Still working on my tanks. Just got 2 additional toys to help me keep track of things. Don't like the strips and chemical color tests are kind of messy.
So, I picked up a Ph meter and a TDS Meter (TDS, EC, Temp). My first impression of these are they are very consistent numbers. I measured my 3 tanks and did it a few times and the numbers are rock solid steady. That's a good first sign. It will make spot checking much quicker and less messy.
Note: I have not calibrated the Ph meter with the pre-packaged Ph powder included with the meter (to be added to distilled water). Just basing the readings on factory calibration (assumed done).
But I'm not sure what to make of the differences.
Conditions:
* All three tanks use same tap water (47 gal, 29 gal, 10 gal)
* Tap water is (PH 7.6, TDS was less than 30)
* I have not treated any of the water, with the exception of the 29 gal. On that one, I added a bit of baking soda to raise the KH and Ph.
* The 47 gal tank is overloaded with goldfish. Will reduce population eventually but got them all at once when I bought from friend.
* The 29 gal tank has Platties, Swordtails, Danio and Molly (11 fish)
* The 10 gal has 4 Guppies (1 male, 3 female) and 10 fry (isoloated)
Meter readings:
Tap water sitting for couple days (Ph=7.6, TDS<30)
47 Gal tank: PH=7.1, TDS=600
29 Gal tank: PH=7.8, TDS=140
10 Gal tank: PH=7.7, TDS=240
Don't know if these are reasonable or not. I believe the PH is accurate and what I was expecting. Except for the 7.1, which seems low but maybe the environment lowered the high PH out of the faucet (7.6).
The one thing that I wasn't expecting was 140 for my 29 gal, since I did treat it with some baking soda. But it has the lowest TDS.
Comments?
So, I picked up a Ph meter and a TDS Meter (TDS, EC, Temp). My first impression of these are they are very consistent numbers. I measured my 3 tanks and did it a few times and the numbers are rock solid steady. That's a good first sign. It will make spot checking much quicker and less messy.
Note: I have not calibrated the Ph meter with the pre-packaged Ph powder included with the meter (to be added to distilled water). Just basing the readings on factory calibration (assumed done).
But I'm not sure what to make of the differences.
Conditions:
* All three tanks use same tap water (47 gal, 29 gal, 10 gal)
* Tap water is (PH 7.6, TDS was less than 30)
* I have not treated any of the water, with the exception of the 29 gal. On that one, I added a bit of baking soda to raise the KH and Ph.
* The 47 gal tank is overloaded with goldfish. Will reduce population eventually but got them all at once when I bought from friend.
* The 29 gal tank has Platties, Swordtails, Danio and Molly (11 fish)
* The 10 gal has 4 Guppies (1 male, 3 female) and 10 fry (isoloated)
Meter readings:
Tap water sitting for couple days (Ph=7.6, TDS<30)
47 Gal tank: PH=7.1, TDS=600
29 Gal tank: PH=7.8, TDS=140
10 Gal tank: PH=7.7, TDS=240
Don't know if these are reasonable or not. I believe the PH is accurate and what I was expecting. Except for the 7.1, which seems low but maybe the environment lowered the high PH out of the faucet (7.6).
The one thing that I wasn't expecting was 140 for my 29 gal, since I did treat it with some baking soda. But it has the lowest TDS.
Comments?