My specific gravity reader is tipping near the top... i'm wondering why this is? i put in the 10 gallon box of salt in my ten gallon tank. there's a piecce of live rock in there and the sand. that's it. how do I fix this problem so when I add fish in a few weeks I'm good?

Hey DC, i just went threw this too about a week ago. I was told to let the thing sit with salt water in it for a few days. There is oil on the internal parts that have to just wash off and it needs to be primed with the salt. Also there may be very tiny little air bubbles on the arm. If you tap it a little it may drop. Mine is running about 1.030. But at first it was higher. I just left it sit on my counter over night. rinsed it out and tryed again. Its dropped a little each day.

thanks its an in tank one so maybe itll start to drop after a few days!

It might. The one i got is a coralife deep six hydrometer. I assume its suppose to be sat on the counter once its filled. I dunno tho. Maybe im suppose to leave mine in too. This sw stuff is so fun. lOL

Let it sit and break in for a few days them take it and a decent sized water sample to a LFS that has a GLASS hydrometer and see what theirs reads. Plastic ones are notorious for being off a bit but if you just compare your reading and a glass ones reading you can figure out how much yours is off and end up with an accurate reading with just a bit of math.

What ever you do act quickly....A SG higher than 1.025 or below 1.020 can be harmful......I have used the cheap plastic hydrometers successfully for many years when I had SW tanks..........Rinse the hydrometer with distilled water and let it sit with the water for a few minutes then empty it and fill with your meter with tank water....If tiny bubbles continue to stick to the swing arm, tap it......

theres no fish or anything in it, just cycling, so hopefully it's ok.

spend the money, buy a refractometer.

You probably just ended up with a touch too much salt mix in your water considering that the sand & rock take up space normally occupied by water. My 29 gallon had a reading of 1.024 with a 25 gallon salt mix when I started fresh. Just keep in mind that when water evaporates it does not lose its salt. Top offs should be done with fresh water. Otherwise your salt concentration will just continue to rise.

yeah those hydrometers are not very accurate a refractometer is the way to go and 1.030 is too high! keep it between 24-25

For top offs could I use distilled water from the grocery store in gallon jugs?

yes.