HCO3 question
 

OK I've got the specs on my (Cleveland, OH) water, but can't figure out which # to plug into the HCO3 slot:


Ca:33
Mg:8.8
So4:45
Na:7.7
Cl:33
Total Alkalinity:78
Hardness:122
Ph:7.4
Any ideas?

-d

Not sure what you mean by "plug into the HCO3 slot" but the relationship between alkalinity and bicarbonate ion concentration for pH < 8.3 is

[HCO3-] = 61*alkalinity/50

where [HCO3-] is the concentration of bicarbonate in mg/L (ppm) and alkalinity is the alkalinity expressed in ppm as CaCO3.

"plug into the HCO3 slot"

for example using this calculator:

http://www.brewersfriend.com/water-chemistry/

According to your formula (since my pH is 7.4)

61*78/50=[HCO3] right?
HCO3=95.16

Yes. And you'll notice that if you put 95.16 into the HCO3- window the alkalinity window changes to 78.

Ha! I didn't notice that until you pointed it out, once again proving that old saw "math doesn't lie"

Thanks for your help:mug:

Just found this thread randomly, and am curious what answer you were able to find. I live in South Euclid and am trying to build a water profile in Beer Smith. The figures that I found (from a book) are:

Ca 33
Mg 8.0
Na 11.0
SO4 25.0
Cl 16.0
PH 7.3

Not sure what to do about alkalinity and hardness and can't find anything on HCO3. Any ideas?

Thanks!