- Messages
- 181
- Location
- Germany, Kassel
Something very unusual happened. The water in one of my aquariums has the TDS reading of 5 ppm, which means the device is measuring a conductivity of approx. 9 microsiemens (my TDS-Meter has a seemingly inconsistent multiplier which seems to multiply higher conductivity water with bigger values than lower conductivity water, ranging from maybe x1.6 to x2.4).
I only use RO water for water changes and my tanks usually have "TDS" ranging from 18 to 60 ppm (mostly depending on the frequency and percentage of water changes I make). I never had an aquarium with a "TDS" lower than 15 ppm because my RO water reading range from 9 to 18 ppm and I do not make 100% water changes. And I didn't do a water change in this particular aquarium in the last 3 weeks either! Could it be that the plant growth (Salvinia mainly) lowered the TDS/conductivity so much?
And I have a pair of A. mendezi in the aquarium. Is lower than 15 microsiemens unnatural and harmful for this species? The female has been laying eggs several times already and I have never seen fry. Maybe it is because of the low conductivity making embryo/larval developement problematic?
I only use RO water for water changes and my tanks usually have "TDS" ranging from 18 to 60 ppm (mostly depending on the frequency and percentage of water changes I make). I never had an aquarium with a "TDS" lower than 15 ppm because my RO water reading range from 9 to 18 ppm and I do not make 100% water changes. And I didn't do a water change in this particular aquarium in the last 3 weeks either! Could it be that the plant growth (Salvinia mainly) lowered the TDS/conductivity so much?
And I have a pair of A. mendezi in the aquarium. Is lower than 15 microsiemens unnatural and harmful for this species? The female has been laying eggs several times already and I have never seen fry. Maybe it is because of the low conductivity making embryo/larval developement problematic?