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Nitro069
09/10/2011, 02:47 PM
i have a question. i have a water filtration system installed in my house treating all incoming water. on the last service they tested TDS with a reading of .187 on tap water and .004 on my reverse osmosis. would my tap water be acceptable to use for water changes and top ups. also i i were to look and see if my filter(s) deionize my water, what information or specification would i look for in the manuals. thanks in advance

spieszak
09/10/2011, 02:59 PM
.187 what?
They may use different parts/per on their meter since they are testing for drinking and the like... I don't know that, but it would be worth adding it to the thread if you know. Also, since its their job to make your water cleaner, their results may be a bit skewed. Before I'd rely on it, I'd test with an independent source. (you LFS can probably check it for you)

cloak
09/10/2011, 03:14 PM
FWIW, the last time the TDS of my tap water was tested it was 46. No problem.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-10/newbie/index.php

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/1/chemistry

Nitro069
09/10/2011, 06:09 PM
those reading were in ppm and i would believe them to be accurate. i did find out though that my water is not de-ionized. will using clean filterd water that is not de-ionized be a bad thing? i have used this water for water changes and top ups for the last 4 months or so. i am having an issue with micro algae growing on the glass and this thick brown hair like stuff growing on my rocks but this didnt start happening till i got my new lights.

outssider
09/10/2011, 06:28 PM
.187 ppm tds out of the tap is crazy clean. I would think that reading impossible given all the old city pipes it must travel through even if it started out at zero -0-. I would not believe that reading unless i put my own meter on it.

Nitro069
09/10/2011, 06:52 PM
my water is crazy clean. it filters all water that comes into my house. i clean my fish tank glass with pure tap water and it comes out better than any glass cleaner i have used. have you ever had water so clean that when you wash your hands and rinse them it still feels like there is soap on them, when in actuality it is the natural oils in your skin coming out. crazy. the only thing is my filtration units don't de-ionize my water(i believe) and that might be causing the algae. i will take my water to the lfs and see if they can check the tds till i buy a meter.

would 187 ppm be bad level of tds from normal tap water??

Indymann99
09/10/2011, 08:17 PM
here in Indy my input TDS runs around 400. My "whole house" RO (plumbed to 2x fridge w ice makers) brings it down to 4TDS for drinking. DI gets tank water to 0.

organism
09/10/2011, 08:22 PM
You couldn't pay me to put tap water in my tank, no matter what the TDS meter says. Yours is 187 ppm of what? Who knows. Off the top of my head copper, chloramines, and probably a few hundred other things you want nowhere near your tank. fwiw I've seen people's tanks crash from 6 ppm, because it's not the number it's what's in it.

Nitro069
09/10/2011, 08:25 PM
yeah my water is not giving me a warm fuzzy feeling either. i am going to pick up a ro/di filter system tomorrow. it is a used aquafx baricuda. any idea if this filter system is good. its gotta be better then what i am using now.