TDS water testing device…..anyone using it?
- Thread starter TUCCI
- Start date
Mostly to read the total dissolved solids of the RO/DI water to confirm the filter is still working well before using it as top up water or mixing up it up with salt to make artificial salt water.
Can you actually use it to check water hardness? Im also having difficulty getting an exact water temperature when I put water back into the tank. Most of the time its a degree or so one way or another. Maybe I should be asking what everyone is using as 1)an accurate temp thermometer and 2) water harness test kit. ?
Or should I be starting a different thread?
Thanks for the response everyone......
Or should I be starting a different thread?
Thanks for the response everyone......
I use TDS. I have a 3 way (Conductivity/TDS, Temp, pH) continuous monitor in one tank which is for Altum Angels. I also have two hand held TDS testers. They are not the brand pictured. It reads temp. in C. https://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-TDS-3-Handheld-Carrying/dp/B000VTQM70
When we test for GH or KH, we are testing for specific things in the water. But there are many things dissolved in water. However, Pure water is basically hydrogen and oxygen atoms and nothing else. As such it is a very poor conductor of electricity. What makes it a good conductor is all the things dissolved in it. So the way to determine how much "stuff" is dissolved in water, a conductivity meter is used. This has two electrodes and a very small amount of electricity is sent from one to the other. How much of what was sent actually arrives depends on how much stuff is in the water. Conductivity in tanks is normally measured in microsiemens.
TDS is basically conductivity results multiplied by a constant and translated into ppm. What either tells us is how much stuff in total is in the water, it does not tell us what stuff however. One thing it also reads are ions in the water. This would include things like nitrate, ammonium etc. It also includes salt which neither GH nor KH count.
The TDS meter is most useful if you are pretty familiar with your water and what you expect might be changing. That way the changes in TDS you get will be due to things you expect will have changed.
When we test for GH or KH, we are testing for specific things in the water. But there are many things dissolved in water. However, Pure water is basically hydrogen and oxygen atoms and nothing else. As such it is a very poor conductor of electricity. What makes it a good conductor is all the things dissolved in it. So the way to determine how much "stuff" is dissolved in water, a conductivity meter is used. This has two electrodes and a very small amount of electricity is sent from one to the other. How much of what was sent actually arrives depends on how much stuff is in the water. Conductivity in tanks is normally measured in microsiemens.
TDS is basically conductivity results multiplied by a constant and translated into ppm. What either tells us is how much stuff in total is in the water, it does not tell us what stuff however. One thing it also reads are ions in the water. This would include things like nitrate, ammonium etc. It also includes salt which neither GH nor KH count.
The TDS meter is most useful if you are pretty familiar with your water and what you expect might be changing. That way the changes in TDS you get will be due to things you expect will have changed.
I use a simiiar gizmo frequently in spring when filling outdoor stock tanks. My well water is quite hard, but a large proportion of my original fill-up water is snow melt, so I monitor my hardness (and pH) closely and frequently, i.e. multiple tests daily for a few days each spring while setting up. This makes TDS testing a snap; pH continues to be a PITA with vials and drops but I am thinking of switching to test strips.
Once the tanks are up and running, that's pretty much it for the year. I like won't touch the device until the next year. My concern is only with that original fill-up so that fish aren't brought up from the basement and shocked with a huge change in pH and TDS; I don't stress and fret all year long with tiny deviations in these parameters. My well water is stable and I keep fish that like it.
I don't even use the thermometer function on this thing, prefer a handheld laser temp reader and usd it constantly all year.
Once the tanks are up and running, that's pretty much it for the year. I like won't touch the device until the next year. My concern is only with that original fill-up so that fish aren't brought up from the basement and shocked with a huge change in pH and TDS; I don't stress and fret all year long with tiny deviations in these parameters. My well water is stable and I keep fish that like it.
I don't even use the thermometer function on this thing, prefer a handheld laser temp reader and usd it constantly all year.
Can you elaborate on 'usd' your laser reader. If it means calibrate it I'd like more info on that..
I've got a Fluke 561 I've been using but you have to trigger several times to get a baseline reading which tends to be annoying when your filling a large vessel during PWCs..it seems to be off and I don't trust it entirely.....
Appreciate your diligence ?
Good example, I can check my body temp on my forehead with it and I'll get 94.1 one time then 93.1 the next time. Which one is it? Its likely operator headspace but that doesn't help me to acknowledge it.
Last edited:
I use the TDS meter to quickly check if I need a water change. Over the years, with my water, I have found a correlation that at 50ppm reading difference (50ppm reading higher in that tank vs tap water) is equivalent to orange (10-20ppm) on the API nitrate test and this means that I need to do at least a 50% water change during the week. I always baseline against my tap water since the water sources change during the year.
Using the infrared temperature, checking your forehead will be unreliable, a slight deviation in distance from your forehead can alter the reading. Just like with filling the tank, the temperature reader will fluctuate if the tank temp is not exactly the same as the water going in due to the water mixing, but it's a good enough ball park figure to see if water is fluctuating up or down by more than 5 degrees.
USD = used.... typo error is my guess
Using the infrared temperature, checking your forehead will be unreliable, a slight deviation in distance from your forehead can alter the reading. Just like with filling the tank, the temperature reader will fluctuate if the tank temp is not exactly the same as the water going in due to the water mixing, but it's a good enough ball park figure to see if water is fluctuating up or down by more than 5 degrees.
USD = used.... typo error is my guess