# West Brampton/Mississauga water specs



## Mr Fishies

I'm not sure this is a valid "test", but have any members living in the west of Hwy10 side of Brampton/Mississauga (both regions are fed by Lorne Park) tested rested/de-chlorinated tap water lately?

I'd like to compare notes for curiosity and to confirm my test kit is still OK.


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## Mattsmom

Hi Mr. Fishies!

I'm in Brampton but just barely east of Hwy 10 (within a short walk of hwy 10... not sure if that makes a difference...)

What tests are you looking for? I recently (last week) tested my tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates... 0's. pH is 7.4. GH = 8 (143ppm) and kH = 5 (89.5ppm) but the hardness tests were taken some time ago... not recently. 

HTH...

Michele


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## Mr Fishies

Thanks for that.

My PH tests closer to 8 (hard to tell how much, but not quite blue enough to be 8), GH same, KH >4 and 0s where you got them except nitrate (8ish)...but I fear my test sol'n has passed it's best before. I guess I should go to BA for a double check and a new kit if needbe.


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## Mattsmom

You're welcome!  

I use API's test kits... I'd be interested if you purchased the same kits... what readings you get? I'm guessing you're on the west-side of hwy 10 in Brampton?

Michele


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## Mr Fishies

Mattsmom said:


> You're welcome!
> 
> I use API's test kits... I'd be interested if you purchased the same kits... what readings you get? I'm guessing you're on the west-side of hwy 10 in Brampton?
> 
> Michele


I'll let you know what I find out after testing - it'll be next week as I am off to NYC this weekend.

Yep, on the left side of 10, we're up in the NW corner of Brampton.


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## Mattsmom

Have a great trip!


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## KhuliLoachFan

My water (East York/Beaches) area PH tests about 7.9-8.0, using both the API liquid test-tube-colorimetric test, and the colorimetric dip-strips. 

Is it just me, or is that insanely high? Recently I read about some tropical fish meds that DON'T WORK if your PH is higher than 7.6. I'm thinking that next time I have to medicate a tank with one of these I'm going to need DI water to drop the PH. (PH-down chemicals are just a bad idea, right?)

W


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## Mattsmom

Hey there! I asked my medical friend from the other fish forum I belong to (and help moderate). Typically, with higher pH comes a higher GH level. It's the higher calcium in the water that _might _make some meds less effective, like some tetracyclines (like Maracyn TC, or Maracyn II which is a minocycline). If this were the case, then higher doses of the meds may be required if you have higher concentrations of calcium in your water. You can determine this by getting your GH tested (you can buy your own kit, or most LFS's will test this for you for free if you bring in a sample of your water).

The problem with adjusting pH is that it often leads to instability... which is quite stressful on a fish. If you used distilled water to remove some of the calcium concentration, if you had a high GH... you would and should keep close tabs on the fluctuations. You would want them to drop slowly while they adjust.... but I would first determine if you do, infact, have a high GH.

I have a similar pH and any meds I've used have worked fine (my water is moderately hard)... however, GH is the more important test to detemine the effectiveness of the meds

HTH...

Michele


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## Mr Fishies

My (Tetra) test kit is OK...a bit old and almost all gone but still OK.

For Mattsmom's info/doublecheck, the params out of my tap after resting are:

PH: <8 (just under according to my eye)
GH: 6.5 (starts to change on 6th drop)
KH: 4
NH3-4: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: <12 (just under the colour chart according to my eye)

I did manage to find Peel's water test reports for the info othe others in my area, and apparently during 2007 PH was as low as 6.5...I don't think any of that has ever come out of my tap! I do see that 7.7 seems to be the upper limit which is in line with just under 8 guesstimate.


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## Mattsmom

Thanks for that link Mr. Fishies! 

It's interesting how our water is slightly different (apparently depends on what side of hwy 10 you live on??)

My pH always tests at 7.4 straight from the tap... but rises and remains consistant in my tanks at 7.8-8.0. With the API test kits... the colour difference between 7.4 and 7.8 is very difficult to tell... but the difference between 7.8 and 8.0 is easy to determine.

My GH and kH is a bit higher than yours and any time I've tested my tap for nitrAtes... I never get a reading above 0 - but I do get readings from my tanks close to waterchange day. My kits are all new b/c I test all my tanks once a week and I've got 7 tanks so I go through them quite often!  

I wonder if our differences between our areas of Brampton is b/c the development in NW Brampton is pretty new. My area has been established for at least 30 years.

Very interesting and may be useful at times! Thanks again!!


Michele


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## Mr Fishies

Mattsmom said:


> My kits are all new b/c I test all my tanks once a week and I've got 7 tanks so I go through them quite often!
> 
> I wonder if our differences between our areas of Brampton is b/c the development in NW Brampton is pretty new. My area has been established for at least 30 years.
> 
> Very interesting and may be useful at times! Thanks again!!
> 
> Michele


I guess my kit has time to get old because I only test after big changes, new tanks or when I think there's something going off or every 3 months whichever comes first. I kind of practice the hands off method of aquarium keeping.

Well, the water all comes from the same lake obviously, but there are two different water treatment plants. Lorne Park serves Mississauga & Brampton west and the Lakeview plant that serves the east side of Peel and also York Region. I'd guess they use the same methods in each plant...but that's just a guess. Different distances from the plants, different pipes...another guess. I wonder if how long it takes for water treated at say 8AM to make it to someone in Miss. vs. your place vs mine in N. Bramp. could be some of the reason...another guess.

Oh well, at least it's drinkable for us and doesn't kill fish either!


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## Mattsmom

Yeah, I'm a bit anal when it comes to my water testing. I like to know what's going on in my water so I test right before my waterchanges to make sure there's no blips... b/c I hate surprises! And I'm pretty religious about my water changes too. But no additives go in my water other than Prime (dechlorinator/conditioner)... so in that way... I'm hands-off in my tanks too.  

I agree... there are so many variables that can affect our water.

Michele


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