TDS Results

[Leyth]

Hi guys, so I recently purchased a TDS Meter to test the water that I have been putting in the tank and using to mix salt with. I have been having some bad algae problems so I wanted to investigate all areas and thought that this would be a good tool to have in my arsenal in the long run anyways.

I have been getting water from my LFS, but the numbers that I saw today really threw me off. Maybe I am interpreting the results incorrectly.

My tap water: 44ppm
Jug of water from LFS: 350ppm
Jug of 1.026 + LFS water: 860ppm

350ppm for water from the LFS seems pretty off right? My tap water should not be lower I thought, unless I am interpreting these results incorrectly. As for my testing methods, I followed the instructions, stick it in 2 inches of water and read. What do you think?

 

[corey01]

does your tds meter have several different display options? I know mine reads PPM PPB and EC is it possible you are reading the wrong output? and is it temperature compensated?
I would start with making sure the battery is fresh. just because you recently bought it does not guarantee this. as it could have been on a shelf for quite some time. do you have any friends that have an ro system you can compare readings with? just to make sure your meter is working. I know BRS sells the calibration fluids for TDS meters, you might need to get some just to make sure its calibrated properly. those numbers really don't make sense to me. and I want to know where everyone else lives. my tap is somewhere around 400TDS, everyone else's is insanely lower.

 

[Leyth]

Nope, it doesn't have other display options. Just PPM and it is temperature compensated.

It does say that it was calibrated from the factory, but I suppose we should not trust that so I will look into calibrating and checking the batteries. For the record, I am in Atlanta, GA.

 

[Leyth]

It's this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002T6L5M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[corey01]

you could try and go to your LFS when you have time and compare it against theirs if they have one. there is no way they could be giving out RO water @ 350PPM
also didn't really mean tell me where you were, would just love to be one of the places I always hear about with double digit TDS water
just a note. are you measuring in something clean? like a glass that's been rinsed with ro water then paper toweled dry? the container itself being dirty can have a huge effect.
I rinse 3 times then dry before any measuring.

 

[Fudsey]

Your not testing salt water, correct?

 

[Leyth]

you could try and go to your LFS when you have time and compare it against theirs if they have one. there is no way they could be giving out RO water @ 350PPM
also didn't really mean tell me where you were, would just love to be one of the places I always hear about with double digit TDS water
just a note. are you measuring in something clean? like a glass that's been rinsed with ro water then paper toweled dry? the container itself being dirty can have a huge effect.
I rinse 3 times then dry before any measuring.

Oh gotcha, let me try the rinsing with ro/di and wiping with a paper towel first.

Your not testing salt water, correct?

Nope, I have two jugs right now one is Ro/Di and one is 1.026 mixed. However, there was premixed salt water in the Ro/Di jug before so I wonder if that is enough to throw things off?

 

[Fudsey]

It definitely could throw off the readings, salt water is around 30,000 to 40,000 TDS.

 

[Leyth]

Hm, what should bottled water read? I guess I could test that?

 

[corey01]

from what I remember reading distilled from the grocery store is something like 0-18 tds but it varies
and if you had saltwater in your Rodi jug that absolutely will do it. if your bottle of water measures consistently better than your tap water chances are your tds meter works fine.

 

[Leyth]

Gotcha, Thanks. Let me give that a shot.

 

[Leyth]

Alright, so my bottled water was 2ppm and my tap water was 44ppm. I don't know how to test the RO/DI water though, all my jugs have had salt water in them at one point lol.

 

[nemo1017]

Wash it out real well with white vinegar and hot water. Let it sit for a little bit. Wipe it down. Repeat. Then let them Air dry. This is how I fixed my containers/ buckets that had saltwater in them previously. My rodi unit is putting out 1-2 tds water and my buckets say just that when they're full with rodi. Hope it helps.

 

[corey01]

well if that's the case its really useless to test them....all you can do is take a small cup. a tiny tupperware container or something similar works well for this,
and fill that at the LFS when you get more water then test it. just make sure its clean first...

or like nemo said clean your buckets out. but that dosent help much until you use all the water and go to get more.

 

[Leyth]

Wash it out real well with white vinegar and hot water. Let it sit for a little bit. Wipe it down. Repeat. Then let them Air dry. This is how I fixed my containers/ buckets that had saltwater in them previously. My rodi unit is putting out 1-2 tds water and my buckets say just that when they're full with rodi. Hope it helps.

Cool, I will give this a shot.

well if that's the case its really useless to test them....all you can do is take a small cup. a tiny tupperware container or something similar works well for this,
and fill that at the LFS when you get more water then test it. just make sure its clean first...

Yea true, I might just get my own Ro/di kit. Thanks everyone for the help, I learned a lot.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Clean your meter asap.
You cannot test the TDS of the 1.026 mixed water!
Saltwater is going to be somewhere over 32,000 TDS, you meter only reads to 999. Saltwater will contaminate the probe so triple rinse the meter right away in distilled water. If you don't get it rinsed off the meter will always read incorrectly due to the crud on the probes.
If a jug has had anything other than RO/DI or distilled water in it and has not been thoroughly cleaned it will read high as you are measuring the traces of whatever is left in it. What you are reading from the LFS could be a dirty jug, or it could be their system is in need of maintenance or I have found many shops dip dirty buckets or stick their dirty hands and arms in them. The only way you will know is to use a brand new clean jug for your next load from them and take your TDS meter to the LFS and measure directly from the output of their RO/DI system, not the stored water.
All the more reason to spend a little over $100 and purchase your own RO/DI so you alone control it's quality, no more depending on someone else and their maintenance or not likely lack thereof.

 

[Leyth]

Clean your meter asap.
You cannot test the TDS of the 1.026 mixed water!
Saltwater is going to be somewhere over 32,000 TDS, you meter only reads to 999. Saltwater will contaminate the probe so triple rinse the meter right away in distilled water. If you don't get it rinsed off the meter will always read incorrectly due to the crud on the probes.
If a jug has had anything other than RO/DI or distilled water in it and has not been thoroughly cleaned it will read high as you are measuring the traces of whatever is left in it. What you are reading from the LFS could be a dirty jug, or it could be their system is in need of maintenance or I have found many shops dip dirty buckets or stick their dirty hands and arms in them. The only way you will know is to use a brand new clean jug for your next load from them and take your TDS meter to the LFS and measure directly from the output of their RO/DI system, not the stored water.
All the more reason to spend a little over $100 and purchase your own RO/DI so you alone control it's quality, no more depending on someone else and their maintenance or not likely lack thereof.

Gotcha, thanks. I will clean the probe now.

 

[Cory]

If your purpose is to know if your tds meter is working properly distilled water should read 0.

If your tap water is 44ppm then your reverse osmosis system (if you own one) with a membrane of 99% rejection rate after it filters the tap water should read 1ppm or less.