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TDS of London Tap Water

S

sr20det

Member
Joined
2 Oct 2009
Messages
695
Location
East London
I ordered a digital TDS meter, on the bay, not sure how accurate they are, but thought it would be a quick indicator of water. Quick and Easy.

Arrived this morning, and being my newest gadget i had to test.

2" of tap water, slipped in meter.

344 ppm.

http://theaquariumwiki.com/TDS

According to the link, its unpleasant water 😱

:crazy:

Read, water temp could affect the reading, was ice cold water. But am I right in thinking that is crazy high?
 
Hi, I am thinking of getting a tds meter to measure my water. Can you share the link where you got yours from.
Cheers
 
Matty1983 said:
Hi, I am thinking of getting a tds meter to measure my water. Can you share the link where you got yours from.
Cheers
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Sure thing bud,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370476471479?

Could have gone cheaper, but didnt fancy waiting for it from HK, or the far east. UK seller, and was quick delivery too, in honesty. Already have a digital PH meter, but ordered a matching one to the TDS. Similar price :thumbup:
 
At the mo its mixed with ro for my 25l p@h cube. Gone up to 450 ish as i dose dry salt. Home to 3 x celestial pearl danios, 3 x pgymy cories and quite a few rcs. Plants growing like wildfire. Lookin to hopefully set up a shrimp tank soon for crs so will have to look for a alternative.
 
I ordered a TDS meter last week as well so I'll be testing the clear stuff from all over the place when I get it! :lol:
 
Aqua sobriquet said:
I ordered a TDS meter last week as well so I'll be testing the clear stuff from all over the place when I get it! :lol:
Click to expand...

haha, gonna test some rain water this evening, as its been a bit wet out.

Will test my tank which isnt planted at mo, to see how that fairs with the bio system in place.
 
logi-cat said:
At the mo its mixed with ro for my 25l p@h cube. Gone up to 450 ish as i dose dry salt. Home to 3 x celestial pearl danios, 3 x pgymy cories and quite a few rcs. Plants growing like wildfire. Lookin to hopefully set up a shrimp tank soon for crs so will have to look for a alternative.
Click to expand...

My main tank isnt planted, just a rockery tank, but am planning a re-scape which I have been planning for yonks. But its a guppy tank, which do well in the tap water.

But just got my hands on a nono, and fancied shrimp and amazon based fish, hence might have to bit te bullet and get a RO 🙁, the thing is I plan to dose el, will that push it up? In which case, can I not just use the tap water as is? Assuming plants will strip some minerals directly from the tap water?

Did some reading, and peeps are putting in water under 100ppm TDS through an RO, to bring it down to 0, and looking at RO units, it says high TDS water should not be put through it 😵 , wonder when they mean high 300+ is kinda high :?:

I read on here 100ppm is best for shrimp or just above?
 
Hi all,
Even cheap TDS meters are usually pretty robust and accurate. They are only electronic meter that doesn't need regular calibration, as they just pass a current (through the solution to be measured) between 2 electrodes.

If the meter hasn't got automatic temperature compensation you need to read the water at 20 - 25oC, because conductivity changes with temperature (higher temperature = higher reading) so values are always quoted at 25 °C ("standard temperature").

Graph1.jpg

All these meters measure electrical conductivity (in microS/cm), and then use a conversion factor (in the range 0.5 to 0.64) to convert conductivity in microS to ppm TDS. (100 microS ~ 50 - 64 ppm TDS).

Pure H2O is an electrical insulator, so the conductivity of an "electrolyte solution", (what we call water but actually a dilute solution) is a measure of its ability to conduct electricity. The relationship is linear until you get into very "salty" solutions. As well as disassociated salts, weak acids also contribute to conductivity.

salt_sc.gif
ImageForArticle_5378(2).bmp


I think that 344 ppm TDS sounds in the right range. The water will naturally be calcium (Ca++) and (bi)carbonate (HCO3-) rich from the limestone aquifer, and will have picked up sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) ions from road salting etc., PO4--- ions from the heavy metal water treatment, optical brighteners from washing powders (and a limited amount from agriculture), various ions from sewage treatment and diffuse pollution from agricultural fertilisers (NO3- and K+ mainly), so it is quite a long way from H2O.

cheers Darrel
 
Very informative Darrel, thanks for that.

Now, as you've put me off drinking the stuff is it safe for me to drink (lots) of Beer instead! :lol:
 
Nice one Darrel, good read, and explanation. Not too bad then, I too well know London water or Thames Water is reknown for being very hard.

I am tempted to collect rain water and filter it through carbon for my tanks in the hope that it makes it safe from air contaminants. Or just invest in RO unit, They seems a tad pricey mind.

Do folk keep fish in that water ppm? Or am I rightly thinking that it isnt sufficient for a planted stocked aquarium?
 
My meter has just arrived and the results are ...

Tap water (Surrey) 340 ppm
Sainsburys "Caledonian" bottled water 109 ppm
Rain water from my garden 13 ppm

We have a water purifier at work so I'll check that out as well.

Water at work (West London) 335 ppm and after going through the purifier 335 ppm! :? :lol:
 
Very interesting read! I now know why London tap water is so crap, and why many of you add rain or RO water to it. What does London water actually taste like?
 
Matty1983 said:
Very interesting read! I now know why London tap water is so crap, and why many of you add rain or RO water to it. What does London water actually taste like?
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I don't think its taste that bad, but peeps from the north complain its nasty. Cant say I really notice it. Immune maybe.
 
I've grown up with it so don't really notice the taste so much. It's not exactly the best however and showers are far more enjoyable with softer water.

I've kept a planted tank without problems with pure London water. I know use filtered rainwater.
 
Morgan Freeman said:
I've grown up with it so don't really notice the taste so much. It's not exactly the best however and showers are far more enjoyable with softer water.

I've kept a planted tank without problems with pure London water. I know use filtered rainwater.
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Same, here, lived in London my whole life, cant say I notice it, showers, cant say I notice either, there is a taste difference though when i visit the north, hard to explain it. difference is hardness i guess, lol

i think i may do the same with rainwater, looking at water butts. filter through carbon.

i have kept fish in london tap water mostly no problems. Except oto's, for some reason they didnt fair well in my tank, which I put down to water. :?:
 
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