Very high EC tap water, what should I do?

jimihendrix1

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
Ive been drinking distilled, and RO water since 1978. I went to an Arnold seminar in the 70s, and he said that he has been drinking distilled water for 10 years before that, and said to drink distilled waret. RO water really wasnt readil;y available then, but its a myth that drinking distilled, or RO water is bad for you. I ve been lifting weights, and running since 1978. Ive run 6-50 mile ultra marathons, all under 7 hours, and a 2 hours 38 minute marathon, and at leat 10 other all unde 2 hours 50 minutes. I was 1985 Ky AAU Powerlifting champ at 148lbs. Lie as was sttated before. You get all the minerals you need out of your food. What minerals that are in most water are locked up, and arent used by the human body anyway. I try and drink 96-128oz water a day, and have been for 44 years. With no ill effects.
 
Week4@inCharge

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
Any of you notice the pH is the same before and after using the RO? I have a 3stage RO unit and the EC drops to almost nothing but the pH stays the same. at about 8.2pH
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
Week4@inCharge said:
Any of you notice the pH is the same before and after using the RO? I have a 3stage RO unit and the EC drops to almost nothing but the pH stays the same. at about 8.2pH
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You can't measure RO accurately with a pH meter because there aren't enough free ions

It doesn't really matter if the RO water had a pH of 2 or 10 since its overall influence will be minuscule

pH is a ratio (proportion of Hydrogen)
 
Week4@inCharge

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
Billy the Mountain said:
You can't measure RO accurately with a pH meter because there aren't enough free ions

It doesn't really matter if the RO water had a pH of 2 or 10 since its overall influence will be minuscule

pH is a ratio (proportion of Hydrogen)
Click to expand...
Makes sense, watching the video I learned that stirring the water would drop the pH by a lot and quickly. So I ran to my 5 gallon reservoir and stirred it real quick, and it dropped fast, from 8.2 to the lower 6. The lack of free ions (from your input) seems to be the main culprit. The video put it on C02 and oxygen exchange. I did like the guy mentioned in the video, dropped about 2 cups of tap water in there and it seemed to stabilized the water to 6.5. I'm curious to see if this remains at 6.5 this week
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
Week4@inCharge said:
Makes sense, watching the video I learned that stirring the water would drop the pH by a lot and quickly. So I ran to my 5 gallon reservoir and stirred it real quick, and it dropped fast, from 8.2 to the lower 6. The lack of free ions (from your input) seems to be the main culprit. The video put it on C02 and oxygen exchange. I did like the guy mentioned in the video, dropped about 2 cups of tap water in there and it seemed to stabilized the water to 6.5. I'm curious to see if this remains at 6.5 this week
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Yes, adding some tap (carbonates) will help provide some buffering capacity; i.e. resistance to change

A good way to think about pH is a balance between H+ and OH-, RO has very few of either so the value is meaningless and will rapidly change with the addition of any H+ (acids) or OH- (bases).
 
R

RottyRzr

Well-Known Member
Billy the Mountain said:
You can't measure RO accurately with a pH meter because there aren't enough free ions

It doesn't really matter if the RO water had a pH of 2 or 10 since its overall influence will be minuscule

pH is a ratio (proportion of Hydrogen)
Click to expand...
So if my well water has a low alkalinity (low calcium and magnesium) my ph level doesn't matter so much?
I have acidic water and have to add ph up to correct it. Should I not be doing that?
 
R

RottyRzr

Well-Known Member
Week4@inCharge said:
We're talking about Reverse Osmosis water.
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Yes I know. Just trying to understand. RO has had calcium and magnesium removed. If my well water is super low in these minerals as well, wouldn't that be kinda the same thing as RO just not as extreme?
I had my water tested and calcium is low and magnesium is very low.
Billy the Mountain said:
The only pH value that matters is after you've added your nutes

Use pH up as necessary to get to your target value
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I do but then the ph keeps climbing. Is that due to the low cal/mag?
 
Week4@inCharge

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
I do but then the ph keeps climbing. Is that due to the low cal/mag?
[/QUOTE] No, don't think so, but adding some Cal Mag in there might help.
 
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Week4@inCharge

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
I came across a video that suggests amino acids will destroy calcium carbonate (limestone?) in your tap water. Negating the use of RO filtering. He says that the calcium in tap is unusable in grows ....but...adding a certain amino acid would break down the tap waters calcium to a useable calcium that not only the plant could use...but store it for future use. I'm sharing this because I don't fully understand how one adds or if there is a product that adds amino acids to the root system. Giving it a boost per sé, He mentions that the root system makes its own amino acids, but adding a certain type of amino acid really does the job to break down the calcium carbonate in hard tap water. Some of you will recognize this guy immediately but any insight as to how to get this amino acid he's talking about would be much appreciated. time mark is at 18:54. Whole vid is good but the amino acid portion starts at 18:54
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
Week4@inCharge said:
I came across a video that suggests amino acids will destroy calcium carbonate (limestone?) in your tap water. Negating the use of RO filtering. He says that the calcium in tap is unusable in grows ....but...adding a certain amino acid would break down the tap waters calcium to a useable calcium that not only the plant could use...but store it for future use. I'm sharing this because I don't fully understand how one adds or if there is a product that adds amino acids to the root system. Giving it a boost per sé, He mentions that the root system makes its own amino acids, but adding a certain type of amino acid really does the job to break down the calcium carbonate in hard tap water. Some of you will recognize this guy immediately but any insight as to how to get this amino acid he's talking about would be much appreciated. time mark is at 18:54. Whole vid is good but the amino acid portion starts at 18:54
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The guy does have a confidence-inspiring white lab coat but he's wrong.
(Assuming he claimed what you claimed)

Not only is CaC03 a plant available nutrient, it's a common ingredient in nute formulations.
 
Week4@inCharge

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
Billy the Mountain said:
The guy does have a confidence-inspiring white lab coat but he's wrong.
(Assuming he claimed what you claimed)

Not only is CaC03 a plant available nutrient, it's a common ingredient in nute formulations.
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Maybe I misunderstood what he said, I'll have to watch it again, do you know what he meant with the amino acids breaking down calcium?
 
Week4@inCharge

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
Billy the Mountain said:
The guy does have a confidence-inspiring white lab coat but he's wrong.
(Assuming he claimed what you claimed)

Not only is CaC03 a plant available nutrient, it's a common ingredient in nute formulations.
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Well, my bad, he said Calcium Phosphate in his well water was very high. And that the use of Amino Acids almost eliminated the calcium build up entirely. It seems like he used a priority blend of amino acids, and mentioned that kelp extracts have amino acids. I've watched it 5 times already and can't grasp it all yet. Might have to turn on closed caption and see if that helps.

"Glutamic and Glycine (amino acid) stimulate root cells to open calcium ion channels, so instead of the plant taking in one ion at a time of calcium (taken up in the plant) the Glutamic and Glycine open up a thousand calcium ion channels. Tens of thousands flow into the plant..."

So ... who's got this amino acid available?
 
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A

AScrilla

Member
VictorFlorez said:
I was about to mix up my first ever nutrient solution for some seedlings, lucky I measured the tap water before I did.

pH 7.9 and EC 0.9!

Seeing as though I was about to transplant the jiffy pellets into solo cups, pre-fertigate the coco and give them their first feed at EC 0.8 or less, I have no idea what to do now. Short of setting up the RO system or buying distilled water, I'm stumped on where to go from here. The shops are closed until tomorrow, and the RO system is at a friends house rn and may need replacing. Cotyledons are open, and the roots are poking through some of the jiffy pellets that are drying out and getting quite light- they need at least a watering right now.

Should I just water them with plain pH'd tap water for now, and try to get a RO system asap, maybe pick up distilled water tomorrow until I have the RO system up and running? Timing couldn't be worse. Any advice will be much appreciated!
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Do you have a nursery, Home Depot, Lowes, or garden center nearby? If so, I bet you they use that same municipal tap water that is running through your tap to water the plants that they sell. If the water is safe for you to drink, it is safe for your plants. I know that we want great yields so we supplement our soil and water with supplements and macro nutrients/minerals to get the biggest yields, but in doing so we screw up things for the plants and then start chasing pH to equalize the acid imbalance that we created. I used to measure pH and only water with distilled water. Waste of time and money, lol. When I started to grow outside (not in greenhouse) I quickly realized that I can’t control pH. Guess what, my plants didn’t die. I gave them tap water and, guess what, the plants didn’t die. Moreover, my yields did not suffer. That old lady growing tomatoes next door is using generic fertalizer (if at all) and tap water, and she’s been doing it for decades. Just relax, don’t over feed your plants, and water them properly.
 
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