Is this enough, or do I need to order a water report?

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hamburgeler

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I contacted my water department for a mineral report and they were kind enough to drop one off almost immediately. I am pretty sure it does not have everything I need and they said this is what they test for. I am moving to all grain from partial mash of 4 years, so I am new to water adjustments.

Hardness, mg/l as CaCO3 296
Chloride, mg/l as CL 150
Copper, mg/l 0.11
Sulfate, mg/l as SO4 14.0
Iron, mg/l as FE <0.05
Manganese, mg/l <0.02
pH 6.7

It it true I cannot calculate Calcium or magnesium from CaCo3? Am I best off just ordering a water report from Ward Labs? Thank you for your help.
 
You can guess at what the calcium and magnesium might be with an extrapolation of the hardness value. But its not really good enough to rely on. Getting the test is a more prudent approach.

By the way, the chloride level is fairly high. It may limit what you can do with this water, if that level is confirmed with the lab testing.
 
I just received my water report from ward labs, test W6.

pH: 7.4
Total dissolved solids: 447

Sodium, Na: 29
Potassium, K: 2
Calcium, Ca: 83
Magnesium, Mg: 20
Total hardness, CaCO3: 291
Nitrate, NO³-N: 2.5
Sulfate, SO&#8308;-S: 6
Chloride, CL: 122
Carbonate, CO³: 122
Bicarbonate, HCO³: 191
Total alkalinity, CaCO³: 157

From what I gather, this looks OK for dark beers, but the chloride and bicarbonate would be high for pale beers? I brew hoppy beers more than anything, but also mix it up alot. Would cutting this in half with distilled be best for pale ales and IPA's? What about saisons? Any help is greatly appreciated, as I'm hoping to brew a sour saison this Sunday, followed closely by a pale ale.

Thank you.
 
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