[AU] Sydney tap-water analysis

David Martin · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

Wondering what's coming out of your tap?
Sydney Water provide an analysis...

http://www.sydneywater.com.au/html/yourhome/publications/waterreport.pdf

For example:
It tells me that my water comes from the Cascade Water System. Data provided
includes figures for:
pH, total hardness, alkalinity, total chlorine, a stack of trace elements,
and more.

I figure that this data can serve as a useful starting point for setting up
water chemistry.

How do I interpret these?
Total Hardness CaCO3 mg/L 30 - 34
Alkalinity CaCO3 mg/L 15 - 20
pH pH Units 6.5 - 8.5
I understand the pH part, and mine is high sevens. How about the rest? Is
that hard, medium, or soft water? Soap lathers well, so it can't be very
hard.

--
David Martin
Web Developer
Info Blue Mountains - Mountains of Blue Mountains Info
http://info.mountains.net.au

Archived from group: alt>aquaria>tropical>fish>hobbist

Marcus Fox · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 8

"David Martin" wrote in message@news.iprimus.com.au...
> Wondering what's coming out of your tap?
> Sydney Water provide an analysis...

I emailed my local provider (Severn-Trent), and they gave me an exremely
detailed analysis of the water including all detectable elements and
compounds plus much more, for my town.

Marcus

Jim Brown · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 177

Water treatment facilities are very helpful and their detailed reports can
be most enlightening.
I know that in Australia, that much of thee water is held in reservoirs.
With the extended periods of no rain, (I am only personally familiar with
Perth, WA) that water analysis can change over time.
Locally there are some tests that are done every 15 minutes, and others that
range up to once a day. It may be prudent to request more periodic analysis
reports to follow the seasonal changes.

Jim

Marcus Fox wrote in message$110k5i$1@ID-196357.news.dfncis.de...
>
> "David Martin" wrote in message
> @news.iprimus.com.au...
> > Wondering what's coming out of your tap?
> > Sydney Water provide an analysis...
>
> I emailed my local provider (Severn-Trent), and they gave me an exremely
> detailed analysis of the water including all detectable elements and
> compounds plus much more, for my town.
>
> Marcus
>
>

Marcus Fox · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 41

> I figure that this data can serve as a useful starting point for setting
up
> water chemistry.
>
> How do I interpret these?
> Total Hardness CaCO3 mg/L 30 - 34
> Alkalinity CaCO3 mg/L 15 - 20
> pH pH Units 6.5 - 8.5
> I understand the pH part, and mine is high sevens. How about the rest? Is
> that hard, medium, or soft water? Soap lathers well, so it can't be very
> hard.

Sorry, I replied earlier, but didn't answer your question. Basically 1 mg/L
is 1 ppm. The information below is taken from
http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-chem.html, which you may like to read, along
with all the other pages at http://faq.thekrib.com. Looking at the table, it
would appear that your water is very soft.

Marcus

*********************************

Water hardness follows the following guidelines. The unit dH means "degree
hardness", while ppm means "parts per million", which is roughly equivalent
to mg/L in water. 1 unit dH equals 17.8 ppm CaCO3. Most test kits give the
hardness in units of CaCO3; this means the hardness is equivalent to that
much CaCO3 in water but does not mean it actually came from CaCO3
General Hardness

0 - 4 dH, 0 - 70 ppm : very soft
4 - 8 dH, 70 - 140 ppm : soft
8 - 12 dH, 140 - 210 ppm : medium hard
12 - 18 dH, 210 - 320 ppm : fairly hard
18 - 30 dH, 320 - 530 ppm : hard

Alan Ruben · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

Perhaps we are confusing alkalinity with basic. Alkalinity is the measure of
a solution's ability to resist change in pH. Water which is measured "soft"
is typically lacking in carbonate ions. Those carbonates are a chief factor
in adding to a solution's "Alkalinity"

Alkaline is NOT a synonym for Basic. Basic is the opposite of Acidic.

Water could very easily be soft and basic. Add NaOH to pure water and get a
very basic solution. It would however be very soft.

http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/data/NUTRIENTS/info/Alk.html

Alan Ruben
www.bostonaquariumsociety.org

"David Martin" wrote in message@news.iprimus.com.au...
> Thanks, Marcus!
>
> Oddly enough, your previous post never appeared; at least as far as my PC
> was concerned. However, it did appear in Jim Brown's reply. Lost in
> Cyberspace. Smile

>
> I have been told that it is not possible to have water which is both soft
> and alkaline. There would seem to be good evidence that it is possible.
>
> I'll take a look at the links.
>
> David
>
>
>
>
> "Marcus Fox" wrote in
> message $sh4.1332093@newsfep2-win.server.ntli.net...
> > > I figure that this data can serve as a useful starting point for
setting
> > up
> > > water chemistry.
> > >
> > > How do I interpret these?
> > > Total Hardness CaCO3 mg/L 30 - 34
> > > Alkalinity CaCO3 mg/L 15 - 20
> > > pH pH Units 6.5 - 8.5
> > > I understand the pH part, and mine is high sevens. How about the rest?
> Is
> > > that hard, medium, or soft water? Soap lathers well, so it can't be
very
> > > hard.
> >
> > Sorry, I replied earlier, but didn't answer your question. Basically 1
> mg/L
> > is 1 ppm. The information below is taken from
> > http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-chem.html, which you may like to read,
along
> > with all the other pages at http://faq.thekrib.com. Looking at the
table,
> it
> > would appear that your water is very soft.
> >
> > Marcus
> >
> > *********************************
> >
> > Water hardness follows the following guidelines. The unit dH means
"degree
> > hardness", while ppm means "parts per million", which is roughly
> equivalent
> > to mg/L in water. 1 unit dH equals 17.8 ppm CaCO3. Most test kits give
the
> > hardness in units of CaCO3; this means the hardness is equivalent to
that
> > much CaCO3 in water but does not mean it actually came from CaCO3
> > General Hardness
> >
> > 0 - 4 dH, 0 - 70 ppm : very soft
> > 4 - 8 dH, 70 - 140 ppm : soft
> > 8 - 12 dH, 140 - 210 ppm : medium hard
> > 12 - 18 dH, 210 - 320 ppm : fairly hard
> > 18 - 30 dH, 320 - 530 ppm : hard
> >
> >
>
>

David Martin · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

Thanks, Marcus!

Oddly enough, your previous post never appeared; at least as far as my PC
was concerned. However, it did appear in Jim Brown's reply. Lost in
Cyberspace. Smile

I have been told that it is not possible to have water which is both soft
and alkaline. There would seem to be good evidence that it is possible.

I'll take a look at the links.

David

"Marcus Fox" wrote in
message $sh4.1332093@newsfep2-win.server.ntli.net...
> > I figure that this data can serve as a useful starting point for setting
> up
> > water chemistry.
> >
> > How do I interpret these?
> > Total Hardness CaCO3 mg/L 30 - 34
> > Alkalinity CaCO3 mg/L 15 - 20
> > pH pH Units 6.5 - 8.5
> > I understand the pH part, and mine is high sevens. How about the rest?
Is
> > that hard, medium, or soft water? Soap lathers well, so it can't be very
> > hard.
>
> Sorry, I replied earlier, but didn't answer your question. Basically 1
mg/L
> is 1 ppm. The information below is taken from
> http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-chem.html, which you may like to read, along
> with all the other pages at http://faq.thekrib.com. Looking at the table,
it
> would appear that your water is very soft.
>
> Marcus
>
> *********************************
>
> Water hardness follows the following guidelines. The unit dH means "degree
> hardness", while ppm means "parts per million", which is roughly
equivalent
> to mg/L in water. 1 unit dH equals 17.8 ppm CaCO3. Most test kits give the
> hardness in units of CaCO3; this means the hardness is equivalent to that
> much CaCO3 in water but does not mean it actually came from CaCO3
> General Hardness
>
> 0 - 4 dH, 0 - 70 ppm : very soft
> 4 - 8 dH, 70 - 140 ppm : soft
> 8 - 12 dH, 140 - 210 ppm : medium hard
> 12 - 18 dH, 210 - 320 ppm : fairly hard
> 18 - 30 dH, 320 - 530 ppm : hard
>
>

Ruth Ivimey-Cook · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

In article ,
alanrubenspamalama@comcast.net says...
> Perhaps we are confusing alkalinity with basic. Alkalinity is the measure of
> a solution's ability to resist change in pH. Water which is measured "soft"
> is typically lacking in carbonate ions. Those carbonates are a chief factor
> in adding to a solution's "Alkalinity"
>
> Alkaline is NOT a synonym for Basic. Basic is the opposite of Acidic.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Water could very easily be soft and basic. Add NaOH to pure water and get a
> very basic solution. It would however be very soft.

Well, that is the reverse of what I was taught in Chemistry, and rather
different from the definition in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Main Entry: al·ka·line
Pronunciation: 'al-k&-l&n, -"lIn
Function: adjective
Date: 1677
: of, relating to, containing, or having the properties of an alkali or
alkali metal : BASIC; especially of a solution : having a pH of more than 7

and the Chemical meanings of BASIC:
Main Entry: 1ba·sic
Pronunciation: 'bA-sik also -zik
Function: adjective
Date: 1842
3 a : of, relating to, containing, or having the character of a chemical base
b : having an alkaline reaction
4 : containing relatively little silica

whereas HARD, as in water, is:
Main Entry: 1hard
Pronunciation: 'härd
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English heard; akin to Old High German
hart hard, Greek kratos strength
Date: before 12th century
2 b : characterized by the presence of salts (as of calcium or magnesium)
that prevent lathering with soap