total hardness = calcium + magnesium?

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mb2696

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My water report contains two lines about hardness:

Calcium hardness = 12 mg/L
Hardness - total = 18 mg/L

Does that mean my water has 6 mg/L of magnesium, or no?
 
Is the total hardness expressed in CaCO3? If so, you cant get the magnesium from that. Check this out, it may help:

http://howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15-1.html

My report only lists what I typed above, verbatim. So, I'm not sure -- I guess I need to get for more information. I might just send off a sample to Ward anyway.

Although, is there any other way of reporting total hardness? I only see palmer talk about total hardness as CaCO3.
 
My report only lists what I typed above, verbatim. So, I'm not sure -- I guess I need to get for more information. I might just send off a sample to Ward anyway.

Although, is there any other way of reporting total hardness? I only see palmer talk about total hardness as CaCO3.

AFAIK, hardness is always going to be as CaCO3. The individual elements can be reported differently, but if it says hardness, you should be safe assuming CaCO3.

In your case, that wouldn't be 6 mg/L of Mg, but 6 mg/L Mg hardness as CaCO3.
 
Try giving your water company a call. They may have the other numbers you need. I know people who have called and said its for brewing beer and they are usually pretty open to giving those numbers too
 
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