Is there a reliable silicate test kit?

[10" Red Devil]

I have had a tank now for 2 years, but lately I have been getting diatoms. I am not sure why as I use a DI on my R/O which is fairly fresh. I do get a reading of 5 TDS using the HM com-100 TDS meter.

I also use Red Sea Salt for water changes.

One thing I have been doing quite a lot is feeding freeze dried foods like ORAGlo pelets, New Life Spectrum Marine Fish Forumula, Super Soft Spirulina pellets, Wardleys Shrimp Pellets (for the nessarius snails 1-3 dropped in the tank 2x a week).

I haven't been the most diligant on water changes been 6 months or more, but recently I did 2 .5 gallon changes within a day of each other. Of course the diatoms were accumulating before this change.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[sjfishguy]

In my personal experience I have found that dried foods seem to cause more problems with algae, etc than frozen. But more likely the TDS of 5 is probably the problem. Again, personal preference but I would never use any water with a TDS over 2. The Filter Guys have also told me that many people that have problems you are refering to, also have similar TDS readings as you. Solve that problem first.

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by sjfishguy
In my personal experience I have found that dried foods seem to cause more problems with algae, etc than frozen. But more likely the TDS of 5 is probably the problem. Again, personal preference but I would never use any water with a TDS over 2. The Filter Guys have also told me that many people that have problems you are refering to, also have similar TDS readings as you. Solve that problem first.

Thanks for the help! See what I don't understand is why I am getting 5 tds. I mean I have a R/O membrane, First Stage Carbon, finally a DI resin stage. Everything is pretty new. The only thing I can think of is that the feed line is split with the line that is used for the washing machine and maybe there is not enough pressure running to the R/O membrane. Also I am using just the cold water line. I was told by a water treatment expert it would not make much difference if I only used the cold water line over making sure the water was close to 70 degrees per the instructions.

[sjfishguy]

Just the cold water line should be fine, the harm of hot water to the membrane outweighs the benefits of slighty warmer water. The low pressure could definitely be an issue with the output of the system. I would post that specific question and how to resolve it over in the lighting/filtration forum. They are more well versed over there on RO/DI function than I would pretend to be here.