Anyone watch thier conductivity numbers?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I'm trying to breed L183 start lights.

My tap comes out around 200tds.

I started doing water changes with RO and got it down to around 75 today.

Might be a stupid question. But how does your TDS get so high?? Is it necessary for your rays or something?


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calgaryflames said:
There's an equation for Tds to uS I believe it's 17 ppm= 33 uS
I can tell you right now if your ppm and your conductivity meter are reading nearly the same one of the instruments is screwed.


Testing these parameters are easier than say the basics of the nitrogen cycle. It gets the the point that many ray keepers don't even test ammonia,nitrite ,nitrate ph unless something is wrong. Once you get the
Hardness down it stays pretty easy. I rarely test hardness these days . If I do it's a simple Tds meter because my conductivity meter needs calibration and I'm to lazy.

make sure you hook up a inline Tds meter on your ro unit. It's a $30 part off eBay . If yours doesn't have already.

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Yea I'm aware my meters are not terribly accurate. Been saving up for some better equipment.

What you listed for a conversion ratio sounds close. The conversion factor is not precise though and can fluctuate a great deal.

As I understand it, most of the conversion tables for conductivity to TDS are just rough estimates because conductivity of a sodium chloride solution is not linear with concentration. So you cant nail down a precise conversion factor.

Another thing that can impact readings & conversion factors is whether the meter is testing sodium chloride, potassium chloride, or a mixture called 442.
 
I've always been one to question the lifespan of rays kept in high ph and hard water vs natural.
I could not say anymore good things about what your doing db .
It gets easier also if you add a filter that can buff your water at high rates. I've found very cheap alternatives to bead filters. Infact a Hayward sand filter is the exact same thing as a aqua ultima. Hayward makes the ultima. The sand filter changed my life
Lol. I no longer use filter socks. I use 35 micron sand with about 4500-5500 gallon per hour ,backwash for 20 seconds everyday and my Tds stays lower than it ever did and way less work than washing freaking filter socks


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I'm just not sold on sand filters over beads yet, but who knows, time changes opinions on a lot of things...... All I know is after UVs and tubs this guy won't have money for anything for a while....lol.

I'm sure eventually I'll be looking into one of those options though. Will already be using a Dart for water changes so would be easy to add a filter to that pump since it will only be used for water changes.

Already seeing a difference in appetite, but to my surprise it's the fish in this tank that show the biggest difference in appetite so far, everyone's eating more but the wolf and Dorado are eating to the point of getting big belly buldges, something not typical at all for them.
 
DB junkie said:
I'm just not sold on sand filters over beads yet, but who knows, time changes opinions on a lot of things...... All I know is after UVs and tubs this guy won't have money for anything for a while....lol.

I'm sure eventually I'll be looking into one of those options though. Will already be using a Dart for water changes so would be easy to add a filter to that pump since it will only be used for water changes.

Already seeing a difference in appetite, but to my surprise it's the fish in this tank that show the biggest difference in appetite so far, everyone's eating more but the wolf and Dorado are eating to the point of getting big belly buldges, something not typical at all for them.
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I have both bead and sand. Bead does very little for bio compared to a reactor. It does almost nothing for mechanical breakdown.
the sand filter improved the clarity removes up to 30 microns and a bit better for bio than my ultima.
It really helped keep my Tds down also.


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What's your trick to getting sand filters to restart after power outages?

Are you using sintered glass in your beads?

Been running bio reactors for a while now. Have rebuilt them several times and am finally to the point of being happy with them. Don't see that changing any time soon.
 
Sand filter is run off a pump. Power goes out filters are off for a while.power goes on pump starts up .ive got the ultima and sand filter plumbed into there own sumps above the tank so that if power goes out water is always in the lines. My setup is as simple as you'd imagine no fancy solenoid valves just plain old manual everything and designed so its impossible to flood or loose much water if power goes out.

I should have backup power source but tank is so well oxygenated that fish could last a long time on my tank.



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I finally took the meter home last night to test my water. The meter tests for D.O., conductivity, salinity, and temperature. I primarily use the meter for DO and temp, so am not sure how accurate the conductivity is, and should probably calibrate it if there is any solution here. Anyway, the tank water tested about 57.5 uS and the tap (well water) was 0.9 uS. Water temp for both the tank and tap was 22-23 C. I have an inexpensive TDS meter that tested 238 ppm for the tank while TDS for the tap was 194 ppm.
I use API test kits for most other water parameters. The pH for the tap runs around 8 and is slightly lower in the tank. Overall, the water is fairly soft despite having a rather high pH.
DB, how is your water now?
 
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