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Unfortunately, it is a myth that these are accurate, they are not. Even if apps for temp is considered or you are using the correct temp (mine is the same temp, I clean them meticously, I use a 500 ml cylinder, and I am reading +1.3 PSU more than FM ICP).

However, I did make a judgement call recently with a missing purple firefish and declared him dead, since I have not seen him for many weeks. So it was logged as deceased in Aquarimate (my reefing app). But I believe I can reactivate him if he despite all odds reappears again.

That's a great point (I forgot to mention). Another big benefit of water changes are the continous removal of unwanted organics, which we now can test for (MS Organo, Oceamo) to at least some extent (drugs in the water etc). For that reason alone, i am surprised why moonshiners insist that no...

this is the part I question though. It does not bring your parameters towards the baseline in many cases - directionally yes, but often does not offset consumption, i.e., for traces, so it is not good enough unless you have limited consumption aka growth, then it might work. Same as for export...

Detritus, mostly. There is quite a lot in the sump despite filter floss and reef diaper use (only for noise though, not for purpose).

I have started this thread a while ago. Otherwise, I simplify everything I am typically doing as much as possible, and create a very nice power point with lots of pictures for the tank sitter (14 year old). Thread 'Your no. 1 (overlooked) thing to plan for when going on extended vacation'...

Erin has an extreme position to water changes, and he has been successful with this for a long time (although he is not testing his water :)…). Also, keep in mind he is using natural sea water, which is in many ways quite different than the artificial saltwater we are using. IMO, it is not...

Understand. I learned that the tap water in the Dominican Republic is significantly better than in San Jose, CA.

Caution, this could be a rabbit hole conversation. OK, so I bought this highly recommended refractometer to FINALLY have my salinity readings matching ICP results, i.e., FM ICP results. After being correctly reminded to calibrate the refractometer out of the box, I started measuring salinity...

Thank you. And yes, its ok for it to need calibration out of the box, my expectations were a bit too high I guess. But I still struggle with the consistency of the readings, but will start a different thread for experience sharing.

Same. And you know what, I think the Milwaukee is pretty accurate after all, and probably provides the best balance of convenience and accuracy amongst all of them. I re-read the ATC (auto temp compensation) instructions for the Milwaukee again, since I am having issues with the Veegee despite...

This is very nice of you to offer. I wish I had the space, I feel there might come a time when this would be super useful to have.

Well done @tribbitt!

I wonder if this setup is underpowered from what you need to filter out. I would look for a standard setup e.g., here airwaterice.com Troubleshooting will be easier with these, and might be less expensive since you do not need to rely on aquaticlife products.

A well put together nano tank. Very nice arranged rockwork, and not too many rocks which some folks make the mistake of doing. Well done.

Latest update [29 March 2026] Yellow tang is gaining quite a bit more weight (visually), which was one of my biggest concerns for a while. He/she voraciously eats the dandelions (and seaweed), and seaweed pellets were ultimately the reason for her positive turnaround. He/she does not seem to...

The nano tanks gets similar general attention as the larger tank but fewer ICP. Unfortunately, I am at a point where things got still out of control as I do not have space to move corals anymore, and we did not have a swap for a while. Need to work on a solution now - 2 folks asked for the...

Mea culpa - It looks like it will need to be calibrated with distilled water though, but I did buy 35 PSU solution too.

You are right, complaining and not following the manual is not right. To my defense :), I did not expect it to match the ICP out of the box, but the delta seemed far greater than I expected. As you say, this could have been through transport. Calibrated it now, and it showed less than 0 with...

PLEASE IGNORE THIS POST AS IT WAS USER ERROR Another device that sucks in reading salinity - at least out of the box. ICP is 36.8 PSU vs slightly above 35 PSU I have seen, the worst deviation so far from any device I have ever owned. However, I have not calibrated it - which I should have -...