Water quality question

tst2015

tst2015

Well-Known Member
I'm getting ready to start my first grow. Got almost everything ordered and on route. My seeds should be showing up in a day or two and I've been thinking about my tap water quality.
My tap water isn't great and sometimes leaves a noticeable film on sinks...especially my one bathroom that has a beige colored bathroom sink. I suspected high levels of calcium and magnesium...or possibly sodium....so I bought a cheap test kit.
My first test strip was with straight tap water. It showed me:
Free chlorine almost zero
Almost zero hardness
pH about 9 or so (highest reading on the strip)
And alkalinity was at least 240 ppm (also highest reading on the strip)

My next test I put a tiny bit of lemon juice in the tap water...the pH dropped to about 6.8 but alkalinity stayed at least 240ppm

So my noob question is this...can I use this water as long as I adjust pH according to soil levels? Or will this alkalinity cause other issues?
Also, is there something I can do to solve the alkalinity if needed..such as a chemical treatment?
Thanks for any ideas and help with this
 
tst2015

tst2015

Well-Known Member
No softener. Its municipal well water. I love in a tiny one horse town.
Do you think a small revere osmosis system would bring that alkalinity down?
 
tst2015

tst2015

Well-Known Member
Indacouch said:
Soil?

I use well water at two of my ranches with no issues. I'm in good soil and it's greenhouses. I use city water indoors on my other shenanigans. I grow in soil though
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Oops sorry. Yeah soil grow. I was just worried about the buildup of the alkalinity over time. They're probably adding something to the well water at the treatment plant.
Maybe I'll setup some rain barrels so i can at least cut it to 50/50
 
Mustangmike

Mustangmike

Well-Known Member
tst2015 said:
Oops sorry. Yeah soil grow. I was just worried about the buildup of the alkalinity over time. They're probably adding something to the well water at the treatment plant.
Maybe I'll setup some rain barrels so i can at least cut it to 50/50
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Reverse osmosis will remove the alkalinity it removes virtually everything. You might want to soften first then run it through the r o system should go through less filters on the r o system that way. Get a water quality report from the municipality and it should have a detailed breakdown of what is present in your water and what methods of treatment they use. There should be some form of chlorine present in the water Free or total, depending on what type of process used if it’s monochloramines you’ll have usually .1 mg/l or less Free chlorine total chlorine will be the one you’ll look for the report should have it all.
 
Flash63

Flash63

Well-Known Member
Alkalinity has nothing to do with the e.c. (ppm)it’s a measure of ph meaning it’s above 7 on the ph scale, below 7 is acidic..An r/o system will remove the dissolved solids from the tap water,and is has a ph of 5.5 -6.0.
 
Mustangmike

Mustangmike

Well-Known Member
Mustangmike said:
Reverse osmosis will remove the alkalinity it removes virtually everything. You might want to soften first then run it through the r o system should go through less filters on the r o system that way. Get a water quality report from the municipality and it should have a detailed breakdown of what is present in your water and what methods of treatment they use. There should be some form of chlorine present in the water Free or total, depending on what type of process used if it’s monochloramines you’ll have usually .1 mg/l or less Free chlorine total chlorine will be the one you’ll look for the report should have it all.
Click to expand...
https://www.membranechemicals.com/en/understanding-alkalinity-impact-reverse-osmosis-membrane-scaling/
 
tst2015

tst2015

Well-Known Member
Flash63 said:
Alkalinity has nothing to do with the e.c. (ppm)it’s a measure of ph meaning it’s above 7 on the ph scale, below 7 is acidic..An r/o system will remove the dissolved solids from the tap water,and is has a ph of 5.5 -6.0.
Click to expand...
Thanks. By the looks of the water film left in my sink sometimes....I think the membrane would be plugging too quickly to make RO an option. Maybe I'll haul water from a self filling station at the store. I'll only be growing 4 plants at a time so I don't think hauling it will be too bad.
 
robert 14617

robert 14617

Well-Known Member
The soil will act as a buffer it is really forgiving I went through several strains before I found one hardy enough for my tap water ,good luck with your grow
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
tst2015 said:
Thanks. By the looks of the water film left in my sink sometimes....I think the membrane would be plugging too quickly to make RO an option. Maybe I'll haul water from a self filling station at the store. I'll only be growing 4 plants at a time so I don't think hauling it will be too bad.
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I haul. I live in a dry cabin in Alaska. I use 5 and 6 gallon jugs and pay $.02 @ gallon. No problems in DWC, peat or soil.
 
tst2015

tst2015

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
I haul. I live in a dry cabin in Alaska. I use 5 and 6 gallon jugs and pay $.02 @ gallon. No problems in DWC, peat or soil.
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2 cents a gallon?? I wish. If I buy pre-filled bottles and exchange my empty....it's $6 for 5 gallons.
If I take my empty and fill it...it's still about $3
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
tst2015 said:
2 cents a gallon?? I wish. If I buy pre-filled bottles and exchange my empty....it's $6 for 5 gallons.
If I take my empty and fill it...it's still about $3
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Damn! There's a truck stop on the highway between Denali and Fairbanks. $.60 @ gallon. I've paid it too during winter when my thermostat stuck and I drove to Fairbanks at -20. I had to scrape the windshield every minute. Inside. I had frost nip on my nose, fingertips. After that I drove 10 miles and paid the price.

It's 50 miles through mountains one way to Fairbanks yet not once did I question my sanity. To busy scraping and breathing on my mittens.
 
tst2015

tst2015

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
Damn! There's a truck stop on the highway between Denali and Fairbanks. $.60 @ gallon. I've paid it too during winter when my thermostat stuck and I drove to Fairbanks at -20. I had to scrape the windshield every minute. Inside. I had frost nip on my nose, fingertips. After that I drove 10 miles and paid the price.

It's 50 miles through mountains one way to Fairbanks yet not once did I question my sanity. To busy scraping and breathing on my mittens.
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I hear that. I live in Saskatchewan and our winters are measured by how many layers of clothing ...not temperature. You look outside in the morning and think...."hmmm...looks like it's gonna be a one pair of long john underwear and 3 pairs of socks kinda day" haha
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
Damn! There's a truck stop on the highway between Denali and Fairbanks. $.60 @ gallon. I've paid it too during winter when my thermostat stuck and I drove to Fairbanks at -20. I had to scrape the windshield every minute. Inside. I had frost nip on my nose, fingertips. After that I drove 10 miles and paid the price.

It's 50 miles through mountains one way to Fairbanks yet not once did I question my sanity. To busy scraping and breathing on my mittens.
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Fuck that noise.
tst2015 said:
I hear that. I live in Saskatchewan and our winters are measured by how many layers of clothing ...not temperature. You look outside in the morning and think...."hmmm...looks like it's gonna be a one pair of long john underwear and 3 pairs of socks kinda day" haha
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And that.

I much prefer a nice onshore tropical breeze.

Once it's cold enough that I have to worry about my beer freezing, I'm no longer interested.
 
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