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Thread: Yet another Conductivity probe calibration thread

  1. #1
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    Yet another Conductivity probe calibration thread

    Hi guys,

    Im brand new to Neptune and Apex. Just installed my first one on my 220G reef yesterday. I read all the online guides and the FAQ and calibrated my conductivity probe accordingly. I first tried using the automatic method but it would never find an acceptable reading in the 53k solution.

    I tried a manual calibration (wash the probe in ro and then lightly dry off) matched the 53k temp to the tanks (79F) and then ran the manual calibration.

    Success (or so I thought) it read 35.7 for about an hour and ever since its been climbing up and up and up and is now at 90. I can confirm the tank is somewhere between 33-35 from multiple other readings.

    So whats gone wrong here? Ive tried lightly tapping the probe to release bubbles, but no change. Cant re-calibrate now as I threw the solution away as advised to only use it once. Bit disappointed that even following the instructions exactly it doesn't seem to calibrate correctly for a $1200 piece of kit (UK price)

    So what next? Shall I order more fluid and just keep re-calibrating until it works?

    Any help would be great - thanks!

  2. #2
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    It can take a week or so for the probe to settle in. If you know for a fact the water is at the correct salinity level (refractometer) then I would allow
    the probe to "soak" in the sump, monitor the reading, then once you see it settle and not vary, then try the re-calibration.

    I let mine sit in the sump for 3 weeks, calibrated it, it's been rock steady.

    Also, I don't use it as an end all for salinity. I use it to track trends.

  3. #3
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    Its now reading 10 - so all over the place. I ll leave it for a few weeks and re-calibrate if it doesn't sort it out. Yeh im not interested that much in it being spot on accurate - just ball park to track trends as I don't water change using Triton - so just want to monitor how salinity decreases or increases so I can plan RO or Salt top up as necessary

  4. #4
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    Another thing to be careful of, try not to run the cord to close to a power cord, especially right against it for any distance. That can give you screwy readings also.

    You can use the graph feature to compare the conductivity graph with other devices to see if there is any correlation between them. This can help trouble shoot
    a problem.

  5. #5
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    A few weeks isn't necessary. Mine stabilized 90% within 24 hours and 100% within 4 days.

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

  6. #6
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    I've noticed some people say it takes a day or two and others say longer.
    I put my probe in the sump and waited a week. In that time it started at about 7 and rose to about 12. At this point I read about bubbles getting trapped on/in the end of the probe.
    I just quickly moved the probe back and forth in the water and found that there was air trapped in the tip.
    Immediately after this the reading jumped to 20. It continued to rise for another couple of days and now appears to be stabilizing.
    It today reads 26.7.
    Note that I have not calibrated the probe. I was waiting for it to stabilize first.
    I'm going to give it another couple of days and if it has stopped rising I will calibrate it.

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