there are rules,I am about to defy them

I have a few grows under my belt.Now it is time to experiment.I have 2 durbin poison seeds.When growing,there are rules!I am here to deviate a little bit.The biggest hassle to me when growing dwc is going out and buying the distilled water,I am so sick of that!It is most certainly a hassle.Don't really have the funds for a RO machine.Here's what I am going to do....I will use tap water!I will let it sit out for 24 hours and I will ph it to 5.8,I will add cal-mag.Now I have a slight problem because my water comes out of the tap at about 340ppm.
Anyone have any advice for working under this condition?
 

snocat

Active Member
I use tap water with no problems,I use epsom salt once in a while in my add back water,my meter starts at 100 and I get no reading on my dip stick,so my water isnt as high as yours,I dont even let it sit I use it right from the tap,Im on my seceond dwc grow and havent had any problems besides high nute temps wich I have solved.also I use the water from my dehumidifyer once in a while also.Im not sure if you should use the cal mag in all of your water I would try to read the plants,they will show you what they need.do you have well water or city water,that makes a difference also.you could buy one of those pureifyers that goes on the tap,that may get you down on the ppm of your water,the problem is you have a ppm reading of 340 but 340 ppm of what?thats the problem not knowing what is in the water. good luck
 
I have many DWC grows under my belt. I have used tap water with no problems. The secret to using tap water is to let it sit a couple days with an aquarium stone with a bubbler. Most the chemicals like chlorine will evaporate off because it has a lower evaporation point than water. Also you need to use a good filter or change the water every couple weeks with DWC or you will get a build up on the roots suffocating them. Good Luck
 

endofwed

Active Member
^

some places have switched to a specific type of chlorine that does not evaporate so its pointless for some to leave water sitting.

I suggest you use nutes that are made for tap water... like the general hydroponic hard water series.
 

onthedl0008

Well-Known Member
All i have ever grown with is tap water. Mine ranges between 3-400 str8 outta the tap but ive seen it as close to 500. Ive never let mine sit out. I pump mine str8 from my faucet to my buckets or tubs. Tap water does have alot of things in it u dont want ur plants to see but it also does contain alot of the trace and micro minerals in it that CalMag replenishes. Matter of fact i see people growing with RO water with zero ppm implementing the calmag to replenish the trace minerals. Think thats where ur getting confused here. So id say U will prolly not need it as i never have used it early in VEG. But i Do use Calmag in flower mode. Ive never had any problems with cloudy or stinky water. Ive never had any type of slime in my res. Cant remember ever seeing any kind of build up on my roots as mentioned. Ive always used a cap full of hydrogen peroxide in my reservoirs. Set ur buckets up put 5 ml of h202 in it ( peroxide ) n u should be str8. Hope this helps. Peace.
 

endofwed

Active Member
If u go to the icmag forum, bigtoke has an amazing post on water chemistry. Just to add, tap water has trace elements that buffer your pH so it does not fluctuate like a rolla coasta
 

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
Yep tap water in a DWC has no problem and identical results, even if it's not left out to bubble. The one exception of course is if you use beneficial microbes in your res, in which case you should add some h2o2 to the water and let it sit for 24hrs. The h2o2 will help rid the chlorine and sterilize the water.

My tap comes out at 350ish ppm. I use it with the dutch master nute gold nute line and have no problems at all, even using the aggressive schedule. Really depends on the strain IMO.
 
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