Isn't it weird that there is something in the water that cannot be identified and measured?
I don't believe there is a home test kit for bacterial or organic counts. It's the result of uneaten food and other biological waste not consumed by the nitrogen cycle. It's the big reason peeps here advise against heavily planted tanks with deep substrate...
Isn't it weird that there is something in the water that cannot be identified and measured?
It could be measured but would require laboratory testing which would be expensive and unnecessary since the issue can be mitigated with a good wc routine
Like much of fish science, it is not that well understood. If we were talking about drinking water quality there would be plenty of info out there. At the moment, best practice is to dump lots of water to keep discus growing and healthy. If you can find another way it would change things dramatically for discus keepers, but you wouldn't be the first to try.
My tank - http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?135251-coopers-6x2x2&highlight=
They can be measured. Here is what's in most drinking water. Don't let it frighten you, even the poison elements are in drinking water. http://freshlysqueezedwater.org.uk/w...tercontent.php
That article is posted by a reverse osmosis company so might be a little slanted. Problem with a TDS meter is that it is really measuring EC or electrical conductivity which is determined by the # of ions in solution. All non-ionic molecules are unmeasured. Best use is to measure effects of filtration on same source of water, i.e. validation of a home RO unit. TDS values will climb as the filter ages out. The ions measured by Kh and Gh also influence EC/TDS so you can get a feel for the (non-divalent Cation) amount of salt in your water by contrasting all 3 values.
I don't totally agree with the first sentence and don't believe they're slanted.. Google "whats in your drinking water" and most of the same elements are found all over the world in drinking water in different amounts. Your own water company has a list of elements in your drinking water.
This is outside the parameters of the thread topic but don't you think "making water safe to drink actually involves adding large amounts of extremely poisonous chemicals to it." is just a tad hyperbolic. Also, all of the references regarding Fluoride were on one side of the controversy, not fair and balanced. Regardless, the point was that a "TDS" meter has significant limitations.