# How hard is my water?!+What is the implications for plants?



## Tomfish (26 Jul 2011)

Hello to the community, this is my first time posting (on any forum). 
I am presently planning the set up of a 250 ltr high tech planted tank. As with many parts of the the uk I know I am in a hard water area (Brighton). My water suppliers online anaysis is as follows,
CaCO3       Ca mg/l     °Clarke      °French      °German 

225            90              15.75        22.5            12.6 

A chart i found at  http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hardness.htm that suggests that 225 CaCO3 equates to 12.5 GH, on the low side of moderatly hard, whereas my water supplier describes the water as hard. 

What i would like to know is  how other users would appraise my water hardness and its implications for plants and the use of Co2. Further more i suspect my water to be harder than moderatly hard and a after much research i am still unclear to the exact extent to which hardness effects amount of Co2 needed in a tank. 

Also from this infomation is it possible to tell any other useful parameters? 

All oppinions are very welcome. Thanks, Tom


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## ceg4048 (26 Jul 2011)

*Re: How hard is my water?!+What is the implications for plan*

Hello,
There are no implications at all.. Here is a CO2 injected tank with hardness 25+ GH:





The success of your tank will depend on your ability to execute proper CO2 injection, proper flow and distribution as well as proper nutrition. There is little to no impact from GH or KH unless you intend to grow a small minority of plants such as Tonina sp. For all other plants there is no concern.

The solubility of CO2 has little to do with water hardness. It has only to do with temperature, atmospheric pressure and salinity. Review the thread What can affect CO2 dissolving?

Cheers,


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## Tomfish (26 Jul 2011)

*Re: How hard is my water?!+What is the implications for plan*

Wow that was quick. Thanks ceg, that link was certainly informative and that tank looks hard and happy. This may mean i can skip the RO machine, one less expense!


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## Tomfish (27 Jul 2011)

*Re: How hard is my water?!+What is the implications for plan*

Thanks for the local heads up Corki, this thread has definatly put some of my worries to rest. I suspect establishing a good Co2 flow in my 4 ft tank will be key to success. That and combating my habitual laziness.  I'm still nailing down particulars of dosing, but do you take your tap waters chemistry into account when dosing?


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## ceg4048 (27 Jul 2011)

*Re: How hard is my water?!+What is the implications for plan*

Hi,
   First, you'll need to study the thread EI DOSING USING DRY SALTS which provides a safe, low cost method of ensuring plant nutrition. This renders the water chemistry irrelevant with respect to the most important ingredients - Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium (NPK) and Trace Elements such as Iron and Magnesium, however, this dosing scheme does not address Calcium or Carbonate/Bicarbonate. If using tap water, generally these last few items are automatically addressed but if using RO water or if the tap in your region is low in Carbonates/Bicarbonates then they need some attention, but are very easy to address.

Cheers,


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## Tomfish (28 Jul 2011)

*Re: How hard is my water?!+What is the implications for plan*

Cheers for the suggestion, I had planned on using dry salts as I can't afford the branded options. I think I now grasp enough to work with. I must admit it took me looking at a few threads to completely accept the value of not testing, but I get the point and to be honest it's quite a relief. I hated the process chasing readings on kits you dont wholly trust.

Thanks for all the help!


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## ceg4048 (28 Jul 2011)

*Re: How hard is my water?!+What is the implications for plan*

Yep, no worries mate. Don't even get me started on test kits, which have proven their value to be nothing more than that of a vampire sucking the life blood from the unsuspecting hobbyist. Whenever you receive advice to test, you should immediately pull out the garlic and crucifix and then contact vampire slayer Van Helsing.  

Cheers,


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