Calcium carbonate latter is especially evident in day-to-day life of people who have hard water. Water in aquifers underground can be exposed to levels of CO much higher than atmospheric. As such water percolates through calcium carbonate rock, the CaCO dissolves according to the second trend. When that same water then emerges from the tap, in time it comes into equilibrium with CO levels in the air by outgassing its excess CO. The calcium carbonate becomes less soluble as a result and the excess precipitates as lime scale. This same process is responsible for the formation of stalactites and stalagmites in limestone
Carbonate hardness given in ppm. The term "carbonate hardness" is also sometimes used as a synonym for temporary hardness, in which case it refers to that portion of hard water that can be removed by processes such as boiling or lime softening, and then separation of water from the resulting precipitate. Carbonate hardness Carbonate hardness, is a measure of the water hardness caused by the presence of carbonate () and bicarbonate () anions. Carbonate hardness is usually expressed either in degrees KH (dKH) (from the German ""Karbonathärte""), or in "parts per million calcium carbonate" ( ppm or grams per litre|mg/l). One dKH