MarcoRock - TDS Problem?

[Staaan]

At the Fall MR Frag Swap..

I stumbled upon MarcoRocks booth.

The price was good... and I've heard pretty good things.. so I decided to pick up some nice pieces for my new tank that'll be set up within the next week or 2.

Marco him self.. told me that even though they cure the rock - https://www.marcorocks.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=9

He did tell me though, to just be safe - soak his rocks in fresh RO water for a few days.

So I took my 20g bin, dropped the new rocks in there along with some old "live" rock that I had (its not live any more because it wasn't sitting in water and dried out)

Anyway.. I threw my new Vortech MP10 in the bin to circulate the water (as I don't have a DT thats worthy of the MP10; it'd be too much flow for my tiny 6g Nanocube)

So after a few days I decided to check the TDS of the bin.

The TDS meter is showing 413ppm x 100 ...

I thought the TDS meter was on the fritz or something.. so I went and made some new RO water and checked it - 0 ppm

So if I'm understanding the reading on my TDS meter (after I read the manual just to make sure) and infact

413ppm x 100 = 41,300 ppm

Is this possible?

I'm assuming I should change the water?

Suggestions.. advice.. comments... help?

As much as I love the shape of the rocks I bought from Marco.. I'm scared that the second the new rocks touch the water I'll have an uncontrollable nuisance algae outbreak...

 

[itsaNYthing]

i bought some of that macro rock, soaked it for a few days, dont have a tds meter so idk how it is, but i have it in my tank and all my paramaters are fine

 

[wimby]

Maybe it's the bin I was making extra water that had tds of 0 put it in a bin and checked it in a couple of days and the tds was 12. Just a thought I don't think it's the rocks

 

[greggnyce]

Is it not possible that the old live rock had organic matter still trapped inside rotting and now it is released into the water?

 

[tosiek]

If you did this with any other LR, even the dry base rock, your TDS would be reading an insane number as well. And if you mix salt into fresh 0 TDS RO then your TDS would give a high reading as well.

There is some organic matter being released along with salts and other nutrients. I wouldn't be worried about it at all. You didn't get a bad batch of marco, its just the way it is with LR.

The moment you have any bacteria growing in the water your TDS will read higher as well, which is why your seeing a reading of 12 after a few days of it sitting in a bucket.

 

[ming]

There is also a dry dust from the marco rocks. Once that goes in the water, it gets suspended and therefore its part of the TDS. Its nothing to worry about IMO, but just change the water if you're concerned

 

[Wes]

TDS measurement of water in a rock bin tells you absolutely nothing. It would be high for any type of rock.


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[henrystyle]

Its dry but once it goes in water, all the impurities will come out...Your tds meter is working fine. A lot of people make that mistake when buying dry rock. They just throw it in the tank right away thinking nothing of it. Big Mistake. I would soak it in some RO water for about a month before adding it to the tank. (2 water changes included)

 

[Staaan]

Awesome haha.
I got so worried
.... Hahahaha.

Anyway I'll just swap out the water And let it soak little longer.

It's already been about a week...

When should it be safe to set up my new tank with this rock?

Btw thanks for all the responses guys!


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[Staaan]

TDS measurement of water in a rock bin tells you absolutely nothing. It would be high for any type of rock.


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So inorder to figure out if a rock(s) have phosphates, something like a hanna phosphate meter would indicate if the rock does contain phosphates?

 

[masterswimmer]

If you did this with any other LR, even the dry base rock, your TDS would be reading an insane number as well. And if you mix salt into fresh 0 TDS RO then your TDS would give a high reading as well.

There is some organic matter being released along with salts and other nutrients. I wouldn't be worried about it at all. You didn't get a bad batch of marco, its just the way it is with LR.

The moment you have any bacteria growing in the water your TDS will read higher as well, which is why your seeing a reading of 12 after a few days of it sitting in a bucket.

+1

There is also a dry dust from the marco rocks. Once that goes in the water, it gets suspended and therefore its part of the TDS. Its nothing to worry about IMO, but just change the water if you're concerned

+1

TDS measurement of water in a rock bin tells you absolutely nothing. It would be high for any type of rock.

+1

Its dry but once it goes in water, all the impurities will come out...Your tds meter is working fine. A lot of people make that mistake when buying dry rock. They just throw it in the tank right away thinking nothing of it. Big Mistake. I would soak it in some RO water for about a month before adding it to the tank. (2 water changes included)

+1

Hope this helps.....lol

Russ

 

[House of Laughter]

what you should do is go through AT LEAST 3 weeks of RO changes on this water (BTW, you should be using water change saltwater to start the "live" cycle).

Each time you change the water of the rock, shake each rock vigorously as tons of dust settle into the crevices - this will also release all the dead stuff inside.

TDS is not something you measure on rock curing bins IMO.

HTH

house

 

[Staaan]

Thanks for the info guys!


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[Boomer]

Staaan.

413ppm x 100 = 41,300 ppm

No, such thing Unless it is the reading of 413 x 100

Who's TDS meter do you have ? A TDS meter that goes that high is a min of $200 and more close to $300 for a cheap one Seawater does not have a TDS that high. A TDS of 41,300 ppm = 43.7 ppt Seawater and that is higher than the salinity of the Red Sea at 40 ppt.

Molecules, organics, etc., have not TDS as they have no charge. TDS only measures charged ions like Ca++, K+, PO4-, Cl-, Na+, SO4- etc..