Water quality and calmag

[George2324]

my tap water comes out as around 180ppm on a x500 scale.

On the water companies website all they give me for quality tests are that they claim:
The water is moderately soft with:
40mg/l as calcium
100mg/l as calcium carbonate.

They don’t state how much magnesium.
However if my tap water is 180 and they say 140ppm is calcium should I be using a calmag supplement with this kind of water?

I have gotten some calmag deficiencies late in flower before but thought nothing of it. But I’m starting to think to give my plants what they actually need I should be running calmag all the way through?

Anyone else have water like this?

 

[Airwalker16]

my tap water comes out as around 180ppm on a x500 scale.

On the water companies website all they give me for quality tests are that they claim:
The water is moderately soft with:
40mg/l as calcium
100mg/l as calcium carbonate.

They don’t state how much magnesium.
However if my tap water is 180 and they say 140ppm is calcium should I be using a calmag supplement with this kind of water?

I have gotten some calmag deficiencies late in flower before but thought nothing of it. But I’m starting to think to give my plants what they actually need I should be running calmag all the way through?

Anyone else have water like this?

Are you running soil, coco, or a DWC type system?

 

[George2324]

Are you running soil, coco, or a DWC type system?

Dwc no media apart from 4 inch netpot with clay balls

 

[Airwalker16]

Dwc no media apart from 4 inch netpot with clay balls

You're best bet will be to drop the $100 on an under sink Reverse Osmosis system then. That way there's no guesswork, you can start at 0PPMs and add the calmag.

 

[George2324]

You're best bet will be to drop the $100 on an under sink Reverse Osmosis system then. That way there's no guesswork, you can start at 0PPMs and add the calmag.

I have 3 systems going one is 470l one is 325l and one is 250l it would take me days to refill the reservoirs. Unfortunately RO isn’t an option in this case. I had considered it even having a large rainwater tank outside collecting the RO water during the week but I’d need a tank over 2000l just don’t have the room for that

 

[rkymtnman]

what nutes?

any additives? what's all in your res?

 

[George2324]

what nutes?

any additives? what's all in your res?

This is my start ph. I’m gonna be using ionic line going forward for simplicity.

Only thing in my res will be ionic grow/bloom and ionic boost, and liquid silicon then the calmag if I determine I need to run it all the time

 

[Airwalker16]

This thread @Flagg420

 

[5BY5LEC]

my tap water comes out as around 180ppm on a x500 scale.

On the water companies website all they give me for quality tests are that they claim:
The water is moderately soft with:
40mg/l as calcium
100mg/l as calcium carbonate.

They don’t state how much magnesium.
However if my tap water is 180 and they say 140ppm is calcium should I be using a calmag supplement with this kind of water?

I have gotten some calmag deficiencies late in flower before but thought nothing of it. But I’m starting to think to give my plants what they actually need I should be running calmag all the way through?

Anyone else have water like this?

I would just forget that you even have 180ppm to begin with. Throw 150ppm calmag in there for around 230ppm and start your nutes there.

 

[Airwalker16]

Or maybe at least just use a simple water filter of some sort on the outlet line for your source water. It may be able to catch some of the nastier elements and get you to at least 100ppm.

 

[George2324]

Or maybe at least just use a simple water filter of some sort on the outlet line for your source water. It may be able to catch some of the nastier elements and get you to at least 100ppm.

What sort of filter? I’ve never heard of filters that just go on the end of a tap

 

[Bugeye]

The problem with tap water cal/mag is that it can come in a large molecule form that is not easily taken up by your plants.

 

[George2324]

The problem with tap water cal/mag is that it can come in a large molecule form that is not easily taken up by your plants.

I’m considering using ionic nutes in the future. I’ve contacted the manufacturer and they claim you don’t need calmag with ionic as it contains enough calmag so I’ll give this a go on my next few runs and see if I get the calmag deficiency at all later on in growth

 

[Airwalker16]

What sort of filter? I’ve never heard of filters that just go on the end of a tap

Just some kind of simple filter like you'd use for a faucet for drinking water. Something like Brita or PuR perhaps?

 

[WinterSoldier89]

I use calcium nitrate and mag nitrate. Both are soluble in water.

 

[Atomizer]

Use nitric acid ph down and there`s no problem with using soft tapwater.
.

 

[George2324]

Use nitric acid ph down and there`s no problem with using soft tapwater.
.

Why would phopshoric acid or any other type of ph down cause problems with soft water?

 

[rkymtnman]

Why would phopshoric acid or any other type of ph down cause problems with soft water?

i was gonna ask the same. @Atomizer is a good source of knowledge 'round these parts so I would assume he's right. I would think something to do with the interaction b/t the acids and the calcium carbonate but not sure.

 

[Atomizer]

You didnt read it correctly, i said there`s no problem
Nitric acid will react positively with the tapwater, converting the carbonate into nitrate. Phosphoric acid isnt as useful because the reaction with carbonate forms insoluble phosphate.

 

[rkymtnman]

You didnt read it correctly, i said there`s no problem
Nitric acid will react positively with the tapwater, converting the carbonate into nitrate. Phosphoric acid isnt as useful because the reaction with carbonate forms insoluble phosphate.

to save me some time trying to look them all up, what brands use nitric as their down? i'm almost out of my GH pH down and would be up for trying another.