Water test back and a hardness article

JDM

My water test is back.

CaCO3 hardness is 361 mg/L (or ppm)
Alkalinity is 294 mg/L
Ph is 7.77

Not quite sure how these convert to dGH

metals are within spec.

Pretty much what I was expecting. I'm curious how this is going to compare when I test the water myself.

I found a short article on water hardness as it relates to freshwater market fish, (trout, bass etc)... I've attached it for any who might be interested.

Jeff.

Attached Files

Hardness.pdf (13.3 KB, 4 views)

JDM

Interesting, I talked, indirectly, to the testing tech last night. They thought that we had a softener going due to a slightly high Sodium count.

Is 14ppm going to be any issue for anything in the tank I wonder?

Jeff.

Byron

The linked article is OK, but just bear in mind it is geared to food fish culture. Some of the general statements of calcium levels necessary in water would not apply to all aquarium fish, such as soft water fish; these live fine in water with zero calcium and other minerals. You might want to read my article on this subject in the Freshwater Articles section:
Water Hardness and pH in the Freshwater Aquarium

To the test results of your water. To convert to dGH and dKH, divide the ppm [mg/l is basically the same as ppm] by 17.9, to convert the reverse, multiply the degrees by 17.9. This gives us 20 dGH and 16.4 dKH. This is quite hard water, with a high carbonate hardness which buffers pH. The linked article (mine) explains this a bit more.

On the sodium, I assume you do not have a softener, not with that high a GH. So yes, this too is an issue more for soft water fish than hard, but I would wonder about any fish. 14ppm equates to something like 12 teaspoons per imperial gallon, which is far in excess of what most aquarium fish can tolerate without damage.

Byron.

JDM

Great article Byron, thanks for the link.

I spent some time at the LFS today talking to a couple of people there. Something one fellow said twigged me onto the idea of cutting my water with RO water seeing as it needs added what I have in abundance. It might work well. A local food store does their own RO for sale so I can pre-prep my water, maybe buy in bulk.

I may need to change my initial fish selections... But I will see what my water mixing can do first.

I was a little concerned about the Sodium after having read some articles on how the fish interact with the water. Half and half with RO water will still leave a fair amount in there even though it's better.

I want to get the tank going with driftwood, sand, plants and see where the testing results end up. Maybe pick the hardiest of our choices of fish to get some fishy respiration going on.

Regarding the sodium. We've always had a very low sodium diet, never added except a bit in some dishes and no take out food... I guess this sort of explains why we've never had any issues with too little sodium. Needs more looking into anyway though. Perhaps I'll have to have us just start drinking the fish prepped water...

Jeff.

Byron

Yes, I would check into that sodium. I'm not a chemist, and have to rely on my research sites, but that seems very high to me.

The mixing pure water with tap water is a good option, if you can get "pure" water such as RO. Rainwater also works, if you receive sufficient of that.

JDM

I don't know if I would rely on rainwater. We had quite the drought this summer, which is unusual, but my water supply would have literally dried up. I might check it against the RO water and see how close it is though. Maybe just different mixing ratios between the two.

Yes, it is high. The tech did mention it to me as something to look into but didn't say it was a problem... just a little high. At the amount that you suggested, 12 teaspoons per gallon, it puts it a better perspective.

Jeff.

JDM

I did a bit of research on sodium in drinking water. The Canadian median is around 5 mg/L with the high well over 100. Even at 14 we are within the range of normal and it may only be a concern if we were having problems with hypertension and some heart related pre-conditions and were on a restricted sodium diet and were drinking lots of this water. Given the "normal" consumption of sodium in various food sources the drinking water is so small a factor, even in our voluntary low sodium diet.

I think they mention that it is noticeable at 200 mg/L.

Jeff.

JDM

On a side note:

For anyone who drinks RO water, you may want to rethink that. the fact that the water is "pure" means that it will pick up elements on it's way through your body effectively leaching out needed minerals.

Not good.

Jeff.

Byron

One must remember that "safe" levels of salt and many other minerals for humans to drink are often much too high for fish to live in.

I converted your 14ppm into 12 teaspoons per gallon. This was according to a chart. However, all night this has puzzled me, so this morning I did some more digging, back to my own article:
Salt in the Freshwater Aquarium

In this I worked out that 100 ppm is approximately equal to 0.38 gram of salt per gallon of water. One level teaspoon holds approximately six grams of salt. So your 14ppm is not much of a problem, as that is miniscule. Fish should have no issues. Sorry for the mix-up; I must learn not to take short-cuts.


Byron.