Newbie Alert!! Water Type?

Im expecting a Cap ebb & gro to arrive any day.. I believe i have all the essentials including a TDS and PH meter but im unsure of the best water to start out with ie: filtered, Distilled, Spring, Tap, etc, etc??? Also curious as to the ideal levels im supposed to keep the tds (re; TDS, i assume lower is better), ph and temp at for best vegetive growth?

distilled or reverse osmosis

Unless your tap water is horrible, it would be fine. pH depends somewhat on the nutrients you use, some permit a wider range. Anywhere in the high 5s or low 6s is ok. Temps at the tops of the plants are best in the low to mid 70s, 80 is acceptable, 85 is not good, higher can be fatal.

R/o is best due to knowing how any ppms in general ur using to start with. But in all reality it depends on thenutes your going to use. Most people say not to if they are creating subculture but u are not so it doesn't matter. Also your water temps will also come into play. Do you have water chiller or u not worried bout your res getting warm

Irie'eyed said:

Also your water temps will also come into play. Do you have water chiller or u not worried bout your res getting warm

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No chiller as of yet. The res is in a climate controlled room set at 60* i dont anticipate the water getting to warm but then again im not sure what to warm is.

StainedClass said:

No chiller as of yet. The res is in a climate controlled room set at 60* i dont anticipate the water getting to warm but then again im not sure what to warm is.

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Usually the res temp is 6 to 10 degrees higher then room temps which in ur case should be ok. I wouldnt want anything over 70 tops in my old aero set ups. Hinder roots performance if they get to warm. Which is funny cause they help root clones better having it warm lol

Shit, I bought a high doller RO system and found my tap water at 300 ppm, and a PH of 7 does just fine.....

StainedClass said:

Im expecting a Cap ebb & gro to arrive any day.. I believe i have all the essentials including a TDS and PH meter but im unsure of the best water to start out with ie: filtered, Distilled, Spring, Tap, etc, etc??? Also curious as to the ideal levels im supposed to keep the tds (re; TDS, i assume lower is better), ph and temp at for best vegetive growth?

Click to expand...

You can also use rain water ..... it should read 6.0 neutral ph & 0 ppm..... room temp 70 - 80 water temp 65-70

donutpunched said:

Shit, I bought a high doller RO system and found my tap water at 300 ppm, and a PH of 7 does just fine.....

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I can't stop watching that kid eat

donutpunched said:

Shit, I bought a high doller RO system and found my tap water at 300 ppm, and a PH of 7 does just fine.....

Click to expand...

I have no idea why. but everytime your avatar smiles i have the greatest urge to fling the heaviest/closest object at it. lol

Thanks everyone this is all very helpful..

Irie'eyed said:

Usually the res temp is 6 to 10 degrees higher then room temps which in ur case should be ok. I wouldnt want anything over 70 tops in my old aero set ups. Hinder roots performance if they get to warm. Which is funny cause they help root clones better having it warm lol

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Why would res temps be 6 to 10 degrees higher than room temp? Mine is the same. It would take external energy to raise res temps. One source could be lights, but lights are high enough above a res that they add very little. Actually, I would expect res temps to be 6 to 10 degrees lower than canopy temp. Nobody with a room temp of 60 is ever going to need a chiller.

bottled "spring" water can be glorified tap water, without the municipal monitoring. high in chloramines. unless you have a spring. then it is excellent

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Illegal Smile said:

Why would res temps be 6 to 10 degrees higher than room temp? Mine is the same. It would take external energy to raise res temps. One source could be lights, but lights are high enough above a res that they add very little. Actually, I would expect res temps to be 6 to 10 degrees lower than canopy temp. Nobody with a room temp of 60 is ever going to need a chiller.

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Not trying to start argument but most people with hydro set up generally need chillers or frozen water bottles due to the fact that running pumps generates heat in water. Also if there is an micro organism in the res they tend to generate heat Nothing substantial. and I agree with what u said. Generally speaking if ur grow room is 60 degrees and your not pumping huge amounts of water ur good. Which I already said when he mentioned climate controlled at 60. I said in his situation he should be good.
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Well its been almost 3 months since i started this thread so i figured i may as well keep it fresh.. Since my last post a lot has changed.. Grow room continues to evolve.. Last week i bumped the 600 watt setup for a sweet 1000 watt system, also added a much larger hood.. Magnum XXXL. Heat is a bit of an issue but am slowely correcting that to.. This grow was started on the BC recipe for success.. Im still undecided on which nutes to go with next time around but im almost certain i wont be tied to a that formula again.. (about broke the bank)

All and all i couldnt be much happier with this grow, considering its my first ever Soil or Hydro.. Im just not the keep it simple kind of person. These pics are only three weeks into flower.. I have high hopes that some magic will be happening with this girls over the next couple weeks.