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Re: [APD] carbonate test



I think what you said was that no fizzing with an acid test
wasn't a sure sign -- and that fits what you posted. That's
not exactly what I posted

Thanks for putting it more clearly.

Scott H.

--- Roger Miller <roger at spinn_net> wrote:
> 
> Scott wrote:
> 
> > I wish I had the scratch paper handy with my notes. I
> > thought I heard Roger say that the acid test as he
> > described it could falsly indicate no carbonates but
> was
> > unlikely to falsely indicate carbonates.
> 
> Did I say that?  Regardless, it is true.  The acid will
> not fizz unless there 
> are carbonates present, so you can't get a false positive
> from the test.  The 
> test can fail to fizz on dolomite (a carbonate) so the
> test can produce false 
> negatives.  That's why if the test appears to be negative
> it is usually 
> advisable to scratch the rock the way Bob describes it
> and test again on the 
> scratched surface.  It's also advisable to test a rock at
> several different 
> places.
> 
> The test for dolomite is a little difficult.  There is
> also a dye test for 
> dolomite but I doubt that many aquarists are going to
> that length to find 
> dolomite.  Dolomite is soft enough to be scratched, so if
> you use the 
> hardness test first then you may never get to the acid
> test.


=====
S. Hieber

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