How to read a refractometer | BRStv How-To

[@Eis_Bear]

It's like you are talking with capslock on.

[@devinmadren1819]

All the brs dudes do lol

[@theplumber7655]

And I thought it was me. STOP SHOUTING, ALL OF YOU, STOOOPPPP SHOUTING. Please!

[@scotty2salty327]

Turn down your volume! Lol jk

[@theunwittingj9525]

This made me laugh out loud

[@falim2007]

Loooooool

[@TheFugsTV]

Watching a Randy BRS video is like cranking your amp up to 11. He brings so much enthusiasm!

[@gewglesux]

I dont know what they feed these guys, but to tell you the truth it's refreshing. I like to see enthusiasm.

[@TheFugsTV]

Lucky man! I'd be the same!

[@stuartlimbrick4187]

Top points for clarity and not wasting time in getting to the point ! Covers everything too , so thanks a heap !

[@brookeryan4612]

I love this guy. its like Billy Mayes for aquariums

[@BRStv]

Haha

[@scotty2salty327]

Thank you sir, now I know how to use my refractometer.

[@tago8039]

Excellent instructional video - just got thru watching a previous "Refractometer for begginners" video and it can't compare to this one. Thanks for your help.

[@kevinstroble9207]

Love the video, always informative.

[@roguesnail5713]

Great video! so I should stop licking it and wiping it on my leg ...lol.

[@MrShishi]

I bought this Refractometer from BRS and find it very easy to use, This video was very useful as I never thought to get a cup of RODI water to rinse.

[@dingodyno9016]

Watching this video for my job which is testing water for salt tanks in a tropical fish warehouse

[@klaus7602]

Well explained!!

[@frankcava8073]

I absolutely love these How To videos. The best hint I can give is go with that Digital Refractometer. The other ones, even nice ones, are just too hard to use.

[@wolfgirlhoro]

Thanks, helped alot

[@beej1254]

Oh, this was before you stopped screaming at us. Lol. Thanks for the tip though!

[@BRStv]

😆

[@jhonatanperez4118]

Great video dude I got All the information i need it thatsz

[@Coralust]

nice video, always good to hear solid information

[@beej1254]

HEY MAN THANKS FOR THE VIDEO!

[@beej1254]

BulkReefSupplyCom NO PROBLEM!

[@aaronstestlab]

Didn't this dude use to sell Shamwow's

[@null.ru.1337]

He's not yelling he simply speaking in a tone so that everybody can hear him. ;)

[@apdroidgeek1737]

Are you gonna review the high precision hydrometer..? I like that one no calibration, and other stuff its simple

[@signalcraft]

Doctor Rockso teaches specific gravity!

[@Botzz28]

for some reason my reading are always off. i got my refractometer from you guys and the reading are so inconsistent ..how long does your calibration solution last ?

[@gewglesux]

Best $60 i ever spent!! Kinda dig that digital model tho... Thank you!

[@gewglesux]

I might have to try one of those Digi models.. Thanks..

[@josephfriedrich9792]

Hey BRS, quick question about refractometer hours. I noticed my ATC refractometer has a measurement of 25° C, opposed to your 20 degrees Celsius. Also I just realized the cap of my solution didn't seal it airtight. Is it possible to zero out with distilled water not R ODI for the time being?

[@jaredc5789]

I float a bottle of rodi water in my sump so that I know it's the same temperature as my tank and I use it to set my refractometer to 1.000 it works pretty well and gives me consistent readings 😊

[@coralinealgae]

It's important to remind people how much temperature can affect readings on a refractometer. If it's winter and really cold in a house the readings can be thrown off if the tool is cold.

[@stephenbragg943]

How much can it be thrown off?

[@natebulger7463]

An idea for a how-to video: how-to change out/replace the media on a brs carbon and gfo reactor. There isn't a lot covering this and can sometimes a difficult task, so I think it would benefit the reefing community if a video like this was made.

[@tsurro8086]

I think temperature is the biggest problem, if refragometer is cold or if water isn't at 78-80, that can change ur reading

[@jawkneebag]

but you need to calibrate at 20 degrees celsius for ATC to work

[@stephenbragg943]

How much can temperature throw off the reading?

[@SSS-mp8th]

The one minute wait time is key, I didn't realize this until I bought your test solution and read the instructions.

[@Codym808]

For the past year I've trusted the salinity my Milwaukee digital refractometer has told me but last week I tried testing it with pinpoints calibration fluid which gave me a reading of 32 and 33 ppt. Any thoughts on this?

[@AMILLER415]

Can you test to see "on average" how far off are refractometer readings when using RODI water to calibrate VS. Calibration Fluid?.. Would be interesting to know, using a more accurate device as a control like the Milwaukee Digital Tester. Just wondering how much discrepancy I may be dealing with as I use RODI to calibrate my refractometer and have wondered how far offI might possibly be. Thanks and great episode!

[@UnfilteredJustice]

Landon Gellert If you calibrate with rodi, like Randy said, it'll read zero. You'll only notice a difference if it falsely reads above zero. But what if calibration is off the other way, lower than zero? You won't be able to tell with the regular refractometer. That's why a calibration solution is important, because you can see if it's off above OR below what it's supposed to be, if I'm understanding what you're asking about correctly. Personally, I use the digital Milwaukee unit and it's great. You just put RO/DI on it and hit the button to zero it out. That's its calibration and the unit works awesome. It also displays in Fahrenheit or Celcius as well as displaying results in SG, ppt, or psu with auto temp calibration.

[@patricktucci2818]

You can do the test yourself, although this information is not meaningful. First, calibrate the refractometer with purified freshwater. The refractometer should read 0 ppt after doing so. Then, use your calibration fluid and measure the salinity. Take this number and divide it by 35ppt, subtract 1, then multiply by 100. Since the calibration fluid is known to be 35ppt, this will give you how far off your refractometer is as a percentage. For example, let's say that your refractometer read the calibration standard to be 33ppt after calibrating with RO/DI. ((33ppt / 35ppt) - 1) * 100 = -5.71%. This means your refractometer reads 5.71% low when calibrating with freshwater. Let's do another example.. let's assume that your refractometer is reading high, and reads the calibration solution as 38ppt. ((38ppt / 35ppt) - 1) * 100 = 8.57%. This would mean that your refractometer is reading 8.57% higher than it should when calibrated with RO/DI water. If your refractometer reads a salinity standard as 35ppt even after calibrating with freshwater, congratulations, you have a perfect refractometer. Don't rely on this to stay this way though. With age, the refractometer may become less accurate and freshwater calibration may no longer produce accurate results. This is why I don't think this information is very valuable. It just shows how "wrong" your refractometer is when calibrated at an extreme (0ppt salinity). It doesn't really matter how far off your refractometer is when calibrating at an extreme.. the internal calibration of the refractometer may even change over time, meaning it may get more "wrong" as time goes along. The only number that matters is 35ppt. If you calibrate to 35ppt, you will know it is accurate where you need it to be, 35ppt.

[@joshscholtz4692]

Patrick Tucci great info... but if you know your refractometer is like 5% out how do you correct it?

[@patricktucci2818]

I'm not sure if there's a way to "correct" the refractometer in the way you describe. The refractometer isn't necessarily wrong if it's 5% off @ 35ppt when calibrated with freshwater. This just means the device isn't accurate across its entire range of measurement. Most refractometers in the hobby are cheaply made: it would be unrealistic to expect that it would read perfectly across its entire range of measurement, especially when you calibrate it at the very edge of its measurement range (0ppt). That's why I said in my previous post that knowing your refractometer is 5% off @ 35ppt is not very useful. For one thing, the refractometer is only 5% off at 35ppt if you follow the steps I described. If you make a custom salinity solution and test it at different salinities, I suspect you'll find that it may be more or less than 5% off. Additionally, as time goes on, your refractometer's internal calibration may shift as the lens wears and the device ages, which means that it won't always be 5% "off" @ 35ppt. All of this, however, is of little consequence: refractometers are typically very accurate and reliable. All you need to do is calibrate with a 35ppt salinity standard. If you calibrate at 35ppt salinity and it reads 35ppt salinity correctly, then it's not "off" or "wrong" at all. Here's some food for thought from Randy Holmes-Farley regarding the inherent inaccuracies in refractometers: reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/#12

[@theblindreefer8718]

very helpful always reset mine with RO water always have done but I'm buying one of them digital one soon as my eyes are getting worse will be a lot easier for me just stop it says accurate cheers

[@MisuqExcellence]

Nice video ;)

[@theplumber7655]

Great videos though

[@joecarreiro7847]

Can you also use this to test pool water?

[@BRStv]

Honestly, we're not pool experts, so I'm not sure. We use these for our saltwater aquariums.

[@kute940]

Verry good 😊

[@karennation3580]

My refractometer went out of calibration and my salinity is at 1.022. I have 18 new frags. Is it dangerous to up all at once by changing water, or should I do it gradually. Corals are stressed and not opening. How good is hanna checker?

[@BRStv]

I wouldn't consider 1.022 to be dangerously low, so I would bring this up gradually over the course of a week or so. The Hanna salinity checker is one of our favorites!

[@merxion]

Randy awesome job man. I have a question for you. How the heck do you get your Apex Salinity probe to actually match a properly calibrated refractometer.

[@merxion]

ok thanks!

[@JustinHesterReefNation]

We get our tank water dialed in to 35ppt, then calibrate your Neptune probe using that tank water rather than 53 calibration solution. Not ideal, but it works.

[@Botzz28]

whats more acurate the digital hanna salinity or the milwakee ?

[@zhichaogong6978]

He should hold the refractometer at the rubber band area, however, he put his hand on the metal body, which the body heat will make the reading drifted very quick.

[@atfinthehouse8631]

I’ve been using a manual refractometer since I started reefkeeping 2016. Calibrated at onset. Have a second on in office. Both read the same consistently at home and at office, when both periodically tested same time both locations and multiple tanks. But haven’t recalibrated since start. I always check my new fresh saltwater to make sure salinity correct before I use. Here is my question I bought two know calibration standards from reputable companies. Aquatic Experts and Aqua Craft. Neither of these give the same standard reading at 35ppt. So what to do? Are my instruments correct and just fine, or out of calibration and one is correct of the fresh new standards? And if one of the standards is correct, which one? Suggestions? I averaged the two standards and went with a compromise between the two. I then made a batch of fresh saltwater which I brought up exactly to 1.026 and 35ppt. So I now have that also stored in a fresh new green glass stopper bottle, as a third and what should be a fixed 1.026 and 35ppt standard. Is this correct and reasonable?

[@BRStv]

Sounds reasonable. Getting a third standard would be the best way to help determine which of the two is the most accurate. Chances are, if two of the three match, the two that match have the highest chance to be accurate.

[@atfinthehouse8631]

What happens if the third is not the same as the other two standards. I have an old calibration solution, but it’s 3+ years old and I don’t think I should trust that. I wash and clean carefully refractometer every single reading. After first 6 months using it, I never found that it varied off the calibration solution.

[@muhamadsyauqi1090]

I know it is a 2 yrs old video..but if u don't mind, I have this refractometer use in my factory..the sop state that after getting the result, it needs to multiply by 1.9..do u know why? tq

[@BRStv]

If you're using for a saltwater aquarium, there is no need to do any math :)

[@LXXero]

surprised no mention of the redsea one which is supposed to specifically measure seawater - i've noticed that calibrating with RO will give nearly same calibration as 35ppt on that one - however i found it just feels cheap and requires more frequent calibration than my trusty sybon one which i swear weighs twice as much and seems to be a much better tool.

[@Lando6969]

Why are you screaming at me?

[@hebrew80]

calibration testis showing below 1.022. even after adjusting the screw is it a problem

[@anuar6605]

i have red rea refractometer but the 0 for S.G and ppt line are not symmetrical. How do u reckon i calibrate my red sea refractometer? thanks randy

[@wildwelshpete]

Anuar l33t calibrated it to 0 PPT

[@anuar6605]

WILDWELSH PETE Thanks for your reply. but if i calibrate to 0 ppt. the S.G reading will not be 1.026. cheers

[@wildwelshpete]

Anuar l33t I know what you mean as I also have the red sea one It's not symmetrical because 0 PPT is lower than the 1.000 S.G It's nothing you're doing wrong or a fault with the refractometer it's because they are both different scales It's the same on other brands

[@wildwelshpete]

Anuar l33t even if you calibrate to 0 PPT you can still check the S.G. but if you can as advertised in the video use calibration fluid so it's calibrated near where you want to check rather than 0

[@wildwelshpete]

BulkReefSupplyCom I own one, in the instructions they say to calibrate at 0 PPT with RO water I think they have a video on KZbin about it too

[@wildwelshpete]

since calibration fluid isn't available in the UK or Amazon have you ever thought about doing a video comparing different brands, calibrated at 0 and what the results would be with calibration fluid to see how far off they are? It's something I would be curious about

[@Pokingclams]

I bought my calibration solution on amazon. it was the same one used in this video.

[@wildwelshpete]

thehitmanisup I can't find any :-(

[@Pokingclams]

try this www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0053DSWJA/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@wildwelshpete]

thehitmanisup thank you

[@Pokingclams]

no problem

[@stephenbragg943]

How much does temperature affect the readings?

[@BRStv]

These refractometers will automatically compensate for the temperature of the sample.

[@ljcorner7393]

If the blue line above the 1.022. And above the 20 what does it mean

[@JohnSmith-ed1sr]

wow this guy is intense

[@jovanmarkdamoslog5809]

Can this measure the refractive index of tree sap?

[@BRStv]

Honestly, not sure. That's not really our area of expertise.

[@tonydoberman21]

Dude thanks for the awesome video as usual - turn off the caps lock next time. :)

[@tonydoberman21]

BulkReefSupplyCom lol

[@rakesh-ky9dd]

Then how to measure refractive index of liquid can u please tell me

[@Deon0026yickadee]

Can you use distilled water

[@Deon0026yickadee]

BulkReefSupplyCom thanks a lot I wish this stuff came with the solution

[@heklik]

Can i use distilled water ?

[@adamcunningham4295]

What’s RODI water?

[@sujeetshah7037]

Why my refractometer showing inclined line in screen? How can it be solved?

[@MadeInGreatBritain]

Are you related to Barry Scott?

[@andisagala2054]

should this tool be tested at 20°c

[@BRStv]

This particular refractometer has ATC (automatic temperature compensation), so you don't need to adjust the temperature of your sample before testing.

[@sportsbro2220]

I bought mine for $17 on Ebay

[@htc148]

Refract vs hydrometer?

[@brandongordon2546]

Thanks!!!

[@umeshkadam2523]

Great

[@lillyannstanton2009]

Why does mine say to calibrate it with distilled water??? Says nothing about calibration fluid

[@davidgruen7423]

Why did he collect the used deionized water back into the container where it was sucked out? What is the point of rinsing if the washer fluid gets contaminated????

[@ashyslashy5818]

Shamwow

[@AnasAnsari-lo8tq]

What if i run my tank at 1.025

[@georgearias7336]

Since I saw Milwaukee refractometer I can't take my eyes off it. All the rest refractometers turn dull.

[@NimaEUUS]

Where's that one dude that's like a stoner hahaha

[@goodall1bay]

Anyone else have the problem of having to re calibrate the refractometer every time. I have a Red Sea and it seems to become uncalibrated almost every time

[@jacksonsparrow8865]

How accurate are these really? I feel like theres a lot of room for human error

[@madbrit5053]

cant listen to this voice like my wife shouting at me

[@BRStv]

Hopefully we've improved in the 3 years since this video was filmed 🙂

[@theplumber7655]

STOP SHOUTING, ALL OF YOU, STOOOPPPP SHOUTING. Please!

[@BRStv]

Hopefully we've improved a bit since this video was released in 2017 :D

[@Pglarsen]

I WISH THE MICROPHONE WAS CALIBRATED BEFORE USE! (All caps to indicate how speaker sounds)

[@atillaxh]

Randy you are fa-bolus keep it up man :) you are signing star no 2 :D and noo 1 is ofcoursee Ryan :) ,, is Friday there yet ??? is Friday there yet ??? is Friday there yet ??? is Friday there yet ??? is Friday there yet ??? is Friday there yet ??? ??? hmmmmm

[@mr-dpc-5018]

IS IT MY IMAGINATION OR DO YOU ALL SOUND THE SAME, WHAT PART OF USA DO YOU COME FROM...

[@cowboyjoe2005]

OK I get it but why are you yelling at me!!

[@chabbit-t1z]

Can you please do a quick episode where you're screaming as loud as possible? You can't please everyone and I prefer being screamed at

[@jjj14]

The reading of these refractometer must be a joke not to indicate the important 35 for easier reading.

[@brett2595]

Why do they always yell on the BSR tv videos like they are on meth?

[@sweetscience1019]

Too much fucking work I’m returning this garbage

[@sweetscience1019]

BulkReefSupplyCom that’s exactly what I was considering thanks.

[@hmm5131]

Why is he yelling?

[@jamanemaraashollington8760]

Stop shouting

[@Ablelom1990]

Why are you screaming at me

[@BRStv]

Lol! I've definitely calmed down since this one came out a few years ago. ;)

[@ChillingwithMalc]

Why's he yelling.

[@jonpauls]

Why is he talking like this?

[@hassanraees895]

Why are you shouting bro..