Holy crap! I have been using 170ppm TDS water!

[FishyFishy!]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

So got my TDS meter since I was very curious about what TDS water I have been using for the past year. Turns out to be 170ppm! Holy crap! No algae issue or anything till now with this water. My 20 gallon was literally algae free and I used to do 50% weekly water change. My new tank is having diatom on the sand but not sure whether it is contributed by the tapwater or not since my 20 gallon just had an initial bloom and that's it.

Sheer luck or TDS is just over-rated concern.....I wonder.

TING TING TING! Start the debate!

I've had bad luck with conditioned tap water generally. However the biggest thing is your maintenance schedule. I have no doubts whatsoever that you had no algae problems with a water change schedule like 50% a week. Thats crazy! lol.

On my very first reef tank ever, I had color and algae issues even with a 2 X monthly water change schedule. When I changed to RO water, my softies colored up and algae went away. Call it luck? Timing? No idea lol. But I always like to use a good old RO just in case.

I also noticed on my brothers tank (he is using tap water with big als tap water conditioner) that when I switched his brand to my good old 'prime' it made a difference on regular glass cleaning.