# Water Board Results



## AverageWhiteBloke (31 Mar 2010)

I appreciate that these results are not the final word on what's coming out of my tap but I thought I'd take a look, is Propetamphos another chemical name for phosphates?

The only thing I don't test for is po4 so was just curious to what it might be.


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## Jase (31 Mar 2010)

Propetamphos, I believe is an insecticide  :?


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## JamesC (31 Mar 2010)

Propetamphos


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## AverageWhiteBloke (31 Mar 2010)

Thought I'd upload the results, is there anything to think about or is Phos hiding in there under a scientific name?

I'd appreciate any advice.










Just really curious, I have read up in this board of how inaccurate the test kits are that we can buy in the LFS so I haven't really bothered with them on this planted attempt, I just stick to my NO3 and using the drop checker. My water isn't worth measuring for hardness its that soft. First time round I bought a load of test kits and can remember at the time the phosphates were high but that was before thinking changed about the phos levels in tanks today and was wondering what the levels are out of the tap these days.


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## dw1305 (1 Apr 2010)

Hi all,
No there isn't any P value, "orthophosphate" would be the term to look for if it didn't list phosphorus. The water is very good quality soft water, so I would think the Elan dams (in mid Wales) are it's most likely origin.

Due to the quoted pH value I would expect that an amount of phosphorus (orthophosphate) has been added to the water supply, due to worries about  "plumbosolvency" (basically lead going into solution due to the combination of old lead pipes and acid tap water).  The excess of phosphorus mops up any free lead (Pb) and precipitates it out as the insoluble lead phosphate complex. Wessex Water add phosphate to our water even though it is straight out of a limestone aquifer and almost infinitely buffered, softer water they buffer up to increase the pH.

From "Water & Wastewater Treatment", April 1999 





> Current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines recommend a maximum allowable concentration (MAC) of lead of 50Âµg/l. Implementation of phosphate dosing, sometimes in combination with pH control, has generally resulted in these levels being met. However, following a review of epidemiological data WHO has recommended a reduced MAC for lead of 10Âµg/l be set. It is expected that new regulations will be enacted in the UK in the next year, imposing a new interim standard of 25Âµg/l to be met within five years and 10Âµg/l within 15 years.



I've just had a quick Google, and I'll have to find the exact figure but here it says something like 95% of the UK's tap water is now dosed with orthophosphate http://www.meteau.org/publications/BPG_PC_Draft.pdf.

cheers Darrel


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## AverageWhiteBloke (2 Apr 2010)

> The water is very good quality soft water


Thanks very much DW, my water is from Ennerdale Lake in the lake district Cumbria where the water generally runs through peat and moss areas before entering the Lake so being very soft didn't surprise me.  I have been looking at the water report summary rather than the detailed report as well and there's no mention of orthophosphate's there either. I am nearly sure though when I had my Discus that my PO4 tests were coming in at around 2mgl out of the tap. I remember at the time because PO4 was thought of then as a menace to the tank causing algae and was bewildered as why there was less in the tank than the tap assuming the levels should would increase in there due to fish waste.
This board has now enlightened me on that subject  

I'm currently using a PMDD+PO4 (James mix & Dosing)as big weekly water changes aren't my thing, I'm more an opportunistic changer as sometimes I work away and with lighting levels at max 2wpgUK I think I should be supplying enough ferts. The PO4 is quite weak in that formula but assuming the PO4 is still at 2mgl out the tap I think its fair to carry on with my routine. I have also switched off one of the three lights 20watt for a 3 week test, only time will tell.

Previously I had been dosing EI and things were ok except slow growth and a bit of BGA round the front, upping my co2 and installing another filter that blows co2 enriched water across the front seems to be curing that BGA.

Now just to wait a month on this routine and look for any deficiencies if not I may try and crank up that other tube or even considering swapping it out for a moonlight just for the last half hour of viewing  

I'm even considering my first journal as my tank over the last couple of month as managed to move from embarrassing to showing potential    I wouldn't have like to have shown you pictures 2 month back I would probably have been blacklisted. Now then off to the aquascaping board.


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## dw1305 (2 Apr 2010)

Sorry duplicate post


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## dw1305 (2 Apr 2010)

Hi all,
From "...... Ennerdale Lake in the lake district......", perfect, sorry for some reason I thought you were in Wolverhampton, but the same set up as the Elan Valley (which supplies water to the W. Midlands).  

You could try asking the water company what the mean (average), max., min. and "95% confidence interval" for orthophosphate levels are, that will give you PO4 levels and from there you can work out P. They are not legally obliged to tell you, so they may not.  

Although P is a macroelement, plants don't use anything like as much of it as N or K, small, dark, often distorted and "purple" new leaves would be the symptoms to look for, rather than the pale leaves  and/or yellowing and chlorosis you would get with N, K, Mg or Fe deficiency.  

cheers Darrel


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## AverageWhiteBloke (2 Apr 2010)

Thanks Darrel I've just updated my profile don't why I didn't in the first place. I may give the water board a ring just out of curiosity. Might as well get my monies worth out of them.

For some bizarre reason they charge me Â£6 a month more than my mother who lives on the next estate, go figure maybe my waters better than hers    Apparently its because the estate is newer and they need to get back money spent on it but the estates 30 year old  you would have thought they would have evened the books by now.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (3 Apr 2010)

Purple leaves that's interesting I have a couple of Amazons with purplish looking leaves.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (4 Apr 2010)

couple of photos is this a sign of deficiency?







The brown bit on the rounded Amazon on the second picture back right was on when I got it from the shop and only been in the tank a week but the red veigns Amazons have been in a while and only seems to appear on 1 new leaf on each plant.


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