Gwinnett County {Atlanta} tap water PH 8.8 ????

[atlantadiscus]

Guys,recently moved and am shocked our PH is 8.8 County website says the lake we draw from is 6.5 and they add liquid lime to bring it to 7.2 {no luck getting the lab on the phone yet,still trying}


Aging this tap water in a bucket{no airstone or pump yet} brings it down to 7.4-7.6 in less than 24 hours.....does this big a swing make sense,especially in the Summer?

[DJW]

If their target pH is 7.2 they must be using too much lime. I would tell them its 8.8 and see what they say.

The active ingredient in the lime treatment is Calcium Hydroxide. When they add it to the water it gobbles up all the CO2 and adds the base.

When you age the water, you are bringing atmospheric CO2 into the water where it lowers the pH and reacts with the calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] to make calcium carbonate, which raises the KH above the starting point. Thats why the pH goes down so much, but doesn't go all the way back down to 6.5 because of the CaCO3.

[Bud Smith]

My city water has a ph of 8.6. I run air in my storage tank for 24 hours before use and I maintain a year round ph of neutral (7.0). But with that said that may or may not apply to your situation. There may be other variables. You are doing the right thing trying to talk to your lab tech. Continue your water testing.

[Filip]

If their target pH is 7.2 they must be using too much lime. I would tell them its 8.8 and see what they say.

The active ingredient in the lime treatment is Calcium Hydroxide. When they add it to the water it gobbles up all the CO2 and adds the base.

When you age the water, you are bringing atmospheric CO2 into the water where it lowers the pH and reacts with the calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] to make calcium carbonate, which raises the KH above the starting point. Thats why the pH goes down so much, but doesn't go all the way back down to 6.5 because of the CaCO3.

Jeez Dan .
That's some serious understanding of the chemistry behind this proces . Hats off to you and TFS .

[LizStreithorst]

Jeez Dan .
That's some serious understanding of the chemistry behind this proces . Hats off to you and TFS .

Yeah. I'm impressed, too.

[Kyla]

Jeez Dan .
That's some serious understanding of the chemistry behind this proces . Hats off to you and TFS .

DJW, AKA Dr. Water!

i have a similar situation and DJW helped me figure it out too. our city is trialling sodium hydroxide in the water to raise the ph above 9. so this means the use of aged and aerated water is essential for wc.

[DJW]

When I found out that my dKH was 23 and the nitrate was 45 I had to dust off the old chemistry books and figure out what to do about it. A lot of it is still a mystery to me but one thing is for sure, CO2 has a lot to do with it.

Some people have water where the pH goes up when it ages and some water goes down, and in both cases its the CO2. Either too much or not enough. My water was a disappointment, it comes out of the tap at 7 and goes right up to 8.5.

[atlantadiscus]

Well,bought a Brute container,aged water for 24 hours in it with a Rio plus 800 water pump agitating the surface,PH went from 8.8 to 7.8 - 7.6 {looked between these two colors on the API test kit card to me}. Due to this new aging water process I find myself forced to perform,it was a full week since the last change- fish did OK,before performing the change I took a few readings,tank PH was 7.4-7.6 and Nitrates were 5. Not sure the 8.8 tap water readings are a temporary or permanent thing at my new location,testing will need to be done until I can figure it out.I am hoping it is temporary,as aging certainly complicates what had been a very quick and convenient routine for me.I got received a brand new Emperor UV sterilizer that I am in the process of installing,will post updates on that as I experience them.

[Kyla]

i find that using the aging barrel actually speeds up the water changes for me because the pump that returns the water to the tank is so efficient, way faster than using the python attached to the sink tap. plus i dont have to play with the water temp, its the correct temp right off the bat.... would a stronger pump help decrease the time it takes u to do a wc?

[atlantadiscus]

Kyla,sadly that is not the "bottleneck" in the system.

My old W/C process went like this-Plop the Rio 1700 pump{642GPH} with attached hose into full tank and pump out 50-80% old water.Take same pump/hose and place in 5 gallon bucket and set in bathtub under faucet,adjust faucet temp to match aquarium temp {82-83F] place other end of hose in aquarium and refill,adding Prime.
Simple,very quick,could perform at a minutes without any pre- planning{I often did this late at night within 25 minutes},no stuff left out to clutter up the house.

New routine with container same tank draining method as above,BUT here is the differences- must pre-plan 24 hours in advance when to perform W/C,fill container with hose from outdoor faucet,plop in circulation pump and heater into it,listen to how ugly it looks in the family room for 24 hours,then pump it into aquarium,finally store the large container far away from the tank and hope nobody uses it as a trash can,LOL.

[Kyla]

is it possible to find a permanent storage place for your barrel? ive seen some ppl get really serious and cut holes in walls for tubing so hidden barrel placement near enough to the tank was possible and it was still out of view. my barrel is 2 rooms away from my tank but my hose runs thru a closet storage area next to my tank. i leave the hose hanging in the closet and when i want to use it i just grab it from the closet and unwind it to my tank. my drain hose is a permanent separate hose which stays coiled under the tanks and runs behind the tanks thru the closet area into my basement drain. i am planning to drill a hole in the wall for this hose but i havent gotten around to it so for now the closet door stays open just a crack for the hose. not having to lug hoses around is a big plus.

i hear u on the pre-planning. filling my 150gal barrel from the tap takes a while so i set an alarm on my phone to remind me to shut off the water and that way i can wander off and do other chores. i add the heater and airstone before leaving for work and when i get home the water is ready.there have been times when i didnt get to use the water and it aged 2 days instead of 1, but i try to avoid this cuz i want to lessen the scum growth on the walls of the barrel.

there is no ph swing in my water currently. next year our city is putting an additive into the water which raises the ph and aging the water will neutralize this chemical to decrease the ph. i will have to do some timing to see how long i really need to age my water next year, cuz right now its just being aged random lengths of time. once i do more testing and have the timing down i may find i dont need a full day at all. im hoping a good 8-10 hours would be sufficient, as that would allow me to fill the barrel before work and use the water after work. we'll see, its a learning process for me still.

[roberthu526]

I happen to live in the same area and according to API test kit my tap water is 7.4. After adding the water to the tank it drops to 7.2 over night. I actually feel pretty lucky living here because the TDS in the tap water is only between 40 and 45. Coming from an area that had very hard water I am not going to ask for more. Right now I don't have discus yet only some South America chiclids but I am preparing to re-do the tank so I can start keeping discus. I have did some research and learned many domestic raised discus do just fine in water with neutral PH. I hope this helps.