TDS Reading

[Utradeshow]

Hi Guys, I have been battling Algea for months now. I origionally filled the 75gal tank with Tap water back in July, I since got a RO/DI about 3mths ago and have done tons of water changes. Anyway, I took the water to the WaterMan today Tap and R/O water. The tap water read 354 TDS and the water out of the R/O was 54 TDS, which she said wasn't bad. I just can't seem to kick this STUPID Algea!!!!

I have 14x water flo all readings are excellent!! I have plenty of cleanup crew!! I have a good skimmer 70lbs of live rock a phosphate remover bag!!!

I"M GOING CRAZY!!! PLEASE HELP!!

 

[rdefino]

Your TDS out of the RODI should be 1 to 5. I'm having the same problem. My water going in is 250, coming out it's 25. Not sure why. The guy who sold me my setup said it should be 1 to 5 the most. What brand RODI do you have?

 

[Utradeshow]

It's a "Reef System" 5 stage R/O-D/I system from e-bay, the girl that tested the water said from 0-100 was good, she doesn't know much abut the aquarium thing though. She also said it depends on what it starts at going in.. She said going in at 354 and coming out at 54 is pretty darn good.??? How much does this stuff effect algea growth????

 

[steve-s]

She said going in at 354 and coming out at 54 is pretty darn good.??? How much does this stuff effect algea growth????

With just an RO system a TDS of 54 would be good but with the DI it should get below 5. Make sure everything is plumbed correctly and the DI is the last stage. Phosphates and silicates are your main algae contributors and only the DI stage will remove them.

Cheers
Steve

 

[loganj]

Several factors will affect the performance of your RO/DI unit including water temp and pressure. Anyway, here is how the flow should go...sediment>carbon>RO membrane>DI. Make sure you don't have the waste line from the RO going into the DI chamber. If you have low water pressure, you may need to add a booster pump. Boosting the pressure will make the RO membrane more efficient. Failing that, adding a second DI chamber is an option. You should really be getting a TDS of 0 out of the DI. For example, on my unit, and I'm on well water, here are the typical readings: Tap=270-300 RO=12-15 DI=0-1