Jpappy's planted 20 gallon long "build" thread

jpappy789 said:
Got a TDS meter for my CPs. Aquarium tests out just over 300 ppm. Tap is 195...RO water from my LFS? 210!

Not very happy about that...
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It's always wise to test so called 'RO' water. I tested the water a LFS claimed was RO and it turned out to be filtered tap water. PH over 8! I found a reliable RO machine I use now but still will do a quick taste test every time to make sure. How is it your aquarium water is so much harder than the tap water? Could your gauge be inaccurate?
 
myswtsins said:
Whoa, that's higher than my iron rich well water! Not off to a good start new LFS. My RO water comes out at 2-3 TDS with no DI treatment.
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Yeah I originally was thinking of purchasing a portable unit for my apartment but was going to check out the LFS first since it's .50/gallon

Now I'm not so sure of the RO unit either as my water pressure just seems lower than normal, and I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a booster.

gmh said:
It's always wise to test so called 'RO' water. I tested the water a LFS claimed was RO and it turned out to be filtered tap water. PH over 8! I found a reliable RO machine I use now but still will do a quick taste test every time to make sure. How is it your aquarium water is so much harder than the tap water? Could your gauge be inaccurate?
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I'm dosing ammonia, ferts/Excel, leaching from the substrate, evaporation...all could raise the TDS of the tank water compared to tap. When there's fish I bet there will be an even larger difference.

gmh said:
Oh, I recall now that warmer water tends to measure higher in tds than colder water. Here's a link:http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/ro-water-temp-affects-tds-144467.html
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Thanks, going to read through that...but the water I tested was at or around room temp which is what it would be at for my plants.

authmal said:
Be happy! You don't have to worry about RO! :woot:
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Not for my tank thankfully, but my carnivorous plants probably wouldn't be too happy with 200 ppm water...guess I'll be sticking with bottled water from the stores. That tested at 36-37 ppm in my plant trays.
 
Filling in fairly nicely for not that long. Also like the slight tannin look from the soil (not sure its very visible in the pic), probably wont last for long though. Have some mosses and floaters on the way from kind ROAKers at TPT.

 
Your tank is looking very good but...topless? I only did it once in a 40g long & lost several tiny lepidocephalicthys (?) loaches. Are you worried about the sids? Mine were never jumpy the couple times I had them but ...neither were the lepidos. I do like the wood sticking out a bit.
 
phish4brains said:
Awsome looking! Is that chainsword in the foreground
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Dwarf sags, not looking very dwarf right now.

fishorama said:
Your tank is looking very good but...topless? I only did it once in a 40g long & lost several tiny lepidocephalicthys (?) loaches. Are you worried about the sids? Mine were never jumpy the couple times I had them but ...neither were the lepidos. I do like the wood sticking out a bit.
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I've done open top tanks with them before. They don't venture to the top often even shallower tanks but jumping is always a risk. I have some water lettuce and Salvinia minima on the way as well.

GCL said:
Beautiful tank. The tannins give it such a great natural look.
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Thank you!
 
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