Well water testing kit

[CA Archer]

Hi everyone, I am in the process of setting up a 20g planted tank. I have not had a planted tank before (had a 100g cichlid tank about 30 yrs ago using city water) and have never used well water, always city water, so new to that as well. I am a bit concerned about the fact that we have a UV light system and a water softener system. This means the well water goes through the UV light, into the salt tank, and then I honestly don't know where it goes from there other than maybe straight to the house? Our house was built in 1963 and I am sure it still has original water lines to the house (we purchased it in 2011 so not sure what was done in between that time). What would be a good testing kit for me to purchase to test the water that comes out of the faucet? And what would I need to test for? If I take it to my lfs would they test for whatever I need to have tested, or do they just test for ph, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates?

 

[Rocky998]

That is a very good question... Obviously the sodium (salt) would probably not be the best thing for the aquarium and the chemicals the water goes through to soften it can be dangerous as well... Hopefully this helps a little but someone who knows more on this can help you better and chime in

 

[StevenF]

The well water goes to the salt tank the UV light sterilizes the water to insure you have no bacteria or parasites in your drinking water. The salt tank is a water softener to which is used to remove calcium and magnesium (the primary sources of hard water. the water softener react salt with a resin and the well water. Calcium and magnesiumm are removed and replaced with sodium bicarbonate. The salt will be depleted over time. So the water is very different from normal tap water or well water.

For testing I would have a lab test done such as this one. You take a sample of the water and send it to the lab. It will test for about 40 elements (down to about 1part per billion) that are often found in theater. Now you want to have one sample for the tap water. And then somewhere between the water softener and the well there should be a valve to get the raw well water I would also have that tested. You then might want to consult with a water utilty to see if they can advise you or if they can recommend someone to verify the water is safe. You could also post the data here if you wish.

Generally you don't want to use softened water in aquariums because of the high sodium levels that might be pressent. Animals including fish and people and sodium and potassium. but natural fresh water always has some potassium and some sodium. Water softeners can create water with mostly a lot of sodium or in some cases mostly potassiuum. Too much sodium or potation can harm or kill fish but generally people can tolerate it well Mostly because we get most of the minerals we need through food rather than water. A fish however get some or most of the nutrients through water.

In your case you have two options for the tank. Use the untreated well water in your tank or to filter the rtreated well water with a RO system which will produce water close the rain water. Or you might use a mix of well water an RO water. It probably would be best to use a mix of well and RO water.

 

[AmyKieran]

The general go to test kit is the API liquid master test kit, but this problem sounds a bit more complex. I know you can get a digital device that tests salinity. You actually may want to buy a JBL pro water test kit, that tests more elements like copper, phosphate etc

 

[StevenF]

The general go to test kit is the API liquid master test kit, but this problem sounds a bit more complex. I know you can get a digital device that tests salinity. You actually may want to buy a JBL pro water test kit, that tests more elements like copper, phosphate etc

The lab test I recommended covers these elements:Aluminum, Arsenic, Barium, Beryllium, Boron, Cadmium, Calcium, Cesium, Chlorine, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Lanthanum, Lead, Lithium, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Mercury, Nickel, Phosphorus, Potassium, Rubidium, Scandium, Selenium, Silicon, Sodium, Strontium, Sulfur, Vanadium, Zinc It also covers the toxic element Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, strontium, and mercury. My experience with it is that it does have problems detecting Manganese. It will not detect nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

You don't need a separate copper and phosphate test kit at this time. Besides most copper test kit you can cannot detect copper down to 0.01ppm accurately So the API master test kit will cover most of what you need now:Ammonia, nitrate, and PH. YOU might also want to get a test kit for KH.

 

[AmyKieran]

Either api or the nt labs test kit also tests gh and kh