TDS off the charts

[Herefishie]

As a relative newbie, I've been watching YouTube videos for a couple of months pretty much nonstop. I ordered a TDS meter and I was shocked at how high my tanks are. I have two fish tanks and one shrimp tank. They are all hovering around 850 (tap water). I have never lost a fish since I started keeping them in September 2022. Still, I have to assume they are stressed from these elevated numbers. I'm going to start doing some 20% water changes with RO water in hopes of bringing it down.  I guess ignorance was bliss? I feel bad that they might be suffering and I didn't even know it. I have an API kit and I check all of my parameters but the TDS was one I never even thought of until YouTube mentioned it. I'm sorry fish, mystery snail and shrimp! 😢

[Guppysnail]

Please watch this. Cory explains tds and its non-helpfulness very well. I would put the tds meter in a drawer same place mine lives unused as a lifetime hobbyist. They are not very useful unless you need the electrical conductivity if your water. 
When I first heard tds harms critters I bought a meter also and panicked. My tap is 375-450 out of the spigot. 

A few friends explained the tds reality to me just the way Cory explained in this video. I’ve never used a tds meter again. I have fish of all types breeding successfully and tons of fry in all my tanks. I breed many snail types and have massive overpopulation of shrimp as well. 
Hope this sets your mind at ease. 
Just want to add fluctuation in ph by adding ro water is much more stressful to critters. 
 

 

[Herefishie]

Oh my gosh. Thank you!!

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/26/2023 at 4:10 PM, Herefishie said:

They are all hovering around 850 (tap water). I have never lost a fish since I started keeping them in September 2022. Still, I have to assume they are stressed from these elevated numbers.

Alright so before more stress is introduced let's check on a few things.

First, here is the video mentioned above regarding TDS. (My apologies for the double post. I'm on mobile and it'll bug out if I remove it).

Secondly, here is another that is just as relevant.

Third, let's review the parameters that we as hobbyist generally focus on for some species (a lot of them may not care).

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/ph-gh-kh

Alright.... Big exhale.

First, I wonder how often you change water, how much. How different are the tanks to your tap water? What is your GH, KH, PH?

Second, what species are involved and what do they need or prefer?

Third, when we say TDS, is it calibrated, and is that something to be concerned about.

Shrimp for example could have a massive molt party if you all of a sudden start to dramatically change water. Something like dripping water into the tank might be the way to handle that water change for that tank in particular just to slowly raise levels over a few hours instead of suddenly.

Your TDS could be telling.you that you have hard water. It could also be telling you that there are just a lot of organics in the water. There's a lot to unpack. Basically, you've identified a concern and the goal is to research it now! That's the fun part. ,

On 4/26/2023 at 4:10 PM, Herefishie said:

I'm going to start doing some 20% water changes with RO water in hopes of bringing it down.  I guess ignorance was bliss? I feel bad that they might be suffering and I didn't even know it. I have an API kit and I check all of my parameters but the TDS was one I never even thought of until YouTube mentioned it. I'm sorry fish, mystery snail and shrimp! 😢

Doing top offs with RO should help. How you change water moving forward would depend on the above.

[Herefishie]

Thank you for your response. I do a 20% water change every week on all three tanks. All of the parameters that I check with my API kit fall into the ranges that are OK per my research. I have basic Neon tetras, Danios, Black Skirt Tetras, Rainbow Fish & a small Neocaridina shrimp tank (which has been producing babies, BTW). Since I haven't lost any livestock, I'm going to assume I am overreacting, lol. I appreciate you long-term fish keepers helping in my stress over this issue. 😀

Edited April 26, 2023 by Herefishie

[Guppysnail]

@Herefishie That sounds like a lovely tank. I hope you share photos. Congratulations on your shrimp breeding success. They are so busy and fun to watch. 
I overreact when I hear things I was previously unaware of also. You are definitely not alone there 🤗

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/26/2023 at 5:06 PM, Pepere said:

The API master test kit does not include tests to determine Gneral Hardnes GH, or Carbonate Hardnes KH.

YEP! I would highly recommend having these on hand given that you are using a TDS meter and keep shrimp. It's a very affordable kit.  Mine arrives tomorrow!

[Biotope Biologist]

Yeah TDS meters seem to be a new-er thing to the hobby. I wonder where it originated…

 

We use TDS meters in conjunction with a suite of other meters and water quality tests. TDS meters alone are useless. Even in the research I’ve done with them It’s mostly just to know the background “noise” of the water environment… I do believe they are of more use to the botanical folks though with their hydroponics