How to test for hardness in freshwater with Taylor test strips
What is it? Water hardness refers to the concentration of calcium and magnesium in a sample of water; these minerals are dissolved when water comes into contact with limestone. Hardness is related to alkalinity as they both measure calcium carbonate content.
Why is it important? It is one of the most common elements used to test water quality. Calcium, in particular, is an important part of many of the biological processes in fish.
What does it mean? Have you ever washed your hands in hard water? Did you notice that with hard water, you need to use more soap? You can imagine how having more dissolved minerals in the water may affect the fish living there. Find out what species live in your body of water and what their ideal hardness is. This way, you can track how hardness trends impact your fishy friends.
How to test
Taylor teststrips are part of number of Water Rangers' testkits. They measure pH, chlorine, alkalinity and hardness.
- Rinse sample cup 3 times.
- Shake out 1 test strip, close bottle. IMPORTANT! Make sure your hands are dry, since moisture in the container will ruin strips.
- Dip the entire strip in the water in the sample cup. Remove after 2 seconds.
- Wait 20 seconds before reading results.
- Compare colours with guide on side of bottle. Line up the colour strips vertically so that you can compare along the spectrum for each value.