[mikep]

Hi all. I don't have a test kit handy, but I was able to test the TDS of my tap water and it's 487. Is that useable for a planted tank? I also have a RO/DI filter that we use for drinking water. Can I mix RO water with tap water to 'soften' it? My tank will be 50 gal. And I will probably be using Eco Complete or Aquasoil substrate.

Any help would be appreciated.
Mike

 

[mosasaur]

AFAIK it would be fine to mix r/o water with tap, 4 parts r/o to tap would get it down to an OK level for most plants. From what I can find out, 50 to 150 ppm TDS is a good range. My local water dept. says the local water is 248 ppm. I am just now getting back into planted tanks but when I lived here a long time ago my plants did great - sag, water sprite, hornwort. I hope this helps. By the way, do you know the chemical makeup of the TDS? Calcium carbonate or what?

 

[mikep]

Thank you. I don't know what the chemical makeup is. I'm sure I can find that out though.

I did find my test kit, here are the results.

Tap Water
PH-7.6
chlorine-0
KH-16 degrees, or 286.4 ppm
GH-1 degree, or 17.9 ppm

What do you guys think? Should I go with a brackish tank..lol

 

[wkndracer]

Those numbers seem way off. With a 16dKH the pH should be way higher than 7.6

 

[GTR]

I have a similar TDS, KH and pH but GH is much higher. A lot of what we measure in muni water systems is the by-product of the chlorine generation they use and not the overall quality of the source water. Most water companies want to maintain a pH in that range since it's a lot easier on the pipes. With a lower pH they'd have much more corrosion in the system.

I question zero chlorine though straight from the tap.

SteveU

 

[mikep]

Thanks guys. I re-tested the PH and chlorine and they are accurate.

 

[legomaniac89]

My tap water is even harder than yours. gH is 350ppm, kH is 280ppm, and it works just fine for my tanks. The only limit is that you'll have a hard time growing softwater plants like Toninas and Eriocaulons unless you add R/O. I don't even bother with them.

 

[mikep]

I found this info on my city water.

 

[Solid]

Doesnt your GH HAVE to be higher than your KH? since KH is included in GH?

 

[Hoppy]

Doesnt your GH HAVE to be higher than your KH? since KH is included in GH?

KH is not a component of GH. GH is ppm of calcium and magnesium. KH is ppm of carbonates. If all of your GH is calcium carbonate, and all of your KH is calcium carbonate, the two are related.

 

[cjp999]

Those numbers seem way off. With a 16dKH the pH should be way higher than 7.6

My dKH is 9-10 and pH 8.0-8.2.

Perhaps he didn't give the CO2 24 hours to out gas. My pH is below 7 when it first comes out of the tap.