TDS Reading

[southeastfishaddict]

Hello All, so, I had maintenance done on my reef tank the other day and the fellows did the water change for me and added water to my ATO unit. Out of curiosity I took a reading and it came out to an astonishing 156, so I reached out to the owner of the LFS and he texted me the following… any feedback is appreciated!

On the TDS meter, there is more context needed. The water in your ato was purified water rather than ro/di water. We sell both ro/di and pure water to our customers. Both types of water are pushed through filter membranes, but the systems are different. In the store pure is made using kold-ster il filters and ro/di is made using a BRS filter. Kold-ster-il strips out heavy metals, chlorine, and more but leaves ca and phosphates. Pure water is fine with city of Chicago water. The people in this blog are assuming the individual was sold ro/di water. And yes, definitely Ro/di water should have 0 tds. It should be zero because that is in part the very definition of ro/di water. Purified water, though, does not have zero tds. With city of Chicago sourced water we are comfortable with purified. We know there are thousands of people using purified water in their reef tanks with no issue. It’s what we use in our own tanks.

 

[TX_REEF]

RO/DI water should be zero TDS. Get yourself a RODI system and save yourself the trouble!

 

[The_Paradox]

RO/DI water should be zero TDS. Get yourself a RODI system and save yourself the trouble!

It shouldn’t be and it’s not. I get what you’re saying though and agree. If you care enough to email about it, do it yourself.

 

[EricR]

My first thought would be (since having LFS maintain your tank might be your goal/plan):
What's the price difference for RO/DI vs "purified water" for your LFS maintenance plan?
...text you posted led me to infer that RO/DI is an option

*most (or at least many) on here have their own RO/DI systems but also do their own maintenance.

 

[crazyfishmom]

I know there are several reefers on this site that use that same water and their tanks do well but why risk it? If phosphates are left behind wouldn’t you potentially have an issue on your hands based on that alone?

 

[The_Paradox]

If phosphates are left behind wouldn’t you potentially have an issue on your hands based on that alone?

I mean it could save him some money and time.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Hello All, so, I had maintenance done on my reef tank the other day and the fellows did the water change for me and added water to my ATO unit. Out of curiosity I took a reading and it came out to an astonishing 156, so I reached out to the owner of the LFS and he texted me the following… any feedback is appreciated!

On the TDS meter, there is more context needed. The water in your ato was purified water rather than ro/di water. We sell both ro/di and pure water to our customers. Both types of water are pushed through filter membranes, but the systems are different. In the store pure is made using kold-ster il filters and ro/di is made using a BRS filter. Kold-ster-il strips out heavy metals, chlorine, and more but leaves ca and phosphates. Pure water is fine with city of Chicago water. The people in this blog are assuming the individual was sold ro/di water. And yes, definitely Ro/di water should have 0 tds. It should be zero because that is in part the very definition of ro/di water. Purified water, though, does not have zero tds. With city of Chicago sourced water we are comfortable with purified. We know there are thousands of people using purified water in their reef tanks with no issue. It’s what we use in our own tanks.

I couldn't validate anything that he said, but it's not far fetched for someone that is familiar with the local water to know what sort of filtration the water needs to be adequate for a reef tank.

The safe bet is definitely getting the water down to 0 tds and then add what is necessary. Of course for top off water 0 is perfectly fine.

You would have to talk to others local to you to see if anyone had put any effort into verifying his claims, or at least finding people that use that method and ask to see photos of their reef tanks.

 

[The_Paradox]

You would have to talk to others local to you to see if anyone had put any effort into verifying his claims, or at least finding people that use that method and ask to see photos of their reef tanks.

A lot of people with larger tanks use the Kold style filters. Even seen them used to feed Type I systems.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

A lot of people with larger tanks use the Kold style filters.

I understand, however making a blanket statement without context can be misleading. It's all about location. High levels of lead, copper and the use of chloramine in the source water should be known before you start using that type of filtration system. I'm sure there are others you need to be aware of, like silicate and phosphate that we want to keep low in a reef tank as well.

My bias is old, perhaps there have been breakthroughs on this type of filtration with more post filters. I just remember all the debate about kold steril filtration and how it was risky. My take away was that certain areas can get away with it.

I personally will stick with an RODI unit and keep up of the periodic maintenance on it.

 

[Ziggy17]

you could do an ICP on the pure water and then you’ll know what’s in it. However, just because it’s fine one month won’t guarantee consistent reef safe pure water. As previously mentioned, it’s all in what the treatment plant adds to the source.

 

[southeastfishaddict]

Understood, thank you all for your feedback. The LFS owner and the maintenance crew never gane me the option of the type of water I preferred to use… & they are aware that I’m a good customer that wouldn’t question the extra costs involved. On the contrary, I always make it my business to tip them well after each device. I’ve also been pushing them to install a RODI system for me at my home for the last few months, but nothing yet. He quoted me and I agreed along with storage tanks that his store sells, but still nothing. Very frustrating. I purchased my reef Red Sea tank in November from him , had an ich breakout that killed all of my fish, except for one and now just have coral and inverts so I want to take the extra precautions..

 

[Ziggy17]

What size tank do you have?

 

[southeastfishaddict]

It’s a Red Sea max 625

Specifications:
Total System Water Volume: 164 Gallons
Display Tank Water Volume: 132 Gallons
Dimensions: 59.1“L x 25.6“W x 23.6“H
Glass Thickness (front/sides): 0.75"
Glass Thickness (bottom): 0.59"

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I think the LFS reply is acceptable and reasonable. You did not make any negative comment about your tank, so I assume you are happy with the tank and with the work of the LFS. Isn't that what matters?

 

[southeastfishaddict]

Yes, correct .. with the exception of some algae, everything seems to be okay. I just wasn’t sure if the response was acceptable with the TDS reading being that high. I don’t want to take any unnecessary risk, so if something should be corrected I would want to know so that I can relay it to the LFS maintenance crew.

 

[Ziggy17]

How often do you plan to do water changes if you had a RODI setup in your home?

My wife would not allow a dedicated room for a RODI system so I worked around her parameters. It’s not fancy but I was able to set it all up in about 30 minutes and it works great for me as I do about a 13g water change every week.

I used my furnace room to plum in the RODI line into the outside faucet line. I ordered a shark bite valve to install on top of the RODI Tee. I had to as this line also feeds my irrigation that I bleed in the winter. Then I ordered a stark bite 3/4 3/4 1/4 tee to split off the RODI line. I like the shark bite stuff as it’s easier than crimping.

Then I just mounted the unit to an available stud. I split the return line into 2 as I use one dedicated for the water change container and one to use to fill my ATO water jug. And since the furnace room has a drain, the waste water just goes in there. Everything I needed was in that furnace room. So if you have a similar room, you can easily set one up yourself in less than an hour.
Here are a few photos. Again, it’s a quick DIY in a room that the wife allowed me to use, not a pro setup

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

We sell both ro/di and pure water to our customers. Both types of water are pushed through filter membranes, but the systems are different. In the store pure is made using kold-ster il filters and ro/di is made using a BRS filter.

I would not use water purified by kold-steril without extensive testing of it.

 

[southeastfishaddict]

Hey Ziggy, I’m planing on doing similar water changes as you .. which would be about ten gallons a week and have my LFS staff perform a larger one once a month when doing the equipment maintenance etc..

My fish tank is in the main living-room area.. I have a powder room a few feet away and the other option would be in the laundry room which is in the basement. I also have access to the water-hose outside, but not sure if it would be a good idea to connect the RODI system to it. That’s what one of the maintenance folk’s did for me… he filled up a garbage plastic bin with water for my ATO.. but that’s when I noticed that the TDS reading was high. I still have the water in the bin, I don’t know if I should trust it.

That’s a nice setup you have with your RODI system, I have the same issue with my wife. She gets a bit difficult during maintenance/hauling water back and forth - I tell her it’s for a good cause

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

… he filled up a garbage plastic bin with water for my ATO.. but that’s when I noticed that the TDS reading was high. I still have the water in the bin, I don’t know if I should trust it.

IMO, I'd use what is there and then move on to a different source.

 

[EricR]

Not to dwell on this but the text from your LFS (in post #1) notes that they also sell RO/DI water.
*just seems like simplest change without disrupting your whole (current) process