NEWS105
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maybegood for thewashingmachine,but is
far frombeneficial in theaquarium.This type
of ion-exchange water causes nothing but
problems in theaquarium.Moreover the test
reagentswon’twork in it. Themeasurement
of total hardness measures alkaline earth
totalhardness,which isn’tthecaseatall,asthe
total hardness is ultimately the sum of the
non-carbonate hardness and carbonate
hardness,and–nomatterhowgoodmodern
water tests are – they can’t be used to
measureantimatter.Anyonewhosedomestic
water produces such results has a problem
andmust look around for suitableaquarium
water.Ifanaturalbodyofwaterproducessuch
an unusual result then carbonate hardness
shouldbetakenastotalhardness.
Whatandhowto test?
Whenyouarestartingoutwithwater testing
andwant tounderstandwhat isgoingon in
the aquarium, then liquid tests for total and
carbonate hardness are the best choice.
Ideally you should test the aquariumwater
before and after awater change, and check
out themainswater at the same time. In this
way you will get a good picture of what is
comingoutof themainsand itseffect in the
aquarium.Ifall isnormal,iethenon-carbonate
andcarbonatehardnessare in theusual ratio
of around 20 : 80 % respectively, then
subsequently you can omit one of the two
tests during routinemeasurements. Anyone
who is constantlymixingwater, to lower the
hardness forexample,andhencehastomake
frequent measurements, will find a
conductivity meter a sensible acquisition in
the longterm.Anyonewhowantstoperform
aquicktestwhileonthemove,be it innatural
watersandspringsorthetanksofsomehorrid
clubmemberwhereall iswell,withoutrisking
causing a riot, will find that strip tests also
provideagood initial indication.
TobecontinuedinNews106
TheShireRiver to the southof LakeMalawi.Here theKHmeasuresmore than theGH.
metal ions, which in practicemeans mainly
calcium;whilethemeasurementofcarbonate
hardnessmeasuresbicarbonate.Because ion
exchange removes all the calcium ions but
thebicarbonate remains, it suddenlyappears
thatthecarbonatehardnessishigherthanthe
