Why the handheld TDS is so useful

[Salty Cracker]

I did up a a 5 gal pail of water (mine is set up in the laundry sink in case I forget and it overflows) and while my DI says its running at 0TDS, I have started dropping the handheld into the pail just to be sure.  Last night it read 20ppm for no reason that I can figure out, so who knows what got into the bucket, maybe the tap dripped into it, but that's the kind of thing that can kill a tank (depending what the contaminant was).  I rinsed the pain in vinegar and then water and flushed the RO membrane just to be sure...today the water is 0TDS again.  I've been extra extra careful since a couple of months back and everything bleached out overnight, but I think it's something I'll keep doing. 

Just something someone might not have thought of if they have just the inline TDS. 

 

[chief hill]

Good catch. I dont have a tds meter yet but will get one soon. What i dont get is some other people i know that reef in Windsor use normal tapwater and have great tanks with no visible issues. 
I use rodi myself. But just dont get it. Maybe they are just lucky or gambling. 
Does anybody know what the tds is in our normal tapwater before rodi.

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[Salty Cracker]

Good catch. I dont have a tds meter yet but will get one soon. What i dont get is some other people i know that reef in Windsor use normal tapwater and have great tanks with no visible issues. 
I use rodi myself. But just dont get it. Maybe they are just lucky or gambling. 
Does anybody know what the tds is in our normal tapwater before rodi.

I used to use tapwater.  In my personal observation, you can get very good results for -maybe- 5 years, before your rockwork goes all to hell.  Using tapwater I have had 3 crashes in 17 years.  The tank I have now went 5 years on tap, then cyano and HA absolutely took over.  It too ~8 months to finally get the crap out, and who knows what heavy metals are still lingering in nooks and crannies.  So while it CAN be done, it's not sustainable.  (IMHO)

 

[sunnykita]

Thanks for posting that Salty,
Last night I was looking at picking up the inline unit, now I see how the handheld one makes sense.
I think I'll go handheld. Any thoughts on the add on inline?

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

yu can get the inline at marinedpot for 24 bucks and still get the handheld  it just when yur filling yur bucket yu can watch for any spikes but always check the pail with the handheld

 

[phi delt reefer]

Whichever you get you need to remember to calibrate the unit as per manufacturer s recommendation

 

[Salty Cracker]

The inline ones are definitively good because it helps you monitor the health of your RO unit.  The handheld is sort of a last line of defense thing. 

Not infallible, one time I checked my 15 gal tub of makeup water just before I added salt and it was 50 tds so I dumped it, then I remembered I had added magnesium to the water.  doh!

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

do yu guys add yur salt while the pail is fulling with rodi water?

 

[Salty Cracker]

I have a tub, I usually put in one 5gal pail, then enough salt for 15 gal, and I run a heater and a little powerhead on it while it mixes, then add 2 more 5 gal pails and leave it all running overnight.