Tap PPM is SUPER high

I was about to make clones, and was going to soak my rockwool in a nute mix for a while @ ~250 PPM. Tested the tap water before adding nutes and realized that the tap water is already at 790-800 PPM. I don't know what is in my water, but I don't drink it cause it tastes awful. Now I know that it is containing some crap in it. Without having to buy gallon after gallon of water jugs just to feed my plants several times a week, what else can I do to lower my PPM?

420DankStank said:

I was about to make clones, and was going to soak my rockwool in a nute mix for a while @ ~250 PPM. Tested the tap water before adding nutes and realized that the tap water is already at 790-800 PPM. I don't know what is in my water, but I don't drink it cause it tastes awful. Now I know that it is containing some crap in it. Without having to buy gallon after gallon of water jugs just to feed my plants several times a week, what else can I do to lower my PPM?

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I hate having to use a reverse osmosis setup on grows. With that being said, if I had your tap water, I would definately purchase an RO system.

You could partialy dilute with RO/Distilled water. 50/50 that will bring your PPM down. I have pretty good water where Im at and it still has a 100PPM. But the previous poster is right. A home RO water system is the way to go.

The amount you would have to use to cut it down will preclude the viability in financial terms......I mean that you would have to cut it down to UNDER 150 ppm.

Buy an RO and add Ca/Mg.......

Dr. Who said:

The amount you would have to use to cut it down will preclude the viability in financial terms......I mean that you would have to cut it down to UNDER 150 ppm.

Buy an RO and add Ca/Mg.......

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Mebby... 250/2 = 125 PPM if added water is 0 ppm. That will fit your under 150PPM specs.

Even I can get RO water for 50 cents a gallon, bulk fill self serve. Anyways, from my persepctive it comes out to 1.25 per gallon, only slightly more than a gallon of distilled water.

So.. wheres the advantage?.. If I had to batch up 50 gallons of water. for 0 ppm, I'll need to drag around over 400 pounds of water to make the batch. I'll drag half of that around/ not to mention storage.

Again.. another advantage, if you add cal/mag, that could be wasteful, if the existing water has calcium, just add epsoms and that will be a good source of magnesium, your cal mag is met.

Just some thoughts.. RO is fine, but ya gotta be careful with that too, true RO water is acidic. Alot of these formulas if you blend with RO, and they are somewhat calibrated for tap , you end up with PH lower than you want.

I wonder what the ppm is on the Big Berkey filters. Anyone ever tried those? I want one, but they're $300 bucks.

I love RO. Get me some clean h2o and I know exactly what I'm working with to start as far as calcium, iron and bacteria.

That's some high ppm tap water, damn. Hopefully you don't pay a water bill.

SnapsProvolone said:

I love RO. Get me some clean h2o and I know exactly what I'm working with to start as far as calcium, iron and bacteria.

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I love me some RO, if I got me some fucked up water outta the tap! Lol
My plants love starting water with around 150~300 ppm(@.7) though. Usually no need to add cal-mag. I no likey ppm's much higher than that, and I usually don't trust well water indoor with synthetics, no matter the ppm. This is when I use an RO setup with a UV sterilizer, on it. Usually

It's just sooooo much easier filling up reservoirs and what not, rite outta the tap. Not to mention how wasteful RO can be.

When Overgrow came on line, people were posting that RO is ALWAYS going to be the best. I converted. After about a year, I ripped that RO setup out. It was not needed at that location. In fact, its not needed in most of the bay area
Later

GrowerGoneWild said:

Just some thoughts.. RO is fine, but ya gotta be careful with that too, true RO water is acidic. Alot of these formulas if you blend with RO, and they are somewhat calibrated for tap , you end up with PH lower than you want.

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This statement is very wrong in relation to our pH needs.....Water that has been produced by a properly functioning reverse osmosis system is some of the purest water available, yet often RO users are surprised and a little alarmed to find that their very clean water is also “acidic”, that is, that it has a low pH. Neutral pH is defined as 7.00, but RO water typically shows a pH of between 5.00 and 6.00. (Mine comes out at 6.0 and all I do is add my nutrients and water my soil. I NEVER have pH issues!) This amount when nutrients are added tend to balance out to our needed levels. Of course you should always pH your solutions to your exact needs.
6.5 for soil grows and between 5.9 and 6.2 for hydro and soiless (5.9 or 6.0 being your target).

Why then does RO water test to have a low pH? The very purity that means it is neutral also makes it very sensitive to the addition of other substances. Technically speaking, RO water has little or no buffering capacity. That means that the addition of even a small amount of acid will have a large effect on pH.

Reverse osmosis membranes do not remove gasses, such as carbon dioxide in water. Also, when RO water is exposed to the air, a small amount of carbon dioxide will begin to dissolve in the water. So RO product water has the buffering alkalinity chemicals removed and the acid causing gasses remaining.

Having low pH RO water should not be of concern because the “acidity” in RO water is very weak. In order to bring RO water to a neutral pH, it takes only a tiny amount of base. For example, if you had a glass of RO water with a pH of 5.0 and you added 2-3 specks of baking soda (a base) that would likely neutralize the tiny amount of acidity in the water.

So then, do you see what I mean?

Get an RO and add the Ca/Mg......Tap water has FAR more disadvantages over RO. You simply DO NOT know exactly WHAT is in it! Remember what Snaps said?
"Get me some clean h2o and I know exactly what I'm working with to start as far as calcium, iron and bacteria."

Just as a point of knowledge. I have 146 to 149 seasonally dependent ppm in my well water. Sounds good right?
In all media, I get HIGHER yields using RO then the "usable" well water (That is true for hydro and soil grows). The difference is more then enough for me to have paid good money for the RO. Hell it was paid for in the higher yield of ONE grow!

Tip of the hat to PURE TAP for the RO facts I supplied here.

Aeroknow said:

I love me some RO, if I got me some fucked up water outta the tap! Lol
My plants love starting water with around 150~300 ppm(@.7) though. Usually no need to add cal-mag. I no likey ppm's much higher than that, and I usually don't trust well water indoor with synthetics, no matter the ppm. This is when I use an RO setup with a UV sterilizer, on it. Usually

It's just sooooo much easier filling up reservoirs and what not, rite outta the tap. Not to mention how wasteful RO can be.

When Overgrow came on line, people were posting that RO is ALWAYS going to be the best. I converted. After about a year, I ripped that RO setup out. It was not needed at that location. In fact, its not needed in most of the bay area
Later

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I run the 1 to 1 bypass limiter .....

Did you actually dial in your grows to use the RO? I don't live in Cali and water is not at a premium.

All of my facilities fill 100 Gallon storage tanks for both RO and bypass. The bypass is then used for making teas (not supposed to use RO for making teas) that feed all my gardens in and outside the facilities. Some bypass is routed to livestock water. Dehumidifier recovered water is refiltered and returned to the system. I waste NOTHING!

Yes, I understand that the average grower is not able to do everything I do. BUT he, and you, CAN get close!

Just so you know. I run 1 high output RO system with high pressure boosting for a 250 gal per day capacity per grow.

Dr. Who said:

I run the 1 to 1 bypass limiter .....

Did you actually dial in your grows to use the RO? I don't live in Cali and water is not at a premium.

All of my facilities fill 100 Gallon storage tanks for both RO and bypass. The bypass is then used for making teas (not supposed to use RO for making teas) that feed all my gardens in and outside the facilities. Some bypass is routed to livestock water. Dehumidifier recovered water is refiltered and returned to the system. I waste NOTHING!

Yes, I understand that the average grower is not able to do everything I do. BUT he, and you, CAN get close!

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Well let me put it this way:
I do use RO water at some of our setups

We do grow 5~8 lb plants outdoors, with straight well water(no RO)

And yes, we have a major water shortage
Peace

Yeah I see that about the water shortage on the news and in the paper.....Wish that was not so for all of you out there.
I was out there in the late 70's and early 80's and remember the "If it's yellow? Let it mellow! If it's brown? Flush it down! signs in about every toilet I went in......It was funny to me then.....It's not now!

Yes I understand RO water is lower PH.. For example when I mix flora nova bloom with RO water my ph is too low and I have to correct for it. When I mix with tap water it comes out just right. Not saying its bad or anything, its something you have to think about. I used to fill my tanks with RO water to start, then i just add regular water as time goes on. But over time with a mishap here and there or there, and just using plain water.. kinda found out it worked just well.

As far as the water quality statement, Ive had my water tested, so I actually do know the ca, na fe.. etc in the water.. mostly calcium.
For me the water is fine no VOC in my water etc.. Bacteria?.. I dont think it really matters, if its potable im sure the plants can deal with it.
If I maintain my properties correctly and watch for lockout or overfeeding, Works just fine for me.

Mebby its region specific.. ? I remember when I lived in SoCal and Central Cal.. that water was pretty chunky.. yuk..

GrowerGoneWild said:

Yes I understand RO water is lower PH.. For example when I mix flora nova bloom with RO water my ph is too low and I have to correct for it. When I mix with tap water it comes out just right. Not saying its bad or anything, its something you have to think about. I used to fill my tanks with RO water to start, then i just add regular water as time goes on. But over time with a mishap here and there or there, and just using plain water.. kinda found out it worked just well.

As far as the water quality statement, Ive had my water tested, so I actually do know the ca, na fe.. etc in the water.. mostly calcium.
For me the water is fine no VOC in my water etc.. Bacteria?.. I dont think it really matters, if its potable im sure the plants can deal with it.
If I maintain my properties correctly and watch for lockout or overfeeding, Works just fine for me.

Mebby its region specific.. ? I remember when I lived in SoCal and Central Cal.. that water was pretty chunky.. yuk..

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And there's the difference. You have a running knowledge of what is in your tap water and a track record of just how to use it. That came from time and repeating/adjusting what you do for it.
Sadly, many don't seem to have the patience to work that out. They tend to want the best "right now" and don't understand what you need to do to "get there".

And yes, water quality is very "area" or "region" specific.....Hell man the seasonal changes are measurable here!

If we had it, I'd +rep you.

NICE reply.

GrowerGoneWild said:

Yes I understand RO water is lower PH.. For example when I mix flora nova bloom with RO water my ph is too low and I have to correct for it. When I mix with tap water it comes out just right. Not saying its bad or anything, its something you have to think about. I used to fill my tanks with RO water to start, then i just add regular water as time goes on. But over time with a mishap here and there or there, and just using plain water.. kinda found out it worked just well.

As far as the water quality statement, Ive had my water tested, so I actually do know the ca, na fe.. etc in the water.. mostly calcium.
For me the water is fine no VOC in my water etc.. Bacteria?.. I dont think it really matters, if its potable im sure the plants can deal with it.
If I maintain my properties correctly and watch for lockout or overfeeding, Works just fine for me.

Mebby its region specific.. ? I remember when I lived in SoCal and Central Cal.. that water was pretty chunky.. yuk..

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I have no clue about SoCal water. The farthest south i've grown was in Salinas(8yrs) ppm was..,..270? Been a while. Anyways, fucking killed it there. Stockton, 240ish?, remember, it's been a while, killed it. I'm from the Santa Cruz mountains, then Almaden, and I didn't even know about RO, until about ten yrs of growing under my belt.

Yikes.. realized I made an error.. his tap water is 700-800 PPM.. Thats insanely high,

All this time I was thinking he had 250 ppm water.. my bad.

Hmmm what about rainwater?.. as long as you are in a clean area, and I would still check the PH of rainwater. I would caution against using rainwater runoff from a roof.. But it might be cleaner.

GrowerGoneWild said:

Yikes.. realized I made an error.. his tap water is 700-800 PPM.. Thats insanely high,

All this time I was thinking he had 250 ppm water.. my bad.

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Yeah, I'll bet the Iron content will solidify a plant fast - LOL. Along with the Ca.....

Dr. Who said:

Yeah I see that about the water shortage on the news and in the paper.....Wish that was not so for all of you out there.
I was out there in the late 70's and early 80's and remember the "If it's yellow? Let it mellow! If it's brown? Flush it down! signs in about every toilet I went in......It was funny to me then.....It's not now!

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I wish I had an ro system, I've never used it really, just a few gallons of distilled water for seedlings and small plants. We do have ro vending machines that's 20 cents a gallon. I think I'm going to go that route next grow and see how it is, my tap water is only 220ppm, a little high but not too bad. But it is starting to get worse out of the tap for some reason, probably from the drought