Melbourne Australia Water Chemistry

GR1KTR

GR1KTR

Aspiring Aquascaper
Hi All,

I have come across a detailed government report (circa 2012) on Melbourne Australia's Water Chemistry, as follows:

http://www.melbournewater.com.au/co...lity/Typical_analysis_of_Melbournes_water.pdf

I hope that you find this useful. I have also made a summary of the general 'planted tank' values of importance. Please note that these are my approximate / median values derived from the findings within the report:

Melbourne Water Values

pH 6.9 - 7.4
GH 15-44 mg/L (30 median) = 1.6GH
KH: Not stated in the report
Iron 0.04 mg/L
Nitrate (N) 0.16-0.50 mg/L
Phosphorus 0.006 mg/L
Potassium (K) 0.7-2.2 mg/L

Tom Barr (Aka Plantbrain / ASW resident expert) has previously stated that he keeps his tanks at the following values:

KH 3-6 degrees
GH 2-8 degrees
Nitrate (NO3) 5ppm-10ppm
Phosphate (PO4) 0.2ppm to 0.5ppm
Potassium(K+) 20-30ppm
Iron (Fe) 0.2ppm to 0.7ppm+
pH.. not sure what Tom Barr keeps his pH at.

In applying Mr Barr's values to Melbourne Water, we find that:

GH 15-44 mg/L (30mg/L median) = 1.6GH. Too low, should be 2-8GH.
KH ?
Iron 0.04 mg/L - Too low, should be 0.2-0.7 mg/L
Nitrate (N) 0.16-0.50 mg/L – Too low, should be 5-10 mg/L.
Phosphorus 0.006 mg/L – Too low, should be 0.2-0.5 mg/L.
Potassium (K) 0.7-2.2 mg/L – Too low, should be 20-30 mg/L


As you can see I have not bothered with traces (except Iron) here. I acknowledge that they are also entirely necessary, so please see the report for specifics.

It is important to note that your tap water may present with different values, and that the information above is a general guide to working with Melbourne Water. Here in the city we use the water from the reservoirs listed in the report. In some areas different water sources will be used, and this will impact on your water chemistry values.. so please double check! Even within the city we can experience fluctuations from one tap to another, so always best to do your own tests too.
 
Glenn,

It would be fair to also compare ADA tanks' parameters to Melbourne's tap water. We will see a completely different picture for the "values of importance". You will find that according to ADA 0.2 ppm P freely floating in the water is excessive. Same for Nitrate, Iron, etc. Which makes Melbourne's tap water perfect IF one wants to follow ADA's method of running a planted tank.

Note that I say "method of running a planted tank". Barr's EI is a fertilization approach which most people mistake for a method to run a planted tank. Everything revolves around adding and maintaining chemical concentrations (that is how most people understand it). ADA is not centered around fertilizers only. They have a system with many parts that work together - active substrate (does more than just feed the plants), water parameters, very careful water fertilization, biofiltration, flow rate, flow pattern, CO2 and O2 periodization, light periodization, night time aeration.

Clean water (like Melbourne's tap water) will not let plants to grow very fast. But if you add a lot of fertilizers to it the plants will grow very well. What would algae do in clean water? Not grow very fast. What about algae in heavily fertilized water? They can take over your tank literally overnight. So how it is that Barr and many other people pollute their tanks with fertilizers but algae is not a constant problem. Our best answer is "If the plants grow well algae does not grow." How that happens we do not know. That's why when we get algae we do not have very good answers. With ADA's system things are different - there are many preventative and targeted things you can do if you had to. The water is kept clean but fertilized daily with tiny amounts of fertilizers. Look at ADA's tanks - they are not starving, not even close. On the other hand defficiencies are a constant topic discussed on the planted tank forums. So is P=0.2-0.5 really needed? N=5-10? Fe=0.2-0.7? You decide if a clean water tank is at more or less risk to have an algae explosion.

Also it would be interesting to know what is the opinion of Melborne's water company about a sample of water that has the following parameters:

Nitrate (NO3) 5ppm-10ppm
Phosphate (PO4) 0.2ppm to 0.5ppm
Potassium(K+) 20-30ppm
Iron (Fe) 0.2ppm to 0.7ppm+

Write them an e-mail and ask them. Hopefully they will respond with some of this direct talk which I have the feeling is common in Australia and I personally consider a great thing.

To conclude I have to add two things:
1. Barr's EI is not about maintaining specific concentrations of fertilizers.
2. I do not consider ADA to be the "end of the game". Nor its "beginning".
 
Thanks Niko. To be honest I've used Tom Barr's tank parameters on this forum before and never had them challenged in this way, so this is news to me. I'm happy for the debate. The object of the post was to provide a simple comparison between Melbourne tap water and that of Tom Barr, as his dosing regime is very popular. It took me a long time to gather that information when I was starting out, and thought it would be useful for someone here as a general guide. The main news item is the Melbourne Water report itself which is of most use to people here.

You decide if a clean water tank is at more or less risk to have an algae explosion.
Click to expand...
My decision is that Melbourne's water appears to have a high level of cleanliness, as EI has not caused anything like a polluted mess. Anyone else in Melbourne able to comment?
 
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