Ideal tds range

[JoeQ]

In a planted community tank, what is my ideal tds range?

[darkG]

TDS (or rather the conductivity which is what's measured) can be interesting, especially as a nifty way to detect a change to tap water or tank chemistry. It is not extremely useful as an isolated measure - in my opinion. It is not clear what it means. 

(It's a little bit like asking how many items will fit in a suitcase; you'd want to know how large and soft they are. And the size of the bag.)

[JoeQ]

Aren't TDS and EC 2 different messurements? 

[modified lung]

On 2/21/2022 at 6:01 AM, JoeQ said:

Aren't TDS and EC 2 different messurements? 

They are two different things but TDS meters are actually EC meters with a multiplication factor applied (between 0.6 and 0.8 if I remember right). That's because there's no easy way to directly measure TDS. The multiplication factor varies because it's not universal when different types of dissolved solids are measured.

The right multiplication factor depends on what's in your water exactly, but you'd have to know what's in your water to know what factor to apply. 

The better TDS meters let you change the multiplication factor. Cheap TDS meters might not let you change the factor and two different cheap meters might apply two different factors which will give two different readings.

So to find the true TDS with a meter you have to know exactly what you're putting in your water and find the right factor. Or use lots of expensive equipment to find out what's already in the water, then find the right factor.

You can still use TDS meters to measure your starting water and compare that to later readings. Then you're not measuring true TDS, you're instead measuring the relative increase of "stuff" in the water which can be useful when adding nutrients or knowing when to water change.

But for this it's easier to use a straight EC meter because if you have to get a new meter, you don't have to worry about matching the multiplication factor to your old meter to keep your readings consistent.

[JoeQ]

I basically trying to see if me adding more stuff to my water (fertilizer and food) correlates to my pesky water silk problem and at what point does occur. I changed my ferts to every 3rd day (a competitors brand I wont mention) , plus 1 squirt of easy iron once a week. So far no water silk and my TDS is about 230 as of now. Im considering triggering it next week just to see if theres a correlation. 

As for the Iron I have Mexican Pottery clay in my substrate as my main Iron source to keep it out of the water column. 

[modified lung]

@JoeQ Yeah, that's exactly what you should be doing. Develop your own numbers based on your water and habits.

To kind of answer your original question, the general recommendation for freshwater fish is below 1000 ppm TDS. Above 2000 ppm has been found to kill some species. Above 500 ppm can mess with reproduction. Those are the safe low numbers because it depends on what's actually in your TDS.

I don't know much about plants though.

[Mmiller2001]

I keep my tanks at 145 TDS and my source water is 85 TDS. That's a 4.5 GH @ 3:1 Ca:Mg. I'm sot sure if there's a set Ideal range. I've read others going lower.

[JoeQ]

My tap water is 65 (about) and a 35~40 percent water change got me down to 195... I also lied about my water silk, I reduced the surface agitation a week or two ago, and found it by my output, hidden by some water sprite today..... Now im wondering if its some kind of spore which attached itself to plants as it flowed through the water column? Uggggg, my curiosity is almost convinving me to go buy a microscopic and get a positive ID that way. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by JoeQ
Cleaity

[Jennifer V]

On 2/21/2022 at 3:03 PM, JoeQ said:

 Uggggg, my curiosity is almost convinving me to go buy a microscopic and get a positive ID that way. 

You should! And then report back. 😊

[modified lung]

@JoeQ I've been having fun looking at daphnia and other stuff I find under the microscope at work ...just don't tell my boss what I've been doing on company time.

[Torrey]

I recently acquired a TDS meter, decided to play with it....

Out of my tap is 288+ ppm

After a double filtration I have 000 ppm....

My tanks are all over the place. Lowest is TDS of 195 ppm... 🤷‍♂️

[JoeQ]

This is probably a cheap piece of junk made in china but for 14 bucks hopefully it'll at least get entertainment value! Here's to impulse purchases! 🤣

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LAX52IQ?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

[Torrey]

On 2/21/2022 at 9:29 PM, modified lung said:

@JoeQ I've been having fun looking at daphnia and other stuff I find under the microscope at work ...just don't tell my boss what I've been doing on company time.

My stepmom was the boss, and did the same thing, lol.

Anytime I traveled, while most relatives ask for a post card, or a ceramic spoon... maybe jewelry if affordable... my stepmom asked for water samples. One of my siblings always travels peak tourist season... I always travel when I am least likely to have to share beach space🤣🤣🤣 which was a huge factor behind learning different languages. 

So my stepmom would send us with the biohazard bottles and packaging to mail samples back to her lab. Learned all kinds of things about water, and developed a very healthy respect for water treatment facilities as being an undervalued resource. 

Too bad my stepmom was forced into retirement in 2017, I think you would have enjoyed working with her @modified lung