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Re: Some more questions about water quality
Misajegar at aol_com wrote:
>... the pH readings always seem alittle high,
> consistently >7.6. As an experiment, I used the strip on faucet water
> tonight and the pH was 8. Could my faucet water really be that high
> (although I know that a pH of 8 is not considered alkaline from my years of
> chemistry)???? Does anyone have any experience with these strips??? Are they
> considered reliable, or is there something else, other than meters (I already
> have the Hanna TDS) that would be recommended????
I have no experience with the strips you use, but EPA has put the bite on
local water providers to add alkalis to the water to reduce erosion of lead
from solder joints and copper from pipes in many areas. The pH numbers you
see are quite consistent with that decree.
The only adverse effect on aquarists is that we just have to be more careful
to keep ammonia away from the tanks, as more ammonium (harmless) converts to
ammonia (very destructive) at such high pH. As I recall, the amount of
available ammonia increases by a factor of about 50 from pH 7 to 9.
The older pH kits, BTW, are pretty useless at such high pH. You may need to
look for the High-Range kits to really know what is happening. I think
Wardley makes one that is widely available, perhaps even at WalMart.
BTW, if pH drops after the water from the faucet stands a while, it may be
just atmospheric CO2 adding a bit of acid to your water. That's pretty
common.
Wright
--
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntleyone at home dot com
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