5 degrees GH and 12+ degrees KH (PH 8.0)

[Rypa]

I tested twice.  For KH,  I get 12-13 drops of reagent before indicating color - very high KH.  For GH I get 5 drops of reagent to achieve indicator (5 degrees).  How is this possible?  PH is 8.0 out of the tap.  We have a 1400 foot well.  It was a Weyerhouser test well (looking for oil).  My parents used the abandoned well, they put in 400 feet of pipe and a submersible pump, but the water is logically coming in at 1400 ft (end of the casing).  Strange things going on down there!   This is Washington, enumclaw plateau.   Fish are thriving but I find the results odd.   I recently had a costly professional water test done but it did not provide "KH", only PH (8.0) and Total Hardness which is reported as 53 mg/l or 53ppm.  The only other strange thing was a slightly elevated sodium.  Anyone else have numbers like this?  Thanks is advance,  Wendy

[tolstoy21]

I have the opposite problem with my well in New Jersey. 0 KH, 8 Gh. Ph is 5.0 straight out of the well.  No sodium, but I do have traces amounts of arsenic and a ton of nitrate.

Kh will influence your Ph in one direction or the other. Kh and Gh don’t necessarily have a direct relationship. Gh has no influence on your Ph.

Does your water run through any type of filter? I have a calcite filter in my home to boost the Kh to about 8 so my tap water isn’t too acidic and corrosive. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by tolstoy21

[Rypa]

No filter, just 400ft of steel pipe inside 1400 feet of iron casing.  I worry the drilling mud they used might be affecting the well, but it was done 40 years ago and been used as a water well for 34 years.  This explains why no matter how much alder cone tea I add or wood, PH stays stubbornly near 8.0.  We have a 10 gal plant tank with 3 inches of aquasoil that little tank has a lower ph, it's new though,  and our goldfish pond outside under a maple tree, is down around 6.4!  But it's winter in western washington and the only water being added is rainwater.  East coast sure has different geology than the west! I guess if the high KH doesn't bother fish, I'm ok?  Thanks for replying 🙂