Parablennius
Member
1Tspn CaNO3, 1/2 tspn KHCO3 into 200 litres. I only add because my tap is very, very soft. Lucky me!Thanks for that what do you use to add GH and kH into tour tank.
Cheers Lee
1Tspn CaNO3, 1/2 tspn KHCO3 into 200 litres. I only add because my tap is very, very soft. Lucky me!Thanks for that what do you use to add GH and kH into tour tank.
Cheers Lee
My tap reads 155ppm tds so will I need to add aswel or just leave be?1Tspn CaNO3, 1/2 tspn KHCO3 into 200 litres. I only add because my tap is very, very soft. Lucky me!
Dunno, it depends what that 155 ppm is made up with?My tap reads 155ppm tds so will I need to add aswel or just leave be?
How would I find that out. On my water report?Dunno, it depends what that 155 ppm is made up with?
Could be anything. Whilst it is likely that they are basically the same it is possible that the water is now completely different...Just done a 50% water change and also added loads more plants at the same time. So I disturbed the soil. TDS reading before water change was 178ppm. TDS reading after water change 164ppm not a big difference. Could this be because of the soil been disturbed due to planting new plants?
The only reason I got this TDS PEN was because I was loosing shrimp so just wanted to see if my TDS was high enough from the tap/My tank water. Are TDS and GH 2 totally different parameters. Reason I ask because do I need both to be a high number to keep my cherry shrimp.Could be anything. Whilst it is likely that they are basically the same it is possible that the water is now completely different...
One way of looking at is thinking that TDS is the number of fruit pieces in your tank. You put 178 bits of orange in there and your measurement is 178. If you now have a reading of 164 this could mean you have removed 14 pieces of orange but it could also mean you have removed all 178 pieces of orange and added 164 pieces of apple. It is just the total and on its own it isn't much use.
I used the calibration solution to validate my assumption that the cheapy meter I got was as useful as a random number generator.
I think shrimp keepers are obsessed with TDS based on keeping them in RO water and adding back minerals. In doing this TDS does become useful as you can use it to reconstitute to the desired values (you are adding the only things to the water so the total measurement is showing what you have added).
I use my TDS pen as a guide of how much RO to cut my tap water with. My tap water is consistently about 320 TDS but more importantly GH 12. I want my GH to be 8 so I mix till it is about 220. I also use it as an indication of any changes. If my tap water suddenly became 100 or 500 I would start looking into it before doing water changes.
So basically the lower the TDS the lower the GH is?Could be anything. Whilst it is likely that they are basically the same it is possible that the water is now completely different...
One way of looking at is thinking that TDS is the number of fruit pieces in your tank. You put 178 bits of orange in there and your measurement is 178. If you now have a reading of 164 this could mean you have removed 14 pieces of orange but it could also mean you have removed all 178 pieces of orange and added 164 pieces of apple. It is just the total and on its own it isn't much use.
I used the calibration solution to validate my assumption that the cheapy meter I got was as useful as a random number generator.
I think shrimp keepers are obsessed with TDS based on keeping them in RO water and adding back minerals. In doing this TDS does become useful as you can use it to reconstitute to the desired values (you are adding the only things to the water so the total measurement is showing what you have added).
I use my TDS pen as a guide of how much RO to cut my tap water with. My tap water is consistently about 320 TDS but more importantly GH 12. I want my GH to be 8 so I mix till it is about 220. I also use it as an indication of any changes. If my tap water suddenly became 100 or 500 I would start looking into it before doing water changes.
There isn't any direct comparison between them, but for most tap water they are correlated, because both TDS and dGH/dKH relate directly to the amount of Ca++ and HCO3- ions in the water.So basically the lower the TDS the lower the GH is?
So you only used solution to test your cheap meter? And not because you needed to use it?
Ok thank you for the replys I appreciate it. So I won't need solution to calibrate my tds pen. This might sound stupid but the reading I am getting from mine is just numbers. Which is telling me I have a low TDS reading from my tap and in my tank water. What can I do to raise these numbers? Or do I not need to raise them?To satisfy my curiosity yes and to see what sort of accuracy the devices had. I also used it to calibrate my new device but it was basically spot on anyway.
It is just a number. Do you know what your GH / KH are? If not I suggest you get a test kit to measure that. A TDS reading isn't going to give you any answers but rather point you where to look or give you an indication things have changed.Ok thank you for the replys I appreciate it. So I won't need solution to calibrate my tds pen. This might sound stupid but the reading I am getting from mine is just numbers. Which is telling me I have a low TDS reading from my tap and in my tank water. What can I do to raise these numbers? Or do I not need to raise them?
My water report is telling me my GH is 6.5 and kH is the same isn't it? But havnt tested my actual tank water for GH/kHIt is just a number. Do you know what your GH / KH are? If not I suggest you get a test kit to measure that. A TDS reading isn't going to give you any answers but rather point you where to look or give you an indication things have changed.
Yes you can, it is posted in your other thread, it has values for <"hardness (this is really the dKH) and calcium (Ca)">.How would I find that out. On my water report?
I'll start with the degrees Clark hardness (degrees Clark is also called "English Degrees"), you can convert that to dKH/dGH by dividing by 1.24, so 7.14 equates to about 5.75 dGH/dKH. Again the working are back in the <"other thread">.As @Parablennius suggests that is a lot of variation in water hardness, so you have supplies from more than one source. Because you have virtually no nitrate in your supply the harder water is almost certainly from a deep limestone aquifer, and the softer water from a moorland reservoir.
If you want to work out the maximum, minimum and mean values, this thread (I got the formulae etc from the "Krib threads") has the <"workings for my tap water at home">.The best summary of water hardness I've found are still the ones on "the Krib" <"Water Hardness"> and <"Hardness (incl. History">, mainly because they include the history and definition of the units.
The hardness values on my report. How does this contribute to my water? Probably a stupid question really but does this make up my GH? Or contribute to my TDS. I appreciate you replying Darrel if it wasn't for you I wouldn't know how to convert my hardness Clarke into GH and conductivity into TDS. All these letters and numbers are mind blowing.is calcium a big factor in my water. On my water report which ate the important ones I should be looking at. Conductivity/ calcium/ PH / hardness clarke/ which others. Also do I have to convert every reading on the report to get a ppm figure?Hi all, Yes you can, it is posted in your other thread, it has values for <"hardness (this is really the dKH) and calcium (Ca)">.
From the other thread.I'll start with the degrees Clark hardness (degrees Clark is also called "English Degrees"), you can convert that to dKH/dGH by dividing by 1.24, so 7.14 equates to about 5.75 dGH/dKH. Again the working are back in the <"other thread">. If you want to work out the maximum, minimum and mean values, this thread (I got the formulae etc from the "Krib threads") has the <"workings for my tap water at home">.
- The hardness values (as mg l-1 of CaCO3) are min. 63, mean. 102, max. 177.
- Calcium (Ca) (mg L-1) values are 18.3, 30.8 & 51.1 respectively.
- Conductivity (microS.) is 160, 257 and 406.
- Hardness is given as "slightly hard" and you have a "degrees Clark" hardness value of 7.14.
The main differences would be my tap water is a lot harder and much more consistent through-out the year (it always comes from a deep limestone aquifer). The home tap water is good for Cherry Shrimps and Vallisneria, but the rain-water (that I use in the tanks) is too soft for either of them in the winter, <"I also get a lot of shell attrition on the Ramshorn snails">.
cheers Darrel
That would be my thought as well.but to cut to the point, your water should be more than fine for red cherry shrimp to live and breed in. It's very similar to my tank parameters after my very soft water has added calcium added
It does both.The hardness values on my report. How does this contribute to my water? Probably a stupid question really but does this make up my GH? Or contribute to my TDS.