High pH and chloramine in (Berkeley, CA) tap water for outdoor grow: treat it or not?

Apologies if my question has been previously answered here — I spent 3 hours searching/reading posts on this site and never found the answers (though learned a lot of great info, so thanks!)

I’m doing an outdoor grow in my garden here in Berkeley, California. Got five different clone strains that’ll be going into 30-gallon half wine barrels after completing their hardening. Soil with be Fox Farms Ocean Forest with 30% perlite in some, and the recommended blend of a local supplier: American Soil and Stone’s “American Flower Power” in others.

I’d like to know if it’s OK to just use the tap water right out of the hose or not. It’s supplied by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (aka EBMUD). The two main potential issues I see here are the high pH of our water here (9.1) and the chloramine. I’m assuming there are other potential issues as well, so feel free to enlighten me. I realize that you might need a lot more data on my water to give truly accurate advice.

If the high pH (9.1) alone is an issue, then I could put the hose into a big barrel I have, fill that and add pH-Down to get it to a more optimal 6.5 or whatever, and then water via buckets hauled around the garden.

If the chloramine is also an issue, I could eliminate that with ascorbic acid (aka vitamin C). I read somewhere that letting the water sit for 24 hours allows chlorine to evaporate out (or using air-stones for that purpose in less time), but that this isn’t as effective with chloramine (chlorine + ammonia). The addition of ascorbic acid lowers the pH, and in my case the recommended amount of ascorbic acid just happens to lower the pH from 9.1 to about 6.5 (high-five! ;^). For people with water of a lower starting pH, the addition of pH-Up, after the vitamin C, would do the trick (assuming the ascorbic acid dropped the pH below the optimum level).

As for other water issues I might unknowingly have... ?

Appreciate the help!

~j

To correct the misinformation you have received: High ph? Use a tablespoon of white vinegar in a gallon of water. Test what you are looking for is a ph of around 6. You may need to vary the amount of vinegar. Chloromines? Go to your local fish store and buy a product called "Prime". One drop per gallon will neutralize that stuff.

grayeyes said:

To correct the misinformation you have received...

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Care to elaborate? Are you saying it's incorrect to use pH-Up or pH-Down, or vitamin C to neutralize the chloramine? Or it just a matter of getting the same result with other treatments? Pros and cons? Reasons? Thanks -- I appreciate your feedback -- I'm here to learn.

~j

The amount of Chloramine in municipal drinking water is completely safe and will cause no problems to plants. pH down for the high pH. That said, 9.1pH seems quite high.

If you're overly concerned, get yourself a proper water analysis done. Either your local health department, or a private company can do this (or at least point you in the right direction). Water, and soil analysis can be extremely handy.

spek9 said:

If you're overly concerned, get yourself a proper water analysis done.

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I guess I just don't know if I *should* be concerned, being a noob grower. You read all this stuff and start to freak out, worrying about all these things you come across doing research and speaking with people with a very wide range of opinions, and it's quite difficult to sort through it all to figure out the best path forward.

greendream9 said:

I guess I just don't know if I *should* be concerned, being a noob grower. You read all this stuff and start to freak out, worrying about all these things you come across doing research and speaking with people with a very wide range of opinions, and it's quite difficult to sort through it all to figure out the best path forward.

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I'll just say this... people have been growing plants (cannabis included) using tap water since forever. I'd say the vast majority on this site use municipal tap water (I use tap water drawn from my lake after I filter and Chlorinate it).

Just make sure your pH is correct for the medium you're growing in is all.

For outdoor plants you should be fine. There's a lot of debates/disagreements about the affects of chloramines so you've really just got do what you think is best for your garden.

I ordered another Boogie Blue filter for my hose to water my outdoor garden and I have pretty decent tap. (8.1 pH with around 180-220ppms)

If you do some research in the organic section you'll find lots of info from the seasoned growers that have been around for awhile.
Thats where I'd start.

Edit - this is an old link I saved from when I grew in ROLs a couple yrs ago. It might help ya a little.

Tangerine_ said:

I ordered another Boogie Blue filter for my hose to water my outdoor garden and I have pretty decent tap. (8.1 pH with around 180-220ppms)

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This filter looks like a great solution for chlorine/chloramine removal (assuming that's even a thing to be concerned about, though it does seem to be for organic gardening, according to the article you kindly linked to). Being able to use a hose for watering instead of having to lug buckets around the garden would be a big plus. But I'm still left with my pH issue: 9.1. My read is that the consensus view is that this is crazy high and cannot be allowed, so it must be lowered. What's your take? But to lower it I'm forced to do so in a barrel/bucket (using pH-Down or whatever) and lug heavy buckets around the garden. I'm willing to do whatever it takes for my girls, but is there another option people use in an outdoor garden grow like mine?

greendream9 said:

This filter looks like a great solution for chlorine/chloramine removal (assuming that's even a thing to be concerned about, though it does seem to be for organic gardening, according to the article you kindly linked to). Being able to use a hose for watering instead of having to lug buckets around the garden would be a big plus. But I'm still left with my pH issue: 9.1. My read is that the consensus view is that this is crazy high and cannot be allowed, so it must be lowered. What's your take? But to lower it I'm forced to do so in a barrel/bucket (using pH-Down or whatever) and lug heavy buckets around the garden. I'm willing to do whatever it takes for my girls, but is there another option people use in an outdoor garden grow like mine?

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You don't have a hose that'll reach your plants?
Also, is your plan to grow organic with a living soil or soup style organics?
If you're going to grow in a living soil, adding things like biochar and worm castings. This will increase ion exchange and pH will become a nonissue.
Lugging water blows. If you have to water out of barrels at least get some kind of pump hooked up or you're gonna have long summer.

Tangerine_ said:

You don't have a hose that'll reach your plants?

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Yes, I do -- but if I want to treat the pH issue (lowering it from 9.1 out of the tap to 6.5 or whatever), don't I have to put the water into a barrel/bucket so I can add the ph-Down (or whatever)? If that's the case I don't see how I can use a hose to get from there to the plants, unless you've got a suggestion? A pump maybe?

I guess I could put the barrel for the pH treatment closer to the plants instead of the faucet on the other side of the yard, and then more easily fill buckets to water the close-by plants.

I would suggest using the garden hose filter, I bought a cheap one on amazon and it works great. Removes the chloramine, flouride, and other junk. I have heard that chloramine will kill off some of the microbes and beneficial bacteria and that flouride is like a poison to plants. I don't know if there is any truth to that but a $20 water filter and I sleep better at night. I wouldn't worry about adjusting the ph of your water the soil is one heck of a buffer. Maybe throw some EWC, bat guano, or other stuff into the water bucket to make some tea. That will also naturally lower the pH of the water. Outdoors in soil water ph isn't that big of an issue. Indoors w/ soilless or hydro setups it will be more of a problem. Maybe consider adding humic acid to ensure good nutrient uptake and some mykos wp to keep the roots happy. Good luck on your grow

chernobe said:

I wouldn't worry about adjusting the ph of your water the soil is one heck of a buffer.

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with a ph of 9.1 I would definitely adjust it.

spek9 said:

The amount of Chloramine in municipal drinking water is completely safe and will cause no problems to plants. pH down for the high pH. That said, 9.1pH seems quite high.

If you're overly concerned, get yourself a proper water analysis done. Either your local health department, or a private company can do this (or at least point you in the right direction). Water, and soil analysis can be extremely handy.

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I was surprised as well but looks like east bay municipal district reports pH of 9.2-9.4 for surrounding areas.

washedmothafuka said:

I was surprised as well but looks like east bay municipal district reports pH of 9.2-9.4 for surrounding areas.

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If you dig deeper, you may even find details on the element makeup of the water on one of their sites. That won't indicate if there are contaminants or minerals being introduced by the plumbing between the purification plant and your home, but it'll give you a guideline at least.

Also, when on municipal water, your local health department may do a proper analysis for you for free. That's how it has worked in various locations in Canada I've lived.

PH..... I forgot to mention. If your use Jack's (not organic, but food grade fert, for sure) 20-20-20 / 10-30-20 YOU DO NOT EVER NEED TO PH YOUR WATER. Neva' evva'. Not PH-ing your chloramine, chlorine, salts, etc., etc., etc. You can throw away your PH meters if you use Jack's.
Remember, weed is just a weed. It only wants to grow,. Use Jack's, Kellogg's raised-Bed, and NO PH-ing of your tap water. Feed it directly from the hose. I do have a set up for automatically mixing fert. with water. Here's a pic of the set up. All available on amazon. The ONLY fert you can not buy in less than 25 lbs. is Jack's (golden) Aqua-Gold finisher shown. You can buy smaller amounts of finisher off eBay, though, I found it cheaper to buy the 25 lb. bag, if you're in this for the long haul.
• The U.S. Brass water pressure regulator I bought in 2017:
• And, you'll need the on/off controlled Drama Wand:
Note: Look at where the pressure regulator and Dramm (blue) mixer are positioned. Regulator before the Dramm mixer. Keep the water pressure at about 32 psi. Higher pressure will blow apart the blue plastic mixers clear-plastic back flow disc that's connected 6 inches below the mixer.

•

hydra-glide said:

Note: Look at where the pressure regulator and Dramm (blue) mixer are positioned.

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Thanks for the info!

For the mixer, this guy, right?
https://www.amazon.com/Dramm-22625-Syphonject-Siphon-External/dp/B002KCY2WS/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=dramm+mixer&qid=1589132406&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-11

Yup! Just remember ya gotta have that pressure regulator or you'll blow the clear-plastic backflow preventer and render the mixer useless.
Also, during growing season they sell out of these U.S. Brass (China) regulators, so if you're serious about it buy one soon. They always have the Dramm wand and Dram mixers in stock. And did I say, keep the pressure reg. at 32-35 psi? Yes I did!
p.s. I don't get notified if there's a reply to one of my posts. So if I don't show up, email me at [email protected] and tell me to get over here.
Okay, I fixed it, all notices were going to my spam folder.

I'm in Berkeley. I got a water hose filter and some chlorine/chloramine test strips being delivered this friday. I'll let you know the results. You're overthinking the PH thing. Some mediums you don't need to worry about it at all. I'm growing hydro, so I do. Just get a cheap electric PH tester and toss in a little distilled vinegar if you need to lower it. Do this at the end, once you're done whipping up your feed water. It is around 9 out here, but once I add my nutes I'm usually right at 6.0 which is perfect. If you ever need to raise it, use a little baking soda to bring it back. Amounts are pretty consistent once you start getting things dialed in.