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Apex Salinity probe, [language filter].


GreenJeans

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This thing is driving me crazy!  Maybe I calibrated it with bubbles in there, and now they're gone?  I have no idea...

 

I've moved it to a high flow/no bubbles section of my sump, it's sitting at a 45* angle, and the holes on the side are facing upward.

 

I gave it a little push forward and backward this morning to hopefully flush any bubbles from inside, and the salinity reading jumped up to like 46.  It drifted down to 43 over the day and then DROPPED to 37.6 a little after noon today while I was away - no changes to the water or flow.  I then gave it another little push forward and backward after getting home because maybe there's bubbles still? It jumped to 58.  wow dude, [language filter].

 

I have an optical refractometer, but it's a cheapo and feel like I have to recalibrate it before each use...testing with this immediately after calibration is showing ~36.5. A little high but not a big deal...certainly not 58.

 

help! How do I get any confidence in this thing?  Do I need to manually calibrate the probe once it's stabilized? Is mine a lemon?

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Have heard others complain about the lack of stability in their salinity/conductance readings off these but not sure of the underlying reasons.  I had a controller/probe combo from another company that was rock solid for a couple of years before going biphasic on me - bouncing between the same degree of over and under reading randomly but repeatably.  Never did figure that out ether.  Bottom line, I would not trust these enough to control off of them based on the reports I have heard.  John may have had some better luck and insight into the performance specifically with the Apex - I know it has at least been stable enough for him to see some trending data (e.g. slow drift in salinity due to some clogged water change piping).  Hopefully he will chime in.

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I keep my salinity probe mounted upside down in my sump so any bubbles easily float up and out of the tube.  Another trick I use is to calibrate my probe with the solution inside a probe storage bottle, again tipping it upside down so any bubbles float out of the probe.  https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-ph-orp-probe-tip-soaker-bottle.html

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If you don't have a probe storage bottle, you can achieve the same result by using a plastic bag and a rubber band during calibration.

My probe has been rock-solid since inverting it.

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First you have to isolate the wires from as many others as possible. Then, I'd recommend putting it into a corner away from your baffle. Mine sits in a lower flow area.  Then,  get your tank salinity to 1.036 or 35.  Afterward, calibrate your probe in the tank in its permanent spot. If this dont work, try a different spot and recalibrate. 

 

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I ordered a bunch more calibration packets, I'll try a recallibration with a ziploc and a rubber band, that's a great idea.

 

I'll re-route the wires for the probe to be separate from the other equipment (for 90% of the wire run), and I'll mount it inverted in the sump.  If the reading is still off, I'll then calibrate it to my tank water after getting a reading with a milwaukee digital meter...crossing my fingers!

Seems like seeing this constant salinity reading is only a nice-to-have...could alert you if your ATO gets stuck on I guess?  There's other monitoring for that situation though...

Edited by GreenJeans
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