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Doing away with the apex salinity probe for now?

L

L/B Block

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Who actually uses the salinity probe who does not make their own water is my question.

I think my is toast after 18 months and to replace it is a sizeable chunk of cash!


PH probe I use for sure but I buy water now so I am not overly concerned about it unless someone puts the wrong water in a water container.

Am I better off just buying some sort of temp calibrated refractometer to check salt weekly instead?
 
Did you clean it?
But Apex salinity has never been reliable at all for me.
Unless you have a small tank, salinity does not move that much anyway, so occasional hand testing is fine.
 
rygh said:
Did you clean it?
But Apex salinity has never been reliable at all for me.
Unless you have a small tank, salinity does not move that much anyway, so occasional hand testing is fine.
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I need to clean it. I am sure all the coralline algae coating it doesn’t help. But in general my understanding is that they last up to 18 months generally. With the recent very large up and down in readings I wonder if it’s just toast.
 
Apex salinity probe is notoriously difficult to get working well/reliably. In the past I chased down all the various suggestions people have had about it without any long term improvement. I have it hooked up but pretty much ignore it now.

I manually test salinity (Milwaukee) in my tank every couple weeks and in my new saltwater when making it up.
 
Surprisingly, I’ve never really had an issue with the salinity probe and I have 4 of them running. Also, I haven’t bought a replacement since I purchased my first Apex 5-6 years ago. Not sure what the secret sauce it, but they have generally worked well for me.
 
My apex salinity probe has been in the last 3 tanks I've set up. This time is the first time that I'm actually getting solid reliable numbers from it. This is also the first time I've taken the time to route all the wires properly so the probe isn't getting any interference.
 
Srt4eric said:
My apex salinity probe has been in the last 3 tanks I've set up. This time is the first time that I'm actually getting solid reliable numbers from it. This is also the first time I've taken the time to route all the wires properly so the probe isn't getting any interference.
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Hey E
what is the calibration and maintenance on your probes?
 
Srt4eric said:
My apex salinity probe has been in the last 3 tanks I've set up. This time is the first time that I'm actually getting solid reliable numbers from it. This is also the first time I've taken the time to route all the wires properly so the probe isn't getting any interference.
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Can you give more detail on what is the proper routing of wires? How far away and from what?
 
Srt4eric said:
My apex salinity probe has been in the last 3 tanks I've set up. This time is the first time that I'm actually getting solid reliable numbers from it. This is also the first time I've taken the time to route all the wires properly so the probe isn't getting any interference.
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Is there less stray voltage in here now as well?
 
JVU said:
Can you give more detail on what is the proper routing of wires? How far away and from what?
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I usually keep the following in mind when setting up my probes.

Important to keep them away from electric cables, e.g., don’t run them right next to or cable tied to any electric cord. Stray voltage can definitely be a problem. I tend not to put them right next to a pump in case of stray voltage or even electrical inference chances. My probe wires are wound up in a loop so not sure keeping them straight or looped up matters. Keeping probes away from skimmers and bubble producing equipment is a must. Place in non-lit places is good to prevent algae buildup. I clean them maybe once very six months.
 
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RandyC said:
I usually keep the following in mind when setting up my probes.

Important to keep them away from electric cables, e.g., don’t run them right next to or cable tied to any electric cord. Stray voltage can definitely be a problem. I tend not to put them right next to a pump in case of stray voltage or even electrical inference chances. My probe wires are wound up in a loop so not sure keeping them straight or looped up matters. Keeping probes away from skimmers and bubble producing equipment is a must. Place in non-lit places is good to prevent algae buildup. I clean them maybe once very six months.
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Oh. Also, I do manual calibration vs automatic and make sure that the value has actually settled for a good amount of time before accepting the calibrated value.

I also clean the probe with RO/DI water before calibrating and flick off most of the water. I don’t dry the probe with a towel or anything.
 
rygh said:
I am guessing they meant UV sterilized after filtering.

But the real problem: I don't think any of those services sell directly to the public.
That was my experience when I poked around with that and buying a giant SW storage tank.
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There’s one and yes they do
 
Kensington Reefer said:
Irradiated?
there is filtration at source during acquisition
micron pleated maybe carbon too
i receive 750 gallons at a time
it is the SAME as all the store that sell NSW
same source 20 years now
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Coral reefer said:
There’s one and yes they do
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Some fella named Bob, right? I think @Kensington Reefer and @Thales both use his service at their homes. I’ve never seen more info given than that. Do you guys have a business name, website link, phone number, etc available to post?
 
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