jetajockey
come get me tang police!
TDS doesnt really pose a problem for fish.
Sure it can, and does.
There's no evidence that a high level of TDS can be harmful to fish?I have heard it does but their is simply no evidence.
Here's a snippet from a site on TDS Total Dissolved Solids - TDS - ToxicWaterSolution.com
Some of the individual mineral salts that make up TDS pose a variety of health hazards. The most problematic are Nitrates, Sodium, Sulfates, Barium, Cadmium, Copper, and Fluoride.
Granted, plants will consume the nitrogenous waste, and to some extent some of the other stuff, but evaporation doesn't remove this stuff and it just gets more and more concentrated as time passes.
Here's another snippet, from Total dissolved solids
Source: kernsite.com: The Leading Kern Site Site on the Net
http://www.leo.lehigh.edu/envirosci/watershed/wq/wqbackground/tdsbg.html
PathFinder Science | Stream Monitoring | Creating the Context | Default
The effects of hardness on aquatic life depend on which cations are making the water "hard."
Concentration of total dissolved solids that are too high or too low may limit the growth and may lead to the death of many aquatic organisms.
High concentrations of total dissolved solids may reduce water clarity, which contributes to a decrease in photosynthesis and lead to an increase in water temperature. Many aquatic organisms cannot survive in high temperatures.
It is possible for dissolved ions to affect the pH of the body of water, which in turn may influence the overall health of many aquatic species.
If TDS levels are high, especially due to dissolved salts, many forms of aquatic life are affected. The salts act to dehydrate the skin of animals.
I guess it'd depend on how one would define 'conventionally maintained'.I know this is possible and the fish can do just as well as in a conventionally maintained tank.
or it's a bad idea, so people don't do it.Unfortunately this idea is foriegn to alot of people but it is possible but not meant for most people.
When yall can show me evidence that the fish are harmed by lack a pwcs in a properly setup "self-sustaining" tank then I will abandon the idea. So far no one has submitted the evidence.
Well I just gave you at least 2 links about the issues regarding TDS. There is a reason why this idea isn't popular, and it's not because its 'foreign' or not meant for most. If all you had to do was the low maintenance thing and the net result was the same as it would be for those who do frequent water changes, then it would make sense that more people would be doing the low maintenance thing, since no one likes doing unnecessary work.
And lets forget the average hobbyist for a minute, we could pass him off as someone who was just fed a line of bologna so he does weekly WC's because of paranoia.
Let's look at the fish farms and breeders. These people are in it as their livelihood. What is their maintenance schedule like? Could a fish breeder do the low/no maintenance thing and get the same result as they would compared to their normal maintenance routine? All of the ones I know have some sort of dilution method. Considering that they are one of the major factors that keeps this hobby alive, I would think that they know what they are doing.
A good pdf from American journal of environmental sciences http://thescipub.com/pdf/10.3844/ajessp.2007.1.6
If you need me to dig around for more evidence I will, just let me know.
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