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Rtam3185

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I finally got a tds meter and the reading read : 78 Tap and 4PPM after it went through my Ro/Di filter. 5 Seems preety high for going through a filter... I might try to replace the Di Resin but as for now how does 4 PPM sound? Currently FOWLR but eventually I want to switch over to reef.


Also, the 4PPM reading was from a stored gallon of Ro/Di water. My tank reads ERR, does that mean it is 0?
 

Lolli631

Experienced Reefer
Location
Suffolk
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I finally got a tds meter and the reading read : 78 Tap and 4PPM after it went through my Ro/Di filter. 5 Seems preety high for going through a filter... I might try to replace the Di Resin but as for now how does 4 PPM sound? Currently FOWLR but eventually I want to switch over to reef.


Also, the 4PPM reading was from a stored gallon of Ro/Di water. My tank reads ERR, does that mean it is 0?

How old are the filters and DI? Try taking a fresh sample right from the Ro/Di. You may have had some residual stuff in the storage container. Your tank water is going to show up high, you are reading 'Total Dissolved Solids'...ie salt, Ca, Mg etc
 

qy7400

Member
Location
Long Island
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The tanks will read off the charts thats why you see ERR, it's over 1000. TDS of 4 is not bad but thats when I usually plan on changing the DI resin. Like mentioned above the storage tank could have 'collected' dust and other items that raised the TDS. I'd also test the TDS before the DI resin, will let you know how well the filters are doing, higher numbers (10+) indicate time to think about replacing the filters.
 

jhale

ReefsMagazine!
Location
G.V NYC
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Okay I tested fresh ro/di water right after it came out, reading was o PPM. *phew

I threw out the old gallon of ro/di water which was about 1 week old. It also might have been the container. I was using an old drinking water gallon container.

0 is the only acceptable reading. anything more and your just putting garbage into your tank. For a tank with just fish it's not such a big deal, but if you want to keep the water clean enough for coral then better to keep it clean from the beginning.
 
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On the Internet
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From our FAQ's:

In this hobby we measure Total Dissolved Solids in part per million, or "ppm." We often try to measure TDS down near 0 ppm. Because this TDS level is so low, we have to keep in mind the sensitivity of the meter used to measure it, and the technique used to measure the tds.

Nearly any contamination in the sample container will cause an erroneous TDS measurement. Some plastic containers are difficult to get absolutely clean, and although they appear clean, they are not. An easy standard approach is to use a drinking glass as a sample container - use one right out of the dishwasher. Obviously, keep your fingers away from the inside surface of the glass.

Calibrate your meter. Use a calibration fluid generally in the range of the tds measurements you'll be taking. Some meters require a specific tds calibration fluid (e.g., 800 ppm), regardless of the tds levels in your samples.

Be careful with how you take your samples. Let's say you intend to measure the TDS in your 1) DI water, 2) RO water, and 3) tap water. Start with the cleanest of the three - the DI water. After letting the system run for a sufficient period of time that you are sure the tds levels have stabilized (to assure you are not measuring tds creep water), rinse the sample container two or three times with the water you intend to sample, and then fill the sample container with sufficient DI water to take a reading.

Now on to the RO water. The water we are interested in here is the permeate – i.e., the water that has been purified by the RO membrane – not the waste water. Make sure you understand which is which before taking the sample. Most RODI systems other than Buckeye Systems are not plumbed to facilitate taking a sample of the permeate. If that is the case, you’ll need to unhook some tubing – likely where the tubing attaches to the “in” port on the DI housing in order to take this sample. This is inconvenient for many people, and we find that people never do it. They report only the tap water TDS and the DI water TDS. Contact Buckeye if you need guidance regarding installing a couple of extra fittings and tubing to facilitate measuring the TDS of the RO water (permeate). When you take the sample, follow the same procedure described above – use a clean sample container, assure you are not measuring TDS creep water, rinse with the permeate several times before taking the sample, and use a calibrated meter.

Use the same approach to collect and measure your tap water as well.

Russ



 
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Rating - 97.4%
74   2   0
From our FAQ's:

In this hobby we measure Total Dissolved Solids in part per million, or "ppm." We often try to measure TDS down near 0 ppm. Because this TDS level is so low, we have to keep in mind the sensitivity of the meter used to measure it, and the technique used to measure the tds.

Nearly any contamination in the sample container will cause an erroneous TDS measurement. Some plastic containers are difficult to get absolutely clean, and although they appear clean, they are not. An easy standard approach is to use a drinking glass as a sample container - use one right out of the dishwasher. Obviously, keep your fingers away from the inside surface of the glass.

Calibrate your meter. Use a calibration fluid generally in the range of the tds measurements you'll be taking. Some meters require a specific tds calibration fluid (e.g., 800 ppm), regardless of the tds levels in your samples.

Be careful with how you take your samples. Let's say you intend to measure the TDS in your 1) DI water, 2) RO water, and 3) tap water. Start with the cleanest of the three - the DI water. After letting the system run for a sufficient period of time that you are sure the tds levels have stabilized (to assure you are not measuring tds creep water), rinse the sample container two or three times with the water you intend to sample, and then fill the sample container with sufficient DI water to take a reading.

Now on to the RO water. The water we are interested in here is the permeate ? i.e., the water that has been purified by the RO membrane ? not the waste water. Make sure you understand which is which before taking the sample. Most RODI systems other than Buckeye Systems are not plumbed to facilitate taking a sample of the permeate. If that is the case, you?ll need to unhook some tubing ? likely where the tubing attaches to the ?in? port on the DI housing in order to take this sample. This is inconvenient for many people, and we find that people never do it. They report only the tap water TDS and the DI water TDS. Contact Buckeye if you need guidance regarding installing a couple of extra fittings and tubing to facilitate measuring the TDS of the RO water (permeate). When you take the sample, follow the same procedure described above ? use a clean sample container, assure you are not measuring TDS creep water, rinse with the permeate several times before taking the sample, and use a calibrated meter.

Use the same approach to collect and measure your tap water as well.

Russ




Excellent Info Russ, can we sticky this somewhere???
 

bad coffee

Inept at life.
Rating - 100%
27   0   0
4ppm is bad. That's junk you're putting into your tank. Phosphates, copper, silicates, ect that will not be good for your reef.

Sure, you could run your tank with it, but you'll most likely have lots of bad algea.

B
 

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