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Units in Water/Mineral Profile vs eXact iDip/Smart Brew water testing kit

ipanisse

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I just got the Smart Brew Water Testing Kit. It includes/uses an eXact iDip photometer, test strips (reagents) and a smart phone app.
I'm no chemist therefore it makes me confused when eXact iDip App (can) show the results in many different units.

For example as default the measurement of Total Alkalinity, Calcium, Total Hardness is given in ppm (as CaCO3), for Chloride it is given in ppm (as NaCl) and for Sulfate it is given in ppm (as SO4).
Magnesium is calculated from the measurements above and is given in ppm (as CaCO3). Sodium and Residual Alkalinity are also calculated parameters.

As a consequence of choosing different units you also get different numbers.

I'm confused and I don't know what to choose to match Beersmith or ... (since I don't know what I'm doing) I get wrong numbers and false ion balance as a result of changing/choosing one or more wrong units.

What units are used in Beersmith's Water/Mineral Profile or what units should i use in eXact iDip App to get a balanced report that correspond or is consistent with Beersmith?

I suppose/hope there are people who are much smarter then i am and who also uses eXact iDip and Beersmith. So, please help me get the right units and numbers in to Beersmith's water profile!
 
When looking at a water analysis units for concentration are almost always defined as ppm for communication and calculation purposes.  You may see this listed in some places as mg/l, which is the same as ppm.

 
I understand that but that's not the problem or question (sorry if I wasn't clear enough). My question is: how should I know what unit to choose in eXact iDip to match the units used in Beersmith's water profile?

For example I can choose to measure/show results for Total Alkalinity as ppm (as CaCO3) or ppm (as HCO3).
As you see both use "ppm" unit but they give different values/Numbers. So, what should I choose?
Another example is Calcium, should I use ppm (as CaCO3) or ppm (as Ca)?
A third example is Chloride, should I use ppm (as NaCl) or ppm (as Cl-)?
A fourth example is Sulfate, should I use ppm (as SO4) or ppm (as S)?

I'm also worried about if I'm not get all parametes and units right it will not only give me wrong levels, it also give me false number and balance between important ions like Chloride and Sulfate.
 
See the attached water profile from BeerSmith.  The units and specific minerals are specified and pretty clear.
 

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I'm sorry but that's not at all "pretty clear" to me. Yes, that's the page i refer to but it doesn't say if I (from eXact iDip) e.g. should use ppm (as NaCl) or ppm (as Cl-) as a value for Chloride?

Either it's just me who are really stupid ... or maybe it takes a person who are familiar with the eXact iDip to understand my problem/concern and from that Point of view explain why, what and how I should move on.
 
The form indicates Chloride (Cl).  When the software asks for a certain compound such as with Total Alkalinity (as CaCO3) it will specify the measurement in terms of the compound and not the specific ion.





 
So, you mean when the form indicates Chloride (Cl) I should assume that it means (Cl-) and insert the numbers for ppm (as Cl-) (which in my case is 30,49 from eXact iDip) instead of ppm (as NaCl) (which in my case is 50 from exact iDip)?
And when the form indicates Bicarbonate (HCO3) I should use the numbers from the Total Alkalinity test and choose ppm (as HCO3) instead of ppm (as CaCO3), (in my case is 47,58 instead of 39) ... I suppose?
And when the form indicates Calcium (Ca) I should use the numbers for ppm (as Ca) and not the numbers for ppm (as CaCO3) (in my case 11,20 instead of 28) ... I suppose?
 
That is correct.  The Chloride ion is always negatively charged, so Cl and Cl- are synonymous as far as water reports are concerned.  You will notice that it asks for each of the ions individually.  So if you entered you Cl concentration as NaCl, you would be inflating your Chloride content by the weight of the Sodium (Na). 

For the most part, all of these salts are dissociated when in water so NaCl really does not exist.  The form that does exist is Na+ and Cl-.
 
Thanks! That makes sense. I was confused because eXact iDip used ppm (as CaCO3) as default for many of the parameters and since I'm no chemist it's not easy to know or understand what the numbers in the test report in fact represents and what numbers the form in Beersmith water profiles really ask for.
 
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