TDS reading

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Charney

Charney

The Fish Doctor
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Nov 15, 2005
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SO I have seen the mention of following TDS readings for water quality. I remembered today that my gf but a fancy over priced brita type thing that came with a TDS meter. Naturally the TDS meter is now mine (I do not know the percent error - not stated). I have checked my tanks most are 235 and one that I really over feed is 435. So great I have these numbers but no idea what to do with them. What is a good reading? What should I strive to be below realistically. Also how does the hardness of water effect this reading and do I need to know my GH to accurately interrupt this number? Thank you
 
I have a large range of stuff. Tap comes out about 150. What are realistic values to have the tank at for amazon and not rift lake.
 
I think 150ppm would be at the higher end for what you'd want, but it really does depend on the species. For comparison, my tap water (rain water collected on my roof) is 007ppm, and my tank usually sits around 50ppm. That is fantastic, but not necessary as I believe people have bred fish like Hypancistrus zebra in water with considerably higher TDS. I had problems with Geophagus altifrons getting HITH in a tank with a cement-based background that had a TDS around 140ppm (IIRC) and when I shifted them to a tank with ~80ppm TDS there were no more problems.

With your high readings I would certainly invest in a GH/KH test kit to find out where the hardness is sitting. This article touches on the subject of hardness/TDS/conductivity and how it can affect aquarium fish, and I'm sure there is plenty more good reading out there, let me know if you find any!
http://www.tbas1.com/Exchange/The New England 11.pdf
 
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