Testing for General Hardness

[pseud]

Hey, just purchased a GH/KH tester. It's made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. Have had good success with the rest of their water testing products, however, having a problem with this one. Testing the KH is fine, no problems. Testing the GH is problematic. The water is supposed to turn orange when the first drop is added. It stays clear. It does eventually turn orange but I ended up adding 20 drops and it still hadn't turned green like it should. I followed instructions closely and accurately. Tested three times.

Could my water naturally be that hard, or is there a problem with the kit?

 

[The-Wolf]

yes water can be that hard
the highest I tested at work for a customer was 45
his kH was at 18 too

If you can get a test done at your lfs and compair the results, if theirs comes out much lower then your kit is proberbly out of wack.

 

[pseud]

I use a Brita water filter for drinking, if I test the water will it be softer?

 

[The-Wolf]

yes it will be softer, but it will also have most of the "goodness" taken out of it.
If you plan to use Brita(tm) water then you will need to add mineral salts to the tank to put the goodness back.

 

[Hels]

Hi

I had that problem when i tested my water too...

the colour didnt seem to change at all for the first few drops and took loads to change to the right colour but i guess i was kinda expecting that as i live in Hull and the water is v. hard.... i decided that it didnt change in the beginning because the dilution was just too weak to make out the colour...i always make sure im in good light and sometimes hold the tube up against a white background which sometimes makes it clearer... hope i helped

xx