Moishe
Active Member
Tap water isn't a bad idea really. Especially if filtered. If you'd like to cut it with RO or Distilled water, that may help if your tap PPM is above 200. However, unless you are dialed in to your strain and know what you're doing, I wouldn't recommend using pure RO/Distilled water.
One good practice to have is to mix your entire solution for your system and to pH it... then you let it sit with an airstone for 6 hours, and gradually readjust the pH. Also, if you are using a bluelab pen, it's a good idea to let it sit for 5 minutes to get a stable pH reading. Another practice that isn't so bad is to find the sweet spot for your reservoir (the one that isn't in your active system. Along with going by the 30% trick explained earlier, you may want to set your pH a little bit closer to 5.0 to help cut your pH back down as water from your reservoir enters your system. However, if you have a big res, too low of a pH can get you a bunch of crazy weird shit to build up around your reservoir. So keep everything in check.
"Note: it is not a good idea to use distilled water in your tank. By definition, distilled water has essentially no KH. That means that adding even a little bit of acid will change the pH significantly (stressing fish). Because of its instability, distilled (or any essentially pure water) is never used directly. Tap water or other salts must first be added to it in order to increase its GH and KH."
Once you get everything dialed in and you understand what your plants use/need and what nutrient use does to your pH, using a Reverse Osmosis/distilled solution system isn't a bad idea. pH swings are normal though. Just learn what is in your nutrient solution, and what those nutrients do to your pH. Then you can start troubleshooting your own system. It's hard to tell you what the problem is without having an identical system running without the same problems.
Just keep an eye on stuff. Write it down. Adjust accordingly. Good luck!
Edit: another system you could employ is to pH your premixed solution to 5.0 over 3 hours, then gradually adjust it back to 5.8 while it bubbles over the next 4-6 hours.
One good practice to have is to mix your entire solution for your system and to pH it... then you let it sit with an airstone for 6 hours, and gradually readjust the pH. Also, if you are using a bluelab pen, it's a good idea to let it sit for 5 minutes to get a stable pH reading. Another practice that isn't so bad is to find the sweet spot for your reservoir (the one that isn't in your active system. Along with going by the 30% trick explained earlier, you may want to set your pH a little bit closer to 5.0 to help cut your pH back down as water from your reservoir enters your system. However, if you have a big res, too low of a pH can get you a bunch of crazy weird shit to build up around your reservoir. So keep everything in check.
"Note: it is not a good idea to use distilled water in your tank. By definition, distilled water has essentially no KH. That means that adding even a little bit of acid will change the pH significantly (stressing fish). Because of its instability, distilled (or any essentially pure water) is never used directly. Tap water or other salts must first be added to it in order to increase its GH and KH."
Once you get everything dialed in and you understand what your plants use/need and what nutrient use does to your pH, using a Reverse Osmosis/distilled solution system isn't a bad idea. pH swings are normal though. Just learn what is in your nutrient solution, and what those nutrients do to your pH. Then you can start troubleshooting your own system. It's hard to tell you what the problem is without having an identical system running without the same problems.
Just keep an eye on stuff. Write it down. Adjust accordingly. Good luck!
Edit: another system you could employ is to pH your premixed solution to 5.0 over 3 hours, then gradually adjust it back to 5.8 while it bubbles over the next 4-6 hours.
