Neptune Aquatics

How is the city water?

Wayland - the cold water at my house has tds reading anywhere between 38 up to 45. It generally has tds reading of 42.

Fwiw - I do water changes with tap plus prime (okay I've only done this once - so far nothing bad as in algae) I still use the ro/di (I just put in new filters a month ago) for top-off.
 
Ideally you will want a reading of 0 for reef, but in comparison to what ive seen, other cities often show triple digit TDS readings, making SF wateer seem much cleaner.
 
I would say anything under 50tds, but it's not like it was that horrible back in the day before I got the the ro/di.

I just so don't like the idea of changing out between two tanks sixty to seventy gallons of water a month outside of top-off. I'm wasting close to three hundred gallons of water and that really bums me out.
 
I do Arnold, my RO exit goes straight to the backyard, my trees and plants love it :)

Although I do need a 3rd check on my TDS meter(s)... I'm questioning their accuracy, and the stupid calibration fluid is for a range of 1380!
 
Unfortunately I don't get water quality even close to Eileen's, or so I think *shrug* again tds calibration is a beyotch.

However 300 gallons? Do you make up 60 gallons at a time? You'd be surprised how easily the ground absorbs water... then again soil types do dictate a lot of this. Make a backyard pond with nothing but the run off water! Evaporation, no problem, overflowing, no problem, make it all pretty :D
 
Waste water is either a factor of four to one or five to one I can't remember.

I change out the water every two weeks on both tank. I fill one 45g trash can about two-thirds full.

Since I live on a hill, and soil erosion is a high priority (um...I don't want my house to fall down :D) so water going somewhere could mean house goes down the hill right into the school below.
 
Hey I live on a hill too, and there is a school a couple blocks down the street as well! :D

But yeah it's cool, also depends upon the vegetation in your backyard. I have two fairly large (for san francisco) trees, each topping out at over 20 feet (one of them is a coastal redwood) so they'll do their part to suck up excess water.
 
Umm...actually I meant there are no houses behind my house. It's just a steep hillside that slopes downwards to the school's fence.
 
The TDS in SF is really close to what we have in Alameda. Jim got me converted to using just treated tap water when he told me that the money I save in water could go to salt for the extra water changes you could do. I dread filling up the brute cans with RODI water because I know how much water it wasted, the fear of over flowing and the time it takes to fill them up. Now it takes me a few hours to have the salt water ready for a water change. I haven't seen any nuisance algae growing on my rocks either and it's been over a year.
 
I need to really test my TDS meter against something more reliable for adjustment.. I just have this feeling that calibrating it to a 1382 solution when I'll be working in the 0-20 range is not too groovy...

But from what I have now, I get 4-7 tds from the RO unit.. according to my new meter.
 
The ro portion should read anywhere from 2-4 (it depends how many filters you have before it hits the membrane), the di should take of the rest.

Mike what kind of TDS meter do you have? I think I have only bought two TDS meters and only the second one cuz I accidently left the entire meter in a bucket that a little bit of saltwater in it, and the battery corroded out.

I have never calibrated mine, but do check it against the inline TDS meter on the ro/di
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top