specification are guideline so everybody test the same way, portable water, so its clean, instead of using sewer water. the lime to keep the concrete from leaching out but after couple days and couple cycles of cylinder, there usually enough lime in the water. The question is, are the cylinder breaking good. if its comes down that your lime water is causing the samples to break low, you got other problem. keep from freezing, keep from cooking, stay iniform
ICC Master Special Inspector, Structural Masonry, Reinforced Concrete, Soils, Structural Bolted Joints, Structural Welding, AWS CWI D1.1