Thx for the link! I've been mixing my water for months, and measure replacement water to match the tank. I guess I will just keep doing water changes, and it will eventually go down. It must have been the new fish. I hadn't added fish for 5 months, quarantined the tetras for 30 days, and don't plan to add anything else anytime soon, so I really hope they didn't bring anything bad into the tank. You saying that "something new was introduced" makes sense....and I really hope it's not some bad bacteria invaiding my tank! Guess I'll know soon enough! Thx again
TDS....explain pls
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mrvincent
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'll give you my readings when I recieve my TDS meter, I'll test both tap and tank water.
Pretty sure the tap is 100ppm tds and tank is somehing like 200-300ppm... I dose ferts... Maybe higher...
Pretty sure my reef aquarium is near 2500+ tds... Salt + 1400mg + 450ca + KH...
Pretty sure the tap is 100ppm tds and tank is somehing like 200-300ppm... I dose ferts... Maybe higher...
Pretty sure my reef aquarium is near 2500+ tds... Salt + 1400mg + 450ca + KH...
Wow! I'd probably have a heart attach with a reading that high. My parameters are good, and TDS goes down a little with water changes, but rises again before the next one. I think it must just be the new fish. I'm curious as to your results though. Please do post!
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
Maybe this might assist in understanding TDS. Copied from Wikipedia. Be aware, a micrometre is the same as micron.. as your spring water lady said, I think, they filter through a 1 micron filter, so nothing larger than 1 micron will remain in their water, which may account for the low TDS, but the source water would also affect the TDS. Fish poop doesn't increase TDS.. and adding new fish ought not to make an noticeable increase either, not to the extent you've seen.
Bacteria may add to TDS, if they are small enough. But there are millions of bacteria in every aquarium, all the time. The BB in the filter, are two types. But there are many , many more heterotrophic bacteria, which make up the biofilm in every tank. Unless they are suspended in the water, they won't necessarily add to TDS.
If, for example, you sprayed a home for pest insects, and did not cover the tanks adequately, you'd get a rise in TDS, from the dissolved pesticide that got into the water. Sadly, you'd also have dead fish and dead filters. But those are the types of things that might raise TDS.. chemicals or similar contaminants, not fish food, not fish poop.
Marine water is very different, the salt alone adds substantial TDS, along with the other components of marine salt mix.
Copy of paragraph here:
Total Dissolved Solids (often abbreviated TDS) is a measure of the combined content of all inorganic and organic substances contained in a liquid in molecular, ionized or micro-granular (colloidal sol) suspended form. Generally the operational definition is that the solids must be small enough to survive filtration through a filter with two-micrometer (nominal size, or smaller) pores. Total dissolved solids are normally discussed only for freshwater systems, as salinity comprises some of the ions constituting the definition of TDS. The principal application of TDS is in the study of water quality for streams, rivers and lakes, although TDS is not generally considered a primary pollutant (e.g. it is not deemed to be associated with health effects) it is used as an indication of aesthetic characteristics of drinking water and as an aggregate indicator of the presence of a broad array of chemical contaminants.
Primary sources for TDS in receiving waters are agricultural and residential runoff, leaching of soil contamination and point source water pollution discharge from industrial or sewage treatment plants. The most common chemical constituents are calcium, phosphates, nitrates, sodium, potassium and chloride, which are found in nutrient runoff, general stormwater runoff and runoff from snowy climates where road de-icing salts are applied. The chemicals may be cations, anions, molecules or agglomerations on the order of one thousand or fewer molecules, so long as a soluble micro-granule is formed. More exotic and harmful elements of TDS are pesticides arising from surface runoff. Certain naturally occurring total dissolved solids arise from the weathering and dissolution of rocks and soils. The United States has established a secondary water quality standard of 500 mg/l to provide for palatability of drinking water.
Total dissolved solids are differentiated from total suspended solids (TSS), in that the latter cannot pass through a sieve of two micrometers and yet are indefinitely suspended in solution. The term "settleable solids" refers to material of any size that will not remain suspended or dissolved in a holding tank not subject to motion, and excludes both TDS and TSS.[1] Settleable solids may include larger particulate matter or insoluble molecules.
Edit. I know I still have tons to learn about water chemistry, especially as it relates to fish keeping, but the more you research it, the better you'll understand it. Like the GH and KH.. if you follow the instructions on the test kit accurately, you will get a reading that tells you the KH and GH of the water you tested.
I've noticed the TDS readings in my tanks do get higher before water changes but come down afterward.. when I'm acclimating shrimp, or very sensitive fish like loaches, I test the TDS of their water first, to see how different it may be from the tank they'll live in. Then I drip until the TDS pretty much matches, over a course of hours. Many people now think that it is a big difference in TDS that kills some animals shortly after they are added to a tank, rather than pH shock, which used to be blamed. TDS has much more effect on the animal's physiology, perhaps affecting their ability to osmoregulate themselves. Big changes in pH can shock also, but the current belief among many shrimp keepers is that TDS is the more important parameter to consider when acclimating new shrimp. I think it's important for fish too, especially the fine scaled or 'scaleless' fishes, which include the catfishes.
Bacteria may add to TDS, if they are small enough. But there are millions of bacteria in every aquarium, all the time. The BB in the filter, are two types. But there are many , many more heterotrophic bacteria, which make up the biofilm in every tank. Unless they are suspended in the water, they won't necessarily add to TDS.
If, for example, you sprayed a home for pest insects, and did not cover the tanks adequately, you'd get a rise in TDS, from the dissolved pesticide that got into the water. Sadly, you'd also have dead fish and dead filters. But those are the types of things that might raise TDS.. chemicals or similar contaminants, not fish food, not fish poop.
Marine water is very different, the salt alone adds substantial TDS, along with the other components of marine salt mix.
Copy of paragraph here:
Total Dissolved Solids (often abbreviated TDS) is a measure of the combined content of all inorganic and organic substances contained in a liquid in molecular, ionized or micro-granular (colloidal sol) suspended form. Generally the operational definition is that the solids must be small enough to survive filtration through a filter with two-micrometer (nominal size, or smaller) pores. Total dissolved solids are normally discussed only for freshwater systems, as salinity comprises some of the ions constituting the definition of TDS. The principal application of TDS is in the study of water quality for streams, rivers and lakes, although TDS is not generally considered a primary pollutant (e.g. it is not deemed to be associated with health effects) it is used as an indication of aesthetic characteristics of drinking water and as an aggregate indicator of the presence of a broad array of chemical contaminants.
Primary sources for TDS in receiving waters are agricultural and residential runoff, leaching of soil contamination and point source water pollution discharge from industrial or sewage treatment plants. The most common chemical constituents are calcium, phosphates, nitrates, sodium, potassium and chloride, which are found in nutrient runoff, general stormwater runoff and runoff from snowy climates where road de-icing salts are applied. The chemicals may be cations, anions, molecules or agglomerations on the order of one thousand or fewer molecules, so long as a soluble micro-granule is formed. More exotic and harmful elements of TDS are pesticides arising from surface runoff. Certain naturally occurring total dissolved solids arise from the weathering and dissolution of rocks and soils. The United States has established a secondary water quality standard of 500 mg/l to provide for palatability of drinking water.
Total dissolved solids are differentiated from total suspended solids (TSS), in that the latter cannot pass through a sieve of two micrometers and yet are indefinitely suspended in solution. The term "settleable solids" refers to material of any size that will not remain suspended or dissolved in a holding tank not subject to motion, and excludes both TDS and TSS.[1] Settleable solids may include larger particulate matter or insoluble molecules.
Edit. I know I still have tons to learn about water chemistry, especially as it relates to fish keeping, but the more you research it, the better you'll understand it. Like the GH and KH.. if you follow the instructions on the test kit accurately, you will get a reading that tells you the KH and GH of the water you tested.
I've noticed the TDS readings in my tanks do get higher before water changes but come down afterward.. when I'm acclimating shrimp, or very sensitive fish like loaches, I test the TDS of their water first, to see how different it may be from the tank they'll live in. Then I drip until the TDS pretty much matches, over a course of hours. Many people now think that it is a big difference in TDS that kills some animals shortly after they are added to a tank, rather than pH shock, which used to be blamed. TDS has much more effect on the animal's physiology, perhaps affecting their ability to osmoregulate themselves. Big changes in pH can shock also, but the current belief among many shrimp keepers is that TDS is the more important parameter to consider when acclimating new shrimp. I think it's important for fish too, especially the fine scaled or 'scaleless' fishes, which include the catfishes.
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