Should I get RO water for clones? 180PPM Tap

cyanarnofsky

cyanarnofsky

Active Member
Hey guys, have these clones going in a DWC 5 gal bucket. They show great root growth but new growth looks like its yellowing from
nute burn, I only have my tap water in there which is about 180ppm. Too high for these little ones?
20131218_225743.jpg
 
Discoballs

Discoballs

Member
Yes a RO filter is required if your using city tap water. There is chlorine and other chemicals in city water that will harm the plant cells. These chemicals can cause discoloration of leafs, poor root growth and poor productivity.
 
kagecog

kagecog

Well-Known Member
Yep, I don't recommend using tap water in ANY stage of plant life. It can cause all sorts of unwanted problems due to the contaminants in it.
 
S

spek9

Well-Known Member
Discoballs said:
Yes a RO filter is required if your using city tap water. There is chlorine and other chemicals in city water that will harm the plant cells. These chemicals can cause discoloration of leafs, poor root growth and poor productivity.
Click to expand...
Given that I start 25 clones every three weeks (and use the best 8) with a success rate just shy of 100% with perfectly coloured and beautiful leaves, I can assuredly say that with 180PPM tap water, it'll work perfectly fine :)

My tap water is 170-195PPM and ~7.0pH, and I do very well.

Also, remember that clones start with no roots, so they don't need any food (hence why pH doesn't matter during this stage).

I don't add anything at all to my tap water... just fill up my res and I'm done (I stopped using rooting gel too).

-spek
 
Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
Some people have cleaner tap water than others. Different municipalities use different sanitation methods, different disinfectants, have different geology (aquifer location and mineral contents) and ultimately what comes out the tap varies. Not all cities/towns use chloramines (though many do) and not all add fluoride to the water.

If you are really interested in exactly what is in your tap water, you should check out your municipal water report. In the USA (other countries as well I assume) your city/town or water company should mail you such a report annually. It is also likely to be found online.

Fluoride, chloramines and chlorination by-products aside; tap water contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and copper which the plant can make use of. RO water is not necessary. Unless your water is really bad, if you wanted to filter it you could use an activated charcoal/ion exchange resin system (Brita/Pur) or a multistage filter. RO systems waste a lot of water.
 
cyanarnofsky

cyanarnofsky

Active Member
Your almost the same as me Spek Im 180PPM 7.6PH straight form tap, that is all I have in the rez currently. My larger DWC plants do fine on my tap water, but I was thinking this was nute burn but if my tap is 180ppm I can't really lower it hah. I am leaning more towards underfed now though. Since this was tap water with no additions and all the clones have great pearl white root production so far my newbness pushes me towards they need some food and the N is being used up. PH is 5.8-6 and stable. All clones have over 5 root shoots per clone and at min 5" long on all root shoots so deff rooting strong.

I foiled that lid because it was a thin plastic and was allowing light into the rez.

thanks for all the input so far!
 
S

spek9

Well-Known Member
Nullis said:
Some people have cleaner tap water than others. Different municipalities use different sanitation methods, different disinfectants, have different geology (aquifer location and mineral contents) and ultimately what comes out the tap varies. Not all cities/towns use chloramines (though many do) and not all add fluoride to the water.

If you are really interested in exactly what is in your tap water, you should check out your municipal water report. In the USA (other countries as well I assume) your city/town or water company should mail you such a report annually. It is also likely to be found online.

Fluoride, chloramines and chlorination by-products aside; tap water contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and copper which the plant can make use of. RO water is not necessary. Unless your water is really bad, if you wanted to filter it you could use an activated charcoal/ion exchange resin system (Brita/Pur) or a multistage filter. RO systems waste a lot of water.
Click to expand...
I am *very* thankful I live in a city where they appropriately banned the toxic waste fluoride from our water supply.

-spek
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Cyan wrote: new growth looks like its yellowing from
nute burn
Click to expand...
What the fuck Cyan, yellowing (chlorosis) is primarily from N deficiency. Nute burn is almost always on leaf tips and is browning and dying of tips.

Are you expecting your clones to live on water?
JD
 
Discoballs

Discoballs

Member
JohnDee said:
What the fuck Cyan, yellowing (chlorosis) is primarily from N deficiency. Nute burn is almost always on leaf tips and is browning and dying of tips.

Are you expecting your clones to live on water?
JD
Click to expand...
Agreed it does look like he has a nutrient deficiency. I would like to think he is feeding them since hydroponics is not very successful without nutrients. But you never know with beginners...
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Cyanarnofsky wrote": I only have my tap water in there which is about 180ppm. Too high for these little...
Click to expand...
Cyan,
Apparently we need a little clarification on everything you have in the res and total nutrient ppm (if any). I assumed from your statement that you only had water. So what is it please?
JD
 
cyanarnofsky

cyanarnofsky

Active Member
I was running straight water in the beginning as I was concerned my 180PPM water might be too heavy for them. Since the initial post I have bumped to 1/4 strength GH. I am sitting around 270PPM now with a normal tap of about 170-180. The tips looked a bit crispy was my reasoning behind nute burn. Will get a better image up tonight.
 
TonightYou

TonightYou

Well-Known Member
180 ppm is perfectly fine. There is zero need for RO water.

Been using city water with a ppm not too dissimilar for quiet a while. Zero problems. I find most people blaming their water without knowing the exact info from their water source, are looking outwards at their process and not inwards at their process. Seen very similar arguments in the brewing community.

Exceptions obviously to those who know why their water is a problem, such as well sourced and hardness problems.

Edit get rid of that foil, and please feed those plants. That is an N deficiency for sure. The crispy looking edge is from the reflection on the dying leaf.
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Cyan,
Because your water started out at 180ppm (which is fine)...when you bumped up the ppms to 270ppm, that really means you only added 90ppms of nutrients...obviously not enough. The minerals in the water are mostly calcium and mg compounds and trace elements.

So just bump things up little by little as plant responds. And if you ever see any tip burn (browning dying leaf tips)...then back off on the nutes.
JD
 
cyanarnofsky

cyanarnofsky

Active Member
20131225_165552.jpg20131225_165600.jpg20131225_165613.jpg
transplant day. This is today sitting at 350ppm. 3.5Gallons per bucket with ratio of 1|1|1. 5ml per entire bucket (0.7ml per gallon about).
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Hey, looking good cyan...

Why is that air pump sitting on top of the pot like that? That's an accident waiting to happen. Just don't want any trauma to your little sweeties.
JD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top