whats up with this stupid hydrometer?!

waterguy1

Large Fish
Aug 2, 2009
103
0
0
#1
I bought a deep six hydrometer for my first reef tank, and so I mixed up some water in a five gallon bucket, about two inches below the edge of the bucket, and put in sea salt for 4 gallons. after letting the hydrometer sit for around 21 hours, It got knocked over, so I set it up again for another 21 hours, but the next day ,realized it had bubbles. I`m not sure if this will mess up the `seasoning of the needle` or whatever. after that, I decided to just try and use it. I added more salt teaspoon by teaspoon, and cheked every time. Still, every time, It stays around 1.014. What do I do!?
 

Dragonet

Medium Fish
Mar 19, 2009
58
0
0
Kingston ON.
#2
Well I know that bubbles do affect the readings of the hydrometer, if bubbles are present on the dial they will give you a false reading which will usually be a higher reading. What you should do is make sure you mix the salt properly and then submerge the hydrometer slowly to make sure no bubbles become trapped, if so shake the hyrometer in the water to release the bubbles. This should give you a good reading.
If not something else it could be is a buildup of salt in the hyrometer so be sure to rinse the hydrometer after each use.
 

waterguy1

Large Fish
Aug 2, 2009
103
0
0
#6
Okay, thanks for the help, guys. my hydrometer started working again, and it`s in the correct zone. today, I just bought some LR, and it looks pretty cool. I`m wondering about the biofilter, though. this is one of those nano cube tanks, and it has the wet/dry filter in the back. idk if it`s working right, though. all of the compartments are filled up, and the bio-balls are floating. another compartment has a little bag of carbon, and the next , some of those cyramic cylinders. I have some filter sponges, but they`re a tight fit, and do they go above or below the opther media? I need some help!