Question - Small Boy, Tap Water and PPM

My tap water's PPM is 280. I have both an RO system and a Small Boy. I was always told never to use RO water with organics. After purchasing the small boy to just get rid of the chloramines, I noticed it does not lower the PPM at all. It remains at 280. I've also heard that you should not use tap water above 200.

Should I be using the small boy with 280ppm water, or should I be using RO water? If RO water, should I be adding anything to it?

Thanks.

You need to say what medium the plants are in and what if any amendments are in there and what are you feeding your plants.

1. Just use the small boy

2. Use tap water but bubble it for a day and add a small scoop of compost or ewc to take care of chlorine / chloramine

3. Use RO water but ensure your medium is amended well with minerals, I.e. limestone gypsum glacial rock dust etc

Was going to try one of the LC mixes using guanos or meals. One of the "just add water" methods. Will I hurt them if I just use the small boy and water?

PPM should have gone down somewhat after going through the small boy. What kind of filter is it exactly (activated carbon and\or ion exchange resin?). Even with a Brita pitcher I've tested the filtered water and had it come out with less TDS. The key with activated carbon filters is that the water needs to be cold, as cold as possible, so make sure that it is.

Otherwise, RO or bottled water is just fine for soil growing, as long as you have sufficient dolomite lime as blueJ mentioned. You may also add something to the RO water such as General Organics CaMg+, Organicare Calplex and\or blackstrap molasses.

Thank you. I know it has some kind of carbon filter. I looked on the company's website and it even says it doesnt lower ppm, just reduces chlorine and chloramines (but wouldnt that reduce ppm?). Is 280 ppm dangerous for plants?

A carbon filter should take at least some of the solids out of the water, and with ion exchange resin especially. The thing with straight carbon filters is that the water needs to be cool\cold to work effectively.

The rest of what is in your water is probably minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, etc. With water that hard the pH of it is probably also high. You should check your water quality report if possible, it would tell you how much chlorine\chloramine is in the water as well as what kinds of minerals and other substances are present. Personally I would use RO water. Another thing you could do is mix RO water with the filtered water, so you'll still have some mineral content in it but it will be significantly less.

I use ro water with 0 ppm but I use super soil. The only thing I add once in a while to regular watering is some cal/mag. Other than that I use teas to supplement nutrients and microbiological life.

RO water is great for your plants, you may need to add a bit of cal/mag now and then if you didn't use dolomite lime in your soil mix.

A small boy as they come will not remove or reduce chlormines unless you buy a catalytic carbon filter for it as oppose to the regular carbon. Also this will make your ppm rise a bit as oppose to just started tap.

There are better prices/deals then anything R.O. or filterwise sold at "grow" stores. Just look around I got a 3 stage carbon, catalytic, sediment for $92 shipped to my front door and for $20 I can turn it into a 200gpd r.o. if I wanted to.

PPM varies alot, here where I am currently if varies on season and what are source of tap water is at the moment.... sometimes river sometimes aquifer. I used to use tap water that was bubbled in L.A. where the water is horrid like 500ppm sometimes and it worked just fine. Infact I have never seen a noticable difference between r.o. and tap except tap actually held a more stable ph. I now run my 3 stage and my water goes in at about 280 leaves at about 300-320 due the cataylitic carbon doing its job and stripping out the chlorimines and such.

Anyway a small boy with the KDF85 catayltic carbon and a sediment filter is plenty fine.