Full Chemical Analysis

[Ludwig Venter]

Being responsible for Occupational Hygienne, I have to send water samples away for a total bacteriological and chemical annalysis every month.... I included a sample directly from my drinking water tap at home, and the report is as below.... 3 Questions:

1. What are the most important qualities to look out for in a total report like this
2. IYO, what is the quality of the water in this report (wrt fishkeeping)
3. Do the compossition of water directly from the tap change on a daily basis or is it likely to have the same qualities for extended periods:

Analyses: Method
A = Accredited (Included in the SANAS Schedule of Accreditation); N = Not accredited (Excluded from the SANAS Schedule of Accreditation)
OSD = Outsourced; S = Sub-contracted; NR = Not requested; RTF = Results to follow; TNTC = To numerous to count; ND = Not detected
NATD = Not able to determine

30010
07 Dec 2009
Water
A pH CSM 05 7.29
A Electrical conductivity (EC) mS/m CSM 05 57.30
A Total dissolved solids (TDS) mg/l CSM 06 452
A Total alkalinity mg/l CSM 01 16.8
A Chloride (Cl) mg/l CSM 01 157.9
A Sulphate (SO4) mg/l CSM 01 76.33
A Nitrate (NO3) mg/l as N CSM 01 28.338
A Ammonium(NH4) mg/l as N CSM 01 0.036
A Orthophosphate (PO4) mg/l as P CSM 01 <0.025
A Fluoride (F) mg/l CSM 11 <0.183
A Calcium (Ca) mg/l CSM 02 52.174
A Magnesium (Mg) mg/l CSM 02 16.933
A Sodium (Na) mg/l CSM 02 107.31
A Potassium (K) mg/l CSM 02 2.457
A Aluminium (Al) mg/l CSM 02 <0.006
A Iron (Fe) mg/l CSM 02 <0.006
A Manganese (Mn) mg/l CSM 02 <0.001
A Total chromium (Cr) mg/l CSM 02 <0.002
A Copper (Cu) mg/l CSM 02 <0.001
A Nickel (Ni) mg/l CSM 02 <0.003
A Zinc (Zn) mg/l CSM 02 0.477
A Cobalt (Co) mg/l CSM 02 <0.002
A Cadmium (Cd) mg/l CSM 02 <0.001
A Lead (Pb) mg/l CSM 02 <0.01
A Total hardness mg/l CSM 06 200
A Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) CSM 06 3.30
A Anions CSM 06 8.40
A Cations CSM 06 8.74
A Difference (%) CSM 06 1.99

 

[OldMan47]

You have high mineral content, low KH, moderately soft water with a reasonably good pH for most fish. What you have is softer than my water but with higher mineral content, which is a bit unusual. I am not sure what some of the traces mean except that the orthophosphate, nitrogen and potassium may indicate some agricultural runoff getting into the water source. If that is the case, the chemical content will vary some with the seasons. That does happen in the town next to where I live as they use lake water for a source. In my own village, the water comes from deep wells and does not usually show any signs of agricultural effects at all.