In need of some extra eyes (&brains) on my tank

[Angus]

Firstly thanks for the reply 😉

Because I use sand as a substrate, and don't tend to buy many plants (I just recycle them from other tanks), I don't usually get much "melting" in new tanks.

Funnily enough i get pretty much no melting apart from when im transplanting crypts and trim the root system, i use almost exclusively ADA amazonia and fine play sand. (not together)
Used to get plenty when i was using injected co2 but not since going low tech and lower light.
Current tank has new aquasoil out of the bag, and ive lost about 3 individual crypt leaves, i have been doing weekly not daily water changes, i did however whack a very mature filter on there.
Don't ask why i'm using amazonia on a low-tech it's just my way.... 🤣

I occasionally measure conductivity as well, but just to <"keep it somewhere around"> 120 microS. There isn't anything special about <"that value either">. If I'm away for a while I just change a bit more water, when I'm back home, until I get back into the conductivity datum range.

cheers Darrel

Any particular reason for preference on conductivity over TDS? obviously my TDS is insanely high being in central so most often it's not worth measuring it, all my planted tanks TDS have been lower than the tap.

Gus.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Any particular reason for preference on conductivity over TDS?

No not really, it is just that all ppm TDS measurements are really <"conductivity measurements"> anyway.

cheers Darrel

 

[Angus]

Hi all,

No not really, it is just that all ppm TDS measurements are really <"conductivity measurements"> anyway.

cheers Darrel

Well i just learned my TDS meter is just a conductivity reading multiplied.

 

[MichaelJ]

Well i just learned my TDS meter is just a conductivity reading multiplied.

Hi @Angus yes, the TDS measure is really somewhat like a currency no one knows the proper exchange rate or value of.... I always knew it was a conductivity measurement, but I only discovered recently, thanks to Darrel / @dw1305, that the conversion factor build into the measurement device can vary wildly (with some devices such as Hanna you can choose your factor... in the one I have its fixed at 0.5) and depends on the reference solution (KCL or 422).... what a mess... So if someone says 150 TDS... is that based on 0.7 or 0.5 or 0.64 ... and is it automatically temperature compensated? It can be anything from ~200 to ~300 uS/cm. (if its ATC). Well, until we all switch over to reporting our EC in uS/cm, I am just going to pretend this problem does not exist and carry on

Cheers,
Michael