Water Chemistry

[MollyFresh]

Does 178 ppm of sodium in my tap water throw off anything important? I have soft alkaline water of 7.8 or higher and the gh is around (give or take) 75 ppm. The Kh is higher than usual (i think but idk it was test strips) its probably around 120-300 but im not sure. I have natural 2.23 ppm nitrate, the sodium i mentioned above, and nothing else really important in the water. Manganese is 0.007 and iron is 0.1. They get it from Wells i think. I don't live near limestone, i live near sand, sandstone, etc. I live in south jersey. I dont know whats up with my water but I have livebearer's and i would like to create their natural conditions of 7-7.4ppm and medium- medium hard water.

 

[StandbySetting]

I wouldn't get too hung up on water chemistry, Manganese and Iron are trace minerals and don't need testing for, it's the same with the sodium.

at 120-300Mg/L of carbonate that is a ball park figure, and to be honest I wouldn't trust a test strip, if you can get hold of a Salifert liquid KH test kit to give you a good idea of KH, but with a PH of 7.8 it is highly likely that your Carbonate Hardness will be of an appropriate level for live bearers.

Are some of these results from your water board's website? Or actual test kit results?

Your GH is a little low however, it can easily be buffered with a hand full of coral sand in a filter sock place in your filter.