at this I would have less human error in reading the test kits. I have spent this much already on this hobby I do not want to fail because I can't figure out the testing process. I have a hot tub and rarely test it because I can just tell by smell, feel on my skin and look of the water. When I do test I am right on. I know I won't have that luxury with an aquarium. Thoughts?

 

[land locked]

Has anyone used these techie things?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Just FYI, in the future you'll probably get more people looking at your post (and responding!) if you post in the appropriate "Saltwater" section of the forum. This section - although "Help" does imply exactly what you're asking for - seems to be used for "Forum Help" and deals with the program aspects of the forum software itself.

Maybe a moderator can move this?

In answering your question, I'd recommend newcomers get familiar with the manual methods of testing first (test kits, refractometer, etc) and then move on to electronic means if they desire. Not only are they cheaper, there is less maintenance involved. From what I've seen, if you have no experience with the fallback manual methods, you tend to put too must trust in the fancy electronic equipment and don't tend to question/doublecheck them when they give you "strange" results.

 

[land locked]

I will do, thanks for letting me know.TOO NEWWW

 

[land locked]

High tech

I guess I have been posting in the wrong place. Hope this is correct now.

I am very interested to see if the Pinpoint salinity monitors are worth the ease of use and frequency vs cost of the unit. I also have seen many digital Ph monitors. Are these electronic devices accurate? I feel like since I am so new at this I would have less human error in reading the test kits. I have spent this much already on this hobby I do not want to fail because I can't figure out the testing process. I have a hot tub and rarely test it because I can just tell by smell, feel on my skin and look of the water. When I do test I am right on. I know I won't have that luxury with an aquarium. Thoughts?

 

[cmor1701d]

I have the Pinpoint pH monitor and love it. It does require some regular maintenance and the probe needs to be replaced every 18 months. Get yourself a refractometer for SG. They cost under $50 and are pretty much bulletproof. Make sure to get calibration solution to check it when you first get it.

Then you want to get some quality test kits for nitrite, nitrate, calcium, magnesium and phosphate. I use Salifert or LaMotte but there are others. Testing should be be done weekly.

You can not tell the water parameters by look or feel so you must test. If something is bad enough that you can smell it you have probably lost your tank livestock.

 

[land locked]

I have seen the refractometer on ebay I will look into those again. There are digital ph monitors for as little as 9.99 but not sure about accuracy at that price. They are not the Pinpoint ones I see advertised in the fish magazines.

 

[melosu58]

Do the digital ones need constant calibrating?

 

[Innovator]

PinPoint salinity monitors do require general maintenance in removing salt deposits and/or residues, especially from the actual electrode. The salinity monitors are also more accurate than refractometers, but less durable. If you do purchase the Salinity monitor I would also purchase the AC adapter kit in case you wish to monitor continuously (battery drain can lead to improper readings otherwise). There are other brand monitors available for high-end users, but more expensive.

Depending on what your plans are for the tank inhabitant-wise, the usual test kits purchased are for: NH3 (mainly cycling), NO2 (cycling), NO3, pH, Salinity, Ca, Alk, and PO4. Some people will also include Mg. Salifert, API, and Elos are often used, but higher end kits such as Lamotte or Hach are also available to hobbyists (expensive).

 

[land locked]

This is all is says: Nothing about how often to calibrate.

★ Brand New Hand-held pH Meter
★ Use for measuring pH level in liquid
★ Free from traditional litmus tests
★ Easy to use
★ Provide you a precise and quick measurement
★ 2 Calibration trimmer included
★ LCD Display allows you to read the value directly from the screen

★ Portable and hand-held size
★ Color: Red
★ Range: 0.1pH - 14pH
★ Resolution: 0.1pH
★ Powered by: 4 x 1.5v button battery (LR44)

★ Hand-held pH Meter x 1
★ Screw Driver x 1
★ Manual x 1 ★ Plastic Case x 1

 

[Innovator]

I would calibrate monthly to be on the safe side. Calibration takes 5mins.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

...There are digital ph monitors for as little as 9.99 but not sure about accuracy at that price. They are not the Pinpoint ones I see advertised in the fish magazines.

Seeing that pH meters from reputable manufacturers (Hanna, Milwaukee, Pinpoint, etc) start at $30 or so and go up from there, I'd really question the accuracy of a $10 no name unit.

Test kits are pretty cheap, accurate and don't need batteries or calibration.

[Edit: If you go electronic, just keep in mind that it can fail too - and probably in more ways than good ol' manual test kits. Putting too much trust in your electronics can lead to big problems. Just saw a post recently on another board from a person who was trying to figure out why their pH was dropping day after day. They were dosing trying to get it back up. But it was still going down. The short story is a cat chewed into the cable going from the pH probe to the monitor. Moral of story is always question "strange" readings and have the ability to test the old-fashioned way!]

 

[roka64]

I'll go ahead and move this to the General Hardware/Equipment.
Land locked, don't sweat it, we were all new at one time.

 

[Innovator]

Erm, doesn't the previous thread created answer the same questions: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/high-tech-101243.html

 

[melosu58]

Both threads were merged together.Please dont double post your threads in separate forums. This is the appropiate forum for this question. Not getting on you landlocked just trying to keep the forums looking neat. As Scott said we were all newbs at one time so dont sweat it.

 

[land locked]

Thanks for the advice, I just purchased a refractometer. High is not my thing anyway I just wanted to make sure I was not missing out of the greatest thing ever

 

[patryuji]

Seeing that pH meters from reputable manufacturers (Hanna, Milwaukee, Pinpoint, etc) start at $30 or so and go up from there, I'd really question the accuracy of a $10 no name unit.

Test kits are pretty cheap, accurate and don't need batteries or calibration.

[Edit: If you go electronic, just keep in mind that it can fail too - and probably in more ways than good ol' manual test kits. Putting too much trust in your electronics can lead to big problems. Just saw a post recently on another board from a person who was trying to figure out why their pH was dropping day after day. They were dosing trying to get it back up. But it was still going down. The short story is a cat chewed into the cable going from the pH probe to the monitor. Moral of story is always question "strange" readings and have the ability to test the old-fashioned way!]

The failure you describe is not a result of the electronics involved but failure to maintain/check the equipment.

Mechanical methods are not fail safe nor error proof:

For example, someone could use the improper amount of fluids when running their test to get strange results. Someone could fail to clean their test tubes well enough. You could get different droplet sizes from your containers dependant upon pressure applied and/or velocity of ejection of the fluid (with a static nozzle size). Contamination of the sample could occur (whereby such contaminant concentrations in the test tube would be much higher than the concentrations in the aquarium).

You should question "strange" readings regardless of the method employed and always maintain and prepare your test equipment (whether electronic or mechanical/chemical in nature).

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

The failure you describe is not a result of the electronics involved but failure to maintain/check the equipment.

Mechanical methods are not fail safe nor error proof:

For example, someone could use the improper amount of fluids when running their test to get strange results. Someone could fail to clean their test tubes well enough. You could get different droplet sizes from your containers dependant upon pressure applied and/or velocity of ejection of the fluid (with a static nozzle size). Contamination of the sample could occur (whereby such contaminant concentrations in the test tube would be much higher than the concentrations in the aquarium).

You should question "strange" readings regardless of the method employed and always maintain and prepare your test equipment (whether electronic or mechanical/chemical in nature).

Never said manual methods couldn't be buggered up too. I guess my point was that it just seems *most* people (not all!) don't even bat an eye as to what their electronic gizmos tell them. But I don't know of many people that put that same trust in a manual test tube result.

But you're right... no matter what the test method, "strange" results should be double checked.