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Thread: Tds

  1. #1
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    Tds

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    Got a TDS meter last week and did some testing.

    In my planted tank dosed with flourish, iron, potassium and phosphorous, my TDS is roughly 360. While I am aware that higher TDS doesn't seem like a big problem for fishes as opposed to shrimps, I would like to lower the TDS to better mimic the conditions for cichlids.

    Did a 40% wc today and didn't dose any ferts, TDS is down to 220. For those of you with planted tanks and dose fertilizers, how do you keep your TDS low?


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  2. #2
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    Re: Tds

    TDS levels come from everything you put into the tank, ie. food, fertilizer, minerals leached out of rocks and other hardscape, even chemicals like excel and prime etc... so overtime, TDS will always be constantly increasing in a tank.

    Regular water changes with lower TDS water is the only way to keep it low. Reducing feeding and less fertilizer dosing helps slow down TDS rising too, but for planted tanks, fertilizer dosing is a necessity for maintaining good plant growth anyways, so can't reduce that as much. Compounds that contribute to TDS levels will stay in the water until removed.

    Fishes and shrimps that come from low TDS/softwater environments are used to very low mineral and nutrient content in their natural waters (their aquatic environment is usually almost devoid of plants), which is quite different from our planted tanks with all the rich assortment of nutrients being dosed regularly in order to grow lots of plants. Fortunately, most of fishes and shrimps we keep can adapt to higher TDS/harder water, so it just a matter of gradual transition and acclimation.

    You do have to be careful when doing large water changes to reduce TDS though, especially if the TDS was a much higher level. The livestock may have already been acclimatized to the higher TDS conditions, so if the drop is too sudden and too much, their osmotic regulation could be thrown out of balance and cause issues. Especially for shrimps which maintain their shells according to water conditions, they can't adapt as fast as fishes, hence changes in TDS affects them much more... it's one of the reasons why water changes tend to trigger molting in shrimps (using an analogy, its sort of like them having to change clothes).
    :: Urban Aquaria ::
    www.urbanaquaria.com

  3. #3
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    Re: Tds

    Quote Originally Posted by Urban Aquaria View Post
    TDS levels come from everything you put into the tank, ie. food, fertilizer, minerals leached out of rocks and other hardscape, even chemicals like excel and prime etc... so overtime, TDS will always be constantly increasing in a tank.

    Regular water changes with lower TDS water is the only way to keep it low. Reducing feeding and less fertilizer dosing helps slow down TDS rising too, but for planted tanks, fertilizer dosing is a necessity for maintaining good plant growth anyways, so can't reduce that as much. Compounds that contribute to TDS levels will stay in the water until removed.

    Fishes and shrimps that come from low TDS/softwater environments are used to very low mineral and nutrient content in their natural waters (their aquatic environment is usually almost devoid of plants), which is quite different from our planted tanks with all the rich assortment of nutrients being dosed regularly in order to grow lots of plants. Fortunately, most of fishes and shrimps we keep can adapt to higher TDS/harder water, so it just a matter of gradual transition and acclimation.

    You do have to be careful when doing large water changes to reduce TDS though, especially if the TDS was a much higher level. The livestock may have already been acclimatized to the higher TDS conditions, so if the drop is too sudden and too much, their osmotic regulation could be thrown out of balance and cause issues. Especially for shrimps which maintain their shells according to water conditions, they can't adapt as fast as fishes, hence changes in TDS affects them much more... it's one of the reasons why water changes tend to trigger molting in shrimps (using an analogy, its sort of like them having to change clothes).
    My entire scape is more towards a dutch style, or rather, the lazy and no brainer style. Hardly any scape, just two rocks and a ton of plants. The rocks (grey with white veins) could be leeching minerals, or they might just be an accumulation from my previous dosings.

    I am going to try a week or two without any fert dosing and see how the plants respond. Previously the lights were too strong or too much ferts, since algae was growing on some of the slower growers like Ludwigia Glandulosa, Anubias etc.

    So far so good for the fishes after the WC, i normally do a 20-30% WC every week. They are actually fine with the higher TDS, but i wanted to try and mimic a lower TDS similar to their original habitat to see if my German Rams will spawn.

    UA bro, i noticed you use Purigen in your earlier posts. Do you recharge them, or simply dump them after they are exhausted? I have a tiny 100ml pack i placed in my canister. Took it out today and originally dumped it, but got curious and currently attempting to recharge it. Will see if i place it into my tank at the end of the day but I'm curious to find out if anyone has recharged before and how the result was.

  4. #4
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    Re: Tds

    I did the vinegar test on those grey/white rocks I bought earlier and looks like over time they will release stuff into the tank. Especially the white section which reacted more to the vinegar!

  5. #5
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    Re: Tds

    Quote Originally Posted by mercur1al View Post
    UA bro, i noticed you use Purigen in your earlier posts. Do you recharge them, or simply dump them after they are exhausted? I have a tiny 100ml pack i placed in my canister. Took it out today and originally dumped it, but got curious and currently attempting to recharge it. Will see if i place it into my tank at the end of the day but I'm curious to find out if anyone has recharged before and how the result was.
    Yes, i recharge my purigen packs... i keep 2 packs per tank so that i can swap them during filter maintenance (usually every 2-3 months).

    In my case, i just do the bleach soak recharge as per the instructions and then put the recharged pack in a container of water with higher dosage of Seachem Prime to dechlorinate for a few hours.

    If you are going to use it immediately after the recharge, it might be a good idea to dechlorinate it for a longer period of time just to be sure.

    Usually i just leave the pack in the container of water until i use it again (which is a few months later), since the purigen needs to be kept hydrated during storage anyways.
    :: Urban Aquaria ::
    www.urbanaquaria.com

  6. #6
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    Re: Tds

    Quote Originally Posted by Urban Aquaria View Post
    Yes, i recharge my purigen packs... i keep 2 packs per tank so that i can swap them during filter maintenance (usually every 2-3 months).

    In my case, i just do the bleach soak recharge as per the instructions and then put the recharged pack in a container of water with higher dosage of Seachem Prime to dechlorinate for a few hours.

    If you are going to use it immediately after the recharge, it might be a good idea to dechlorinate it for a longer period of time just to be sure.

    Usually i just leave the pack in the container of water until i use it again (which is a few months later), since the purigen needs to be kept hydrated during storage anyways.
    I see. Just soaked my Purigen in 1:1 kao bleach and tap water.

    Shall see how after 24h.

    I don't use prime, I use an Azoo dechlorinator that so far does its job well. Wondering if I should try out the Azoo, or get a bottle of prime. I just bought a new bottle of Azoo dechlorinator after the previous bottle ran out though!


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  7. #7
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    Re: Tds

    Btw, do make sure the Kao Bleach you are using is the one that contains Sodium Hypochlorite... as they also have a version that contains Hydrogen Peroxide instead (and they still name it as "bleach" too, can be abit confusing).
    :: Urban Aquaria ::
    www.urbanaquaria.com

  8. #8
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    Re: Tds

    Yup, it is hypochlorite, though the concentration is not listed. Tried googling too but no result.

    The hydrogen peroxide variant is apparently bleach for coloured clothes.


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