will i need

a filter for my main supply of water if its coming outta the tap at 300 ppm @.5 conversion

i believe at least just bought this tdstestr from eutech instruments at my local hydroponic shop and the sales rep was not helpful nor really explained how too use, etc.


sorry for being such a newb >.>


was wondering maybe i should take it back and get an actual meter that reads ec aside from just ppm but i know how too convert from ppm too ec so i'm just confused

my starting tap water is ph 7.2 with an EC of .4 which seems similar to yours my area is classed as hard-water
i have never used a water filter i use 2 part food for hard-water and have no issues

check the ph of your water if its around neutral or slightly acidic or slightly alkaline like mine, it should be fine .. go with either a soft of hardwater food depending on what you have, hard-water foods account of the calcium you already have in the water supply and have less in the food accordingly and should be more acidic to bring the ph down when you add the food

i don't think you should need a water filter unless you have very poor quality tap water, well water or something
or if you want to be as exact about nutrient supply etc as possible, which really inst necessary imo to grow great weed

skunkd0c said:

check the ph of your water if its around neutral or slightly acidic or slightly alkaline like mine, it should be fine .. go with either a soft of hardwater food depending on what you have, hard-water foods account of the calcium you already have in the water supply and have less in the food accordingly and should be more acidic to bring the ph down when you add the food

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i happen too have the same hard-water, ph was almost identical if not the same

and my next question is what would hard-water food be for example or would it basically not say any signs or traces of calcium

will i need too or should i switch too an ec meter?

most of the popular foods come in hard and soft water versions, i use vitalink max hardwater, i know canna does a hardwater version of their food

your water will be fine it wont need any kind of filter, just a tiny amount of ph down (phosphoric acid etc) to bring the ph down between 5.5-6.5

not sure what you are asking about EC but you will need your EC meter to keep the solution around 1.0 for small plants /young plants .. bringing it upto 2.0 -2.4 as they mature in small steps

take your readings after you have added both the PH down (phosphoric) and have added the food, as the food will also lower the ph, give the solution some time for it to mix before you take a reading hardwater food is also normally more acidic than the softwater food, and does have less calcium .. this is not essential though if you cant find any brand of food you want to use that has a hard water version it doesn't really matter, as long as it is a good quality hydro food

if i was you i would not get in the habit of obsessing over exact PH values, it is enough to just check it once per week .. that way you wont be adding that horrible acid to the solution all the time