Help Reading Water Quality Information

[DeanoL83]

Hi,
 
I've been trying to work out the hardness etc of my tap water. I've found a document from the water supply company but am struggling to read it.
 
If someone could help me that would be amazing...it seems to go into a lot of detail - individual metals etc.
 
 
The web address below has a link to a 60page pdf document about the water quality. The link is listed:  'Annual Drinking Water Quality Report'. The lab analysis starts on page 31 of that pdf. 
 
 
https/www.iconwater.com.au/My-Home/Water-Quality.aspx
 
It says total hardness is 40 mg/L......is that all I need to know? I'm pretty sure I've read someone (Byron maybe?) say that it also depends on specific metals etc.
 
Thanks to anyone that can help!!!!

 

[Essjay]

The figures you want are total hardness and alkalinity. Alkalinity is what water companies call KH. And the units are mg/l which is virtually the same as ppm.
 
I am assuming that "hardness (total)" is the same as UK water companies' "hardness", that is, the same as GH. This is a measure of divalent metal ions, and in the majority of water supplies this means mainly calcium and magnesium, with very small amounts of other divalent metal ions. [Definition from son who used to work as an analyst for a water testing company]
 
Websites with fish profiles give both GH and KH in either ppm or German degrees (also called dH). Using the 'mean' number, your figures convert to:
GH - 41.2 ppm, 2.3 deg
KH - 40 ppm, 2.2 deg
 
In other words, very soft.

 

[StevenF]

 
Websites with fish profiles give both GH and KH in either ppm or German degrees (also called dH). Using the 'mean' number, your figures convert to:
GH - 41.2 ppm, 2.3 deg
KH - 40 ppm, 2.2 deg
 
In other words, very soft.

I agree it is very soft and they also list the PH at 7.7  It is good water sutable for most fish that prefer soft water.  However plants need some metals (micro nutrients) forpoper growth.  If you want a planted aquarium you might need to use a good micro fertilizer shuch as Seachem trace. There does appear to be some chlorine in the water so use a good dechlorinator.  I wish i had your tap water!
 
1 degree = 17.9ppm
1 mg/L =1ppm

 

[DeanoL83]

Thanks for the input guys. I've actually just moved to this area and have come from an area with very hard water, so I have a lot of livebearers (platies and swordtails).....argh! they seem quite happy so far.  Is there anyway I can make the water slightly harder for them?  I've never had water this soft before!
 
I do have Seachem liquid plant fertilisers. Not sure if I have trace. I have comprehensive - what's the difference between the two? And should I not be using comprehensive?  I always use Prime when changing water so the chlorine shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Byron]

Thanks for the input guys. I've actually just moved to this area and have come from an area with very hard water, so I have a lot of livebearers (platies and swordtails).....argh! they seem quite happy so far.  Is there anyway I can make the water slightly harder for them?  I've never had water this soft before!
 
I do have Seachem liquid plant fertilisers. Not sure if I have trace. I have comprehensive - what's the difference between the two? And should I not be using comprehensive?  I always use Prime when changing water so the chlorine shouldn't be a problem.

 
You will need to increase the hardness of your present water for livebearers.  This is fairly easy to achieve, certainly much easier than the reverse.  I have done this (my tap water is even softer, at less than 1 dGH) using sand or fine gravel substrates composed of aragonite and crushed coral; crushed coral on its own is insufficient as it is only calcium, but aragonite is both calcium and magnesium.  CarribSea make these.  Just make sure you do not get marine substrates as these will also have salt.  You can work with the entire substrate, or mix the aragonite sand with plain sand.  Or you can use a nylon bag of the substrate in a filter or hang it beside the filter return.  Now, I don't know how successful the latter methods are with respect to increasing the GH, I have only used these when pH was an issue.  But provided the tank is only livebearers, a substrate mix would work well.  I would not include any soft water fish species in this tank as they will not benefit from the increased dissolved mineral.
 
On the fertilisers, the difference is the ingredients (nutrients/minerals).  Flourish Comprehensive has 14 of the 17 necessary nutrients for aquatic plants (oxygen. hydrogen and carbon are not included).  The macro nutrients (the "hard" minerals like calcium and magnesium) are minimal because they assume most have sufficient in their source water.  Nitrogen is minimal as there should normally be no shortage of this (ammonium and nitrate).  The nutrients are roughly in the proportion needed by plants, aside form the foregoing.  Flourish Trace is a mix of seven trace or micro nutrients (iron and chlorine are not included).  These will obviously also be in Comprehensive.  If I use only Trace in a tank, I also add Flourish Iron.
 
Substrate tabs are another good source of nutrients, though obviously only benefiting substrate-rooted plants (no benefit to floating or non-substrate plants like moss etc).  I have experimented with Flourish Tabs and discontinued Flourish Comprehensive in a couple tanks (due to the latter significantly increasing organics and making the water hazy) and so far it is working better.  I have more than once had algae issues solely due to Flourish Comprehensive.  Every tank can be different.
 
Byron.

 

[DeanoL83]

Thanks for the detailed reply Byron, I will have a look to see if those crushed coral products are available here in australia.
 
I have read that placing empty snail shells into an aquarium can also help increase hardness, is that true?
 
I have a piece of driftwood with java fern and moss attached to it. Should I remove that? Because it softens water doesn't it?
 
 
With the plant fertilisers.....so the options are comprehensive OR trace and iron?  Never put comprehensive and trace/iron as this would be too much yeah? like a double dose?
 
 
Thanks

 

[StevenF]

I will have to disagree with Byron on crushed coral. Crushed coral is mainly calcium carbonate and Magnesium carbonate.  Both of these are limited to a maximum water solubility of about 11 ppm at a PH of 7 at room temperature.  Meaning the maximum GH improvement you will get is a little over 1 degree GH.  I use RO water in my aquarium which has GH value of about 0 at the tap but once it mixes with the calcium and magnesium in my tank it goes right to a GH of 25 ppm and stays there.    No mater what you do it will not go higher.  for my tank that is fine. To go higher you need to use a source of calcium and magnesium that is much more soluble.  
 

 
 
I have read that placing empty snail shells into an aquarium can also help increase hardness, is that true?

Snail shells are essentially the same as coral so that will help hold the GH at 25 but it will not push it higher.  
 

 
 
I have a piece of driftwood with java fern and moss attached to it. Should I remove that? Because it softens water doesn't it?

The drift wood doesn't reduce harness.  it can reduce PH but that effect gradually drops at the wood ages.  The moss and fern do need some calcium and magnesium to live.  So they will reduce GH but that effect will be slow and the the most part unnoticeable due snail shells you have in the tank.  
 
Calcium and magnesium  chloride and calcium and magnesium sulfate are much more soluble and you will be able to push the levels up much higher.  I would recommend you look at the water quality report from your old home.  That should give you an idea as to what PH, GH, and KH levels your fish are accustom to. Use that as your target. Also in addition to calcium and magnesium a number of other elements will typically be present  Adding the trace would help. You could probably safely double it but I believe the manufacture recommended  dose should be OK.  
 
After getting your GH at target your KH may need adjustment.  That can be done with sodium and potassium carbonate.  At first add these materials gradually.  They will also affect PH.  Don't push the PH above the target.  Then as you get close to the desired levels write down the recipe and use those levels when you do your water cycle.  Us a GH, Kh, and PH test kit to verify the water is good.  Cycle more water out if the GH, KH, and PH test indicate you made an error.
 
Byron comment on trace and comprehensive are accurate.   I have used both in my tank.  Currently I am mainly trace + iron.

 

[Byron]

Thanks for the detailed reply Byron, I will have a look to see if those crushed coral products are available here in australia.
 
I have read that placing empty snail shells into an aquarium can also help increase hardness, is that true?
 
I have a piece of driftwood with java fern and moss attached to it. Should I remove that? Because it softens water doesn't it?
 
 
With the plant fertilisers.....so the options are comprehensive OR trace and iron?  Never put comprehensive and trace/iron as this would be too much yeah? like a double dose?
 
 
Thanks

 
Steven has gone into detail on the GH/KH/pH issue.  I did say not to use crushed coral alone, but use an aragonite sand.  These do raise GH, that is their function, in rift lake cichlid tanks and of course the marine mixes with salt added do the same.  Many years back, with my very soft water (basically zero GH/KH and a pH in the 5's) I used a dolomite substrate in a tank with rift lake cichlids for a couple years, and also in a tank with mollies.  Aragonite sand is much the same.  One thing I did learn though was that it is always much easier and safer to keep fish suited to your source water.  It makes water changes much easier, especially if a major change is required as sometimes happens.
 
On the fertilisers...this rather depends upon the plant species and numbers.  Different plants have differing growth rates, and this means they require different levels of light intensity and nutrient availability; the slower the growth the less light and nutrients, and the faster the growth the more.  In a soft water tank with nothing but moss and Java fern (I have one like this), even with my very soft water I scarcely need any fertilisers.  In tanks with swords I need much more.  I have used both Comprehensive and Trace, but after several weeks algae became an issue.  As I said previously, every tank can be different.  I have 8 tanks, all with plants, in my fish room, and the subtle differences between them was rather surprising to me.  Using Flourish Comp in one tank caused terrible brush algae, but not in the others; discontinuing Comp and the algae went away with a couple weeks.  I tried this experiment twice, same results, so I know it was the Comp.  Using just Trace and iron did not do this.
 
With the numbers of your GH given earlier, provided you do not intend a heavily planted tank (with lots of stem plants which are fast growers) you might not need too much in the way of supplements.  It is better not to overload these.  Not only can algae be an issue, but other water problems like organics and diatom blooms can occur as well.  But perhaps even more importantly, any additive added to the water will get inside the fish, and this must always be kept at a minimum.
 
Byron.

 

[StevenF]

 
 
I did say not to use crushed coral alone, but use an aragonite sand.

Argonite is Calcium carbonite.  Sand is mainly silicon dioixide and some aluminum oxide.  The sand is generally not water soluble and will not have any big impact on GH.  Dolomite is mainly magnesium carbonate.  The only difference is that crushed coral comes from living thing and always has the same chemistry.  Dolomite and Argonite are sedimentary minerials that are mined.  Some might have high sodium chloride content and some calcium and magnesium sufides mixed in and other elements in them that might affect GH and KH.  So depending on where it comes from you may or many not be able to rase the PH, KH, or GH to your target.  In fact someone else posted about their failed attempt to raise KH with Argonite (link below).  in fact his KH reading is about the same as mine (which is controlled by snail shells)  So using Argonite, Dolomite, Sand and Coral together is probably not going to work.
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/440882-long-failed-struggle-to-increase-kh-suggestions-appreciated/?hl=argonite#entry3734101

 

[Byron]

CarribSea produce a so-called "African Cichlid Substrate" for hard water fish, but I cannot find anywhere the data on what it is composed of; I had thought someone somewhere said aragonite...I've no idea.

 

[StevenF]

 
 
CarribSea produce a so-called "African Cichlid Substrate" 

Couldn't find anything about Caribbean but I did find an ingredient list for Seachem Chicklid lake alt:

 
 
Ingredients: magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium sulfate, sodium chloride, aluminum sulfate, iron sulfate, potassium iodide

All the ingredients are highly water soluble while carbonates have limited solubility. SeaChem provides instructions on how to use it to achieve water matching several rift valley lakes.  Some with a GH of about 14.

 

[DeanoL83]

Thanks for the information Byron and StevenF....it's a lot to take in, but it's quite interesting.
 
I have found a liquid araganite which claims to be good for livebearers....would this help increase the hardness for them?
 
https/www.aquariumproducts.com.au/catalogue_products.php?prodID=4085
 
 
 
That being said, I do have tetras in the tank too, so don't want to make the water too hard - am hoping to just get a happy medium so that the water suits both my livebearers and my tetras if that is possible?

 

[Byron]

Re the linked product, I would not use this.  Aside from not explaining those claims it makes, it is "aragonite" which Steven says won't increase GH.  Aragonite sand which worked for me still seems the better option.
 
But more importantly to your second issue.  Depending upon the fish species, it is not advisable to deliberately put soft water fish into harder water.  The two really do not go together.  However, this depends upon species.

 

[StevenF]

 
would this help increase the hardness for them?
 
https/www.aquarium...php?prodID=4085
 

Yes this is a calcium carbonate product and will have limited effect on GH.  It also cost 20 dollars.  Go to the store and look for Ebsom salt which is mainly magnesium sulfate.  It would probably cost a lot less.  It is widely used by people to increase GH.  However it is my preference to also add Calcium sulfate.  In nature you never see water with just calcium or magnesium.  You always find both in the water.  You might need to go online to find it.   Just  mix the two together, dissolve in water and add in small amounts slowly until you reach your target.  
 
But first go online and try and find out how hard water was at your old home.  Your fish did well at that old level.  If you go over that level you might hurt the fish.