I was gonna by the Hanna high range checker
My well water comes from Trinity Aquifier at 1000’ with a TDS at 900ppm. This Aquifier was a shallow inland sea that was loaded with diatoms and now the tds includes high silicates. Because I focus on both cryptic & utilitarian sponges that are ornamental, I decided to add silicates without a test kit.
Guess what!
When I dosed the first drop of silicate liquid concentrate, it crystallized and drifted to the bottom.
I was already saturated with silicates. However, not only are silicates good for sponges they are a limiting source of nutrient for diatoms which are a type of phytoplankton that recycles nutrients up thru the microbial loop.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatom
“The study of diatoms is a branch of
phycology. Diatoms are classified as
eukaryotes, organisms with a
nuclear envelope-bound
cell nucleus, that separates them from the
prokaryotes archaea and
bacteria. Diatoms are a type of
plankton called
phytoplankton, the most common of the plankton types. Diatoms also grow attached to
benthic substrates, floating debris, and on
macrophytes. They comprise an integral component of the
periphyton community.
[22] Another classification divides plankton into eight types based on size: in this scheme, diatoms are classed as microalgae. Several systems for classifying the individual diatom
species exist.”
