Hard or Soft Water?

[ItsJustMe84]

ph for soft water i dont use i just know soft water has no ph buffer which means it can change alot quickly either direction when adding nutes. i would suggest advanced ph perfect or mills maybe blue earth then it is worry free from a ph standpoint.

Yes well im defo going for some ph down, im just waiting for my hard water nutes to arrive so i can see how much theyll bring the PH down, i just hope im doing the right thing switching to hard water nutes

 

[Budley Doright]

My PH levels are around 8.2 and my water company says its slightly hard, i spoke to someone at my local hydroponics and they said i defo need hardwater base nutes and that they will adjust the ph.

I think a reading of 6 is very good for tap water, its definantly not hard water at 6.0 though.

Ive growing for a year and off my first grow i got 54 oz off 9 plants, and never used a ph tester, used a soft water base nutrient and messed up a couple of times, id say beginners luck had a lot to do with it, i just hope now in getting abit more technical i dont fuck things up.. im pretty sure hard water base nutes with ph down are the way foward.

Actually my water is quite hard lol. It is sometimes as high as .3 ec which is hard. I think that whats in it dictates PH. I live on a spring fed lake that has a quite low EC and plants watered with it do terrible compared to the well which is 50' from the lake lol. But yes try and find a nutrient that works with what your doing. I have ran many different nutes and the one that seems to keep the res stable the longest is Aqua Flakes but will keep trying different ones always just for curiosity sake.

 

[ItsJustMe84]

Actually my water is quite hard lol. It is sometimes as high as .3 ec which is hard. I think that whats in it dictates PH. I live on a spring fed lake that has a quite low EC and plants watered with it do terrible compared to the well which is 50' from the lake lol. But yes try and find a nutrient that works with what your doing. I have ran many different nutes and the one that seems to keep the res stable the longest is Aqua Flakes but will keep trying different ones always just for curiosity sake.

I dont know about the ec readings tbh i was just going on your ph level, which ive been told is oerfect for coco i think between 5.8 and 6.2 but as far as ec readings im still trying to learn and tbh im abit clueless what the ec readings mean

 

[ItsJustMe84]

Actually my water is quite hard lol. It is sometimes as high as .3 ec which is hard. I think that whats in it dictates PH. I live on a spring fed lake that has a quite low EC and plants watered with it do terrible compared to the well which is 50' from the lake lol. But yes try and find a nutrient that works with what your doing. I have ran many different nutes and the one that seems to keep the res stable the longest is Aqua Flakes but will keep trying different ones always just for curiosity sake.

The thing is i used soft water nutes for my last 3 grows and dont get me wrong ive had a few deficiancys but i still managed to produce some good weed!! I just hope i dont mess it up trying to get to technical but im eager to learn the ins and outs. It was only when i tested my ph then searched my water hardness that i found out that its slightly hard..

 

[Budley Doright]

I hear you! Like I said until I moved inside I didnt mess with anything, just poop and water, lol. Never had an issue but I'm sure I could have dialed it in better .

 

[MrStickyScissors]

my water is 900 ppm from the tap. we drinkin rat jizz

 

[ItsJustMe84]

my water is 900 ppm from the tap. we drinkin rat jizz

Lol

 

[2Hearts]

Alkalinity and ph in water are different. The alkalinity or carbonate hardness is a measure of mainly calcium carbonate, the most abundant mineral in water, whereas ph is a measure of potential hydrogen.

Uk grower and 8.2 is medium hardness about 250ppm here, give or take. My uk charts have this as slightly hard too.

Thing is you can ph your water to 5.5 then six hours later it might read 6.0 as those carbonates neutralise the ph down acid.

Hydro growers like clean water with no carbonates whereas the soil adjusts ph for you generally. I only checked run off ph in soil to see if ferts were too high not as a measure of ph.

I would hope that the hard water ferts are more aimed at balancing that alkalinity by using different forms of certain minerals.

 

[ItsJustMe84]

Alkalinity and ph in water are different. The alkalinity or carbonate hardness is a measure of mainly calcium carbonate, the most abundant mineral in water, whereas ph is a measure of potential hydrogen.

Uk grower and 8.2 is medium hardness about 250ppm here, give or take. My uk charts have this as slightly hard too.

Thing is you can ph your water to 5.5 then six hours later it might read 6.0 as those carbonates neutralise the ph down acid.

Hydro growers like clean water with no carbonates whereas the soil adjusts ph for you generally. I only checked run off ph in soil to see if ferts were too high not as a measure of ph.

I would hope that the hard water ferts are more aimed at balancing that alkalinity by using different forms of certain minerals.

Cheers mate, i actually added a little vinegar to the glass of water im testing and the ph dropped right down to 5.1 and i only added a couple of drops in a half pint glass..

Im hoping if ive managed with soft water nutes and not testing ph, that hard water nutes and ph adjusting might pay off with even bettet results. Fingers crossed.

 

[ItsJustMe84]

Oh and im not thinking of using vinegar over ph down i was just messing around lol

 

[2Hearts]

I by habit always ph chem ferts but cannot offer advice past the alkalinity.

Tend to find the higher the alkilinity the higher the ph and ppm. Check out the sticky at top of forum 'Water the most essential ingredient' by Doc111 and good luck.

 

[ItsJustMe84]

I by habit always ph chem ferts but cannot offer advice past the alkalinity.

Tend to find the higher the alkilinity the higher the ph and ppm. Check out the sticky at top of forum 'Water the most essential ingredient' by Doc111 and good luck.

Cheers pal, would you say i could be ok just adjusting the ph and carrying on as i did before because all this is kinda confusing and im starting in a week or so i already have quite abit to buy.

 

[2Hearts]

If your first grow was ok then i wouldnt change a thing, repetition is the best way to learn.

If somthing was screaming 'I need attention' at you then maybe.

 

[ItsJustMe84]

If your first grow was ok then i wouldnt change a thing, repetition is the best way to learn.

If somthing was screaming 'I need attention' at you then maybe.

My first grow was great but the 2 after that have had many problems, ive still produced decent buds but my god were the plants ugly with dis coloured leafs branches leaning to the sides they looked sick...

 

[2Hearts]

My first grow was great but the 2 after that have had many problems, ive still produced decent buds but my god were the plants ugly with dis coloured leafs branches leaning to the sides they looked sick...

What different things happened between the first good grow and bad second grow? Thats going backwards.

 

[ItsJustMe84]

What different things happened between the first good grow and bad second grow? Thats going backwards.

The only thing i can think i did different was on my other my two was feed them tap water without letting it stand, were as id always let my water stand for at least 24 hours before adding nutes also the temps were abit warmer than usual with it been summer, my first grow i did in winter

 

[DesertGrow89]

The only thing i can think i did different was on my other my two was feed them tap water without letting it stand, were as id always let my water stand for at least 24 hours before adding nutes also the temps were abit warmer than usual with it been summer, my first grow i did in winter

Don't waste money on anything sold as "ph down/up". Distilled white vinegar will decrease your ph, it doesn't take much. You want your ph below 7

 

[ItsJustMe84]

Don't waste money on anything sold as "ph down/up". Distilled white vinegar will decrease your ph, it doesn't take much. You want your ph below 7

Cheers dude but ive already ordered the ph down.

 

[2Hearts]

The only thing i can think i did different was on my other my two was feed them tap water without letting it stand, were as id always let my water stand for at least 24 hours before adding nutes also the temps were abit warmer than usual with it been summer, my first grow i did in winter

Ill bet if you wait till winter and let the water stand youll have vast improvements if everything else is the same, lights fans nutes etc.

 

[ItsJustMe84]

If im honest my last 2 grows have been totally rushed, theres probably alot i did wrong through just plain neglect as ive had a busy few months. Unlike my first grow were i really took care of the plants the best way i knew how, little things like misting my room out especially through veg, making sure my humidfier was filled up and cleaned regualary, i used the same pots only rinsed out with water, i didnt spend half as much time with my plants either.

This time im going to makesure i give them all my love and attention lol im actually pretty fascinated with growing, i just hate reading and it seems theres a hell of alot to read about[/QUOTE]