PPM reading of my tap water

Vitov7

Vitov7

Active Member
I'm preparing some solution to soak my grow cubes in for my seedlings after I mix in the clonex solution what should the PPM be? Also after I pH the water
 
NeWcS

NeWcS

Well-Known Member
The thing with tap water is, while it has ~124ppm(I assume you're talking .5) it doesn't mean that all of those ppms are usable to the plant. Most of those ppms are calcium. While great for plants, tap water generally doesn't have a ready usable amount of calcium.

So with that said, you do want to adjust your feed to compensate for the high ppm of the tap. Maybe start with half the recommended amount. If there are no issues you can assume the plant is only eating the food you gave it and not the food in the water. So bump it up...

I run all my plants the same ppm. Clones to harvest. ~700-800ppm
 
Vitov7

Vitov7

Active Member
I forgot to add that I have a water softener purification system by puronics not sure if that means anything the pH of my tap water is 8.25
 
Clumpyoyster

Clumpyoyster

Well-Known Member
where i am i have 190-200ppm tap at 7.8 ph so your ppm is better, I airstone the water in buckets a few days before feeding time. I have had zero problem with grows.I ph balance after adding nutes
 
ismann

ismann

Well-Known Member
Water softeners aren't good. You're just replacing Ca ions with Sodium ions. If you can't bypass the softener, then just get RO water at the store and add Cal-Mag.

I have a 1 gallon Brita which reduces my tap to about 40 ppm, then I add Cal-Mag, nutes and apple cider vinegar as pH down. If you can bypass the softener and use a Brita, that would be ideal and cheap. Otherwise get RO at the store.
 
Vitov7

Vitov7

Active Member
mangerton

mangerton

Member
mine is around 180-200ppm with a ph of 6.8-7

only problem i find is i tent to burn my plants when attempting to use more then half strength nuts

i think if you can drink the water the plant should be ok with it
 
Kushash

Kushash

Well-Known Member
High ppm water should not be used in a hydro grow. RO is a better choice.

There may be a few extreme cases but in a soil grow high ppm water will not burn plants.
Fertilizers burn plants when applied to a plant that does not want the fertilizer, doesn't matter if it's 100% 50% or 25% of the recommended dose.
 
A

Aqua Man

Well-Known Member
It's not high ppm if it was not softened it would be ok. But water softeners exchange calcium and minerals for sodium and that's not good for plants.

OP yes you can run the softened water through the RO unit and it will be good to go.
 
Vitov7

Vitov7

Active Member
Vitov7 said:
My main line for the water is hooked into my periodic water softener purification system so if I draw water from that into the reverse osmosis system will that be fine well I have to find a way around the softener?
Click to expand...
Is the 3 stage good enough or do I upgrade with the DI color resin filter?
 
sandman83

sandman83

Well-Known Member
eh, better the filter you can afford imho. Water is your base for carrying all other nutrients. I went with a stealth RO 300 since I can remove it from the bathroom if guests visit. Is there an outside tap or something not on the water softener line?
 
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