I just tested my RO water in all 3 of my Brute cans and the TDS readings are crazy. My 44gal can which is where the water first goes and is stored until I need it reads 0.5 ppm. This can is almost a year old and has always read 0.5 or lower. I just recently bought (2)32 gallon brute cans and the readings are alot higher. One can measures 24.6 ppm's and the other measures 10.8 ppm's. I don't understand why this is happening. I don't know if this is a factor or not but the 2 cans with the high TDS readings have a powerhead and a heater in them. The 44 gallon does not. Does anyone have a clue as to why this happening?
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TDS ?
- Thread starter raider77
- Start date
Rich the new cans are covered and so is the old one. When I first got the cans I filled them up with ro water and tested them and they were fine. So I used up the water and refilled them and got those readings.I'll try the next batch without the heaters and powerheads and see what I get.
Tom the heaters are new. The powerheads might be the problem. They were used in my tank before and don't remember if they were cleaned before I used them. I think I'll buy 2 new powerheads to see if this helps.
Phyl I am using the HM Digital com-100 tds meter from the thefilterguys.com .
Phyl I am using the HM Digital com-100 tds meter from the thefilterguys.com .
Real nice Meter Arron.
I'm thinking it may be electrical interference as already mentioned. I had similar problems with a PH meter and Work Horse ballast that went bad. Drove me nuts until I called support and we figured it out. As mentioned, unplug the power heads and heaters and redo the readings. That will prove whether it's electrical interference or not.
Also, how many numbers are displayed for the TDS readings? If it's only 3 then I suspect your 24.6 and 10.8 readings are actually 246 and 108 which would also mean the 00.6 reading is actually 6. If it's 4 or more then the readings are as displayed. As Phyl mentioned, TDS readings are usually whole numbers, but your meter may be different. If it is actually 00.6 then again, as Phyl stated, that's close enough to 0 to be 0. The only time a reading of 00.6 may be a problem is if you previously had a reading of 00.0. That would mean either the meter is out of calibration or the TDS is rising.
Also, looking at the specs on the meter, it appears there may be some type of conversion needed between EC and TDS which may be confusing the issue. If that's the case, electrical interference will definitely cause wacky readings. If there are any reefers close by that have a different meter, it will be worth checking the TDS with an alternate meter to confirm your readings.
HTH
I'm thinking it may be electrical interference as already mentioned. I had similar problems with a PH meter and Work Horse ballast that went bad. Drove me nuts until I called support and we figured it out. As mentioned, unplug the power heads and heaters and redo the readings. That will prove whether it's electrical interference or not.
Also, how many numbers are displayed for the TDS readings? If it's only 3 then I suspect your 24.6 and 10.8 readings are actually 246 and 108 which would also mean the 00.6 reading is actually 6. If it's 4 or more then the readings are as displayed. As Phyl mentioned, TDS readings are usually whole numbers, but your meter may be different. If it is actually 00.6 then again, as Phyl stated, that's close enough to 0 to be 0. The only time a reading of 00.6 may be a problem is if you previously had a reading of 00.0. That would mean either the meter is out of calibration or the TDS is rising.
Also, looking at the specs on the meter, it appears there may be some type of conversion needed between EC and TDS which may be confusing the issue. If that's the case, electrical interference will definitely cause wacky readings. If there are any reefers close by that have a different meter, it will be worth checking the TDS with an alternate meter to confirm your readings.
HTH
RichT said:
Rich the meter reads 0.0 when I first turn it on. When I tested in glass like Phyl suggested I got a reading of 0.4 ppm. I kept the powerheads and heaters out of the cans overnight after refilling the cans. I tested and got 0.6 ppm. So I'm guessing it could have been the powerheads.
I think I'm going to pick up one those little hand held meters from the Hidden Reef for $30 to compare the readings.
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