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High GH and "softening filter"

RichTea

Member
Joined
14 Mar 2022
Messages
27
Location
Yorkshire
Hi all,

I have found the GH from my tap water is quite high, 22dgh reading from the NTlabs test kit its gone up over the last year from 17.

I have not been too worried about this in my tank but we also noticed its affected the taste of tea, I was looking at getting an inline filter for drinking water and am considering getting "large" set of filters to put inline from our supply and am wondering how this would affect GH.

I looked at the aqfilter set with 3 stages...
FCPS5 sediment cartridge
2 x FCCST Water softening and iron reducing cartridge

.

From my limited research it seems like this set up would reduced GH and be safe to use for tank water is that right?

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Water softening and iron reducing cartridge
I don't know that particular product but I assume it's on the principle of so called 'technical softener'. It replaces calcium cations with sodium. Not recommended, neither for aquarium nor for good tea.
The best solution by far is reverse osmosis. I'm a tea connoisseur and I prepare my teas from RO water only.:cool:
 
From my limited research it seems like this set up would reduced GH and be safe to use for tank water is that right?

No, not as far as I can tell - is it this product:


If so, that uses a sodium based ion exchange resin, which basically means it switches calcium and magnesium ions in the water (those that contribute to general hardness) with sodium ions. While that's fine for the rest of your house - it will benefit showers, toilets, white goods etc with reduced limescale build-up, it won't do anything to improve the taste of your tea - in fact its likely to make the water take a lot worse. Generally water softeners needs a drinking water bypass. It also certainly won't be any good for your aquarium - high levels of sodium are not good for freshwater tanks.

You could try a carbon filter instead to see if it improves the taste of your tea, as the GH may not be the reason for the taste difference you are experiencing. If you still wanted to reduce the mineral content of your drinking/tea water then some sort of RO or inline DI resin will be the way to go. To be honest though if it's just for a few cups of tea and glasses of water a day, a Brita filter style jug would be the obvious option since that contains both carbon and ion exchange resin, so it should both soften the water and improve taste.
 
the GH may not be the reason for the taste difference you are experiencing
This is off-topic but high mineralization in general is not good for a good tea. Replacing Ca + Mg by Na makes the taste even worse. Soft water is the way. I took it to an extreme and use RODI water. Both for tea-making AND for my tanks (which I mineralize, of course). This ability to make my water exactly like I want it to be has made me happy - and my tanks, too.
 
BBB9F49F-2187-46EA-977F-7502D05A6E16.jpeg
 
Hi all,
I have found the GH from my tap water is quite high, 22dgh reading from the NTlabs test kit its gone up over the last year from 17.
What do your water company results say? They have <"an analytical lab."> and their values will be accurate.

It is likely to be the test kit, rather than the water, just because ~17 dGH is pretty much the value you get when the water <"is fully saturated with calcium ions from limestone (CaCO3)">. To get higher levels of dGH isn't easy without some additional <"evaporite minerals"> in the water.
I have not been too worried about this in my tank but we also noticed its affected the taste of tea,
<"Coffee drinker personally">.
I'll be honest I hate getting up at any time of the day, and the first half an hour of any day is spent drinking a black coffee and contemplating the pointlessness of existence (and often it is all down hill from there for the rest of the day).
Replacing Ca + Mg by Na makes the taste even worse
I definitely agree with that one: <"Water filter/softener (regeneration salt) and water for planted aquarium">, but I much prefer <"hard water to drink">.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,
I'll be honest I hate getting up at any time of the day, and the first half an hour of any day is spent drinking a black coffee and contemplating the pointlessness of existence (and often it is all down hill from there for the rest of the day).
🤣 :clap: Exactly! The only difference is that I drink tea and smoke, and it definitely takes more than half an hour.
 
The only difference is that I drink tea and smoke, and it definitely takes more than half an hour.
Maybe that is the Czech breakfast? Although Google suggests coffee or tea, some wheat / rye bread and ham or cheese, which sounds much too sensible.

Black Coffee and a cigarette is the Italian/French/Spanish Breakfast*, and I have the <"Italian Breakfast light">.
......... because it suits <"my morning routine"> of a black coffee, thinking about a cigarette and 20 minutes of contemplating <"the meaning of life"> (while changing the tank water)........
Although, to be honest, following this mornings "interviews" with our new potential prime ministers,
Blörö - the famous Finnish breakfast consisting of hot coffee, vodka and a cigarette
is sounding appealing.

* Apparently claimed by several countries, but we had an Italian (Francesco, a wondeful human being) stay with us for a couple of months and it will always be the Italian Breakfast for me.

cheers Darrel
 
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This is the one I was looking at






"Aquafilter FCCST 10" Water softening cartridge. FCCST utilizes FDA-grade, sodium, based, strongly acidic ion-exchange resin which reduces calcium and magnesium ion content in water."

Okay sound like I need to rethink completely for both Tea,Coffee and fish!

Does Yorkshire tea count as a valid way to minralise water for you tank, blackwater style

Sent from my MI 9 using Tapatalk
 
Hi all,

What do your water company results say? They have /www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/testing-kit-recommendations.68587/page-2#post-682396']an analytical lab.[/URL]"> and their values will be accurate.

It is likely to be the test kit, rather than the water, just because ~17 dGH is pretty much the value you get when the water /www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/another-question-about-mineral-balance-of-ro-di-water.69630/#post-695
cheers Darrel
I can only find a reportedly from 2017 on their site (Yorkshire water).

I'll check the data on my NT Labs test kit, I have another test kit too I'll check the results with that too.

Thanks

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I can only find a reportedly from 2017 on their site (Yorkshire water).

Try this link:

 
Try this link:
That's where I looked later report covering up to 2018, I guess things should not of changed much from there side... But my dGH readings did go up, through ether my test kit changing or the water we do have pritty crappy water delivery, last time people from Yorkshire water were here there was grumbling about things should not be connected up like that (we have one stop tap for our side of the street taken directly of the mains ) .

I'll get my old test kit out at some point and see what it says!
 
That's where I looked later report covering up to 2018, I guess things should not of changed much from there side... But my dGH readings did go up, through ether my test kit changing or the water we do have pritty crappy water delivery, last time people from Yorkshire water were here there was grumbling about things should not be connected up like that (we have one stop tap for our side of the street taken directly of the mains ) .

I'll get my old test kit out at some point and see what it says!

So you put in your postcode and it gave you a report from 2018? That's not great. You should be able to contact them directly and get an up to date report - they have to test on a monthly basis I believe.
 
So you put in your postcode and it gave you a report from 2018? That's not great. You should be able to contact them directly and get an up to date report - they have to test on a monthly basis I believe.
Unless I am misunderstanding...
 

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Hi all,
It seems your water hardness is 6.1 °dGH...
<"It does">, that is 43.9 / 7.1 = 6.15 dGH (calculation below), that would also fit with the conductivity value of 281 microS.
By definition, 1dGH = 10 mg/liter CaO
Atomic Weight Ca = 40, O = 16, CaO = 56
So 10 mg/liter CaO contains 40/56 *10 = 7.143 mg/liter of Ca
By definition ppm Ca is not for elemental calcium but for ppm CaCO3.
Atomic weight CaCO3 = 100
So 7.143 mg/liter of elemental Ca would be expressed as 100/40 * 7.143 = 17.8575 mg/liter(ppm)CaCO3.
1dGH = 17.86 ppm CaCO3 and 7.143 ppm Ca++.
and low nitrate (NO3-). I'd be pretty happy with that as tap water and you can use it straight out of the tap for tea and (after dechlorination) for nearly all fish and plants.

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cheers Darrel
 
Perhaps the removal from solution of tannic acid from tea by the high calcium ion content of hard water affects the taste. Calcium tannate is insoluble in water and often leaves a brown precipitate in the cup. However boiling the water should should lower the hardness by converting the bicarbonate to virtually insoluble carbonate. I suppose if the hardness is due magnesium sulphate boiling would have no effect. Magnum tannate is sparingly soluble in water and would also produce a precipitate.

What an interesting off topic this thread has become.

Bottom line its all about person taste and I suppose the type of tea that you like.
 
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