water change question

I am getting ready for my first ever grow. I have a Bubbleponics 6 plant kit. My question is, when I change out the water in the reservoir I was planning to pump out the water and refill with tap water then ad the ph down and the nutes (when it is time) to the last gallon of water in a jug and pore it in. I have an indoor hose that is 38 feet like this


Will the tap water with the higher ph damage the plant for the 5 or so minuets before I adjust it ??

Commander Strax said:

I am getting ready for my first ever grow. I have a Bubbleponics 6 plant kit. My question is, when I change out the water in the reservoir I was planning to pump out the water and refill with tap water then ad the ph down and the nutes (when it is time) to the last gallon of water in a jug and pore it in. I have an indoor hose that is 38 feet like this
View attachment 2530639

Will the tap water with the higher ph damage the plant for the 5 or so minuets before I adjust it ??

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Hello..

I have a 6 bucket DWC set up , and I have a 55 gallon res..My remote 55 gallon res is out side my tent and I add nutes first then I PH my barrel ....Then I just turn the valve on and my buckets fill back up, with the new ph'ed barrel...

Always add nutes before you PH...all my buckets are hooked together, so I do all the mixing in my barrel then I fill my buckets with the correct PH.....Hope that helps..

that sound like the optimum situation, but in my case not having a seperate resevoiur I was just looking for the simplest way to mix into a single container system.

Commander Strax said:

that sound like the optimum situation, but in my case not having a seperate resevoiur I was just looking for the simplest way to mix into a single container system.

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OK I see commander...

You are going to be busy adding nutes and PH ing a lot later on when the plants are bigger..My plants get way to big to be lifting them up after a few weeks...When my plants are half way through bloom they will use up the whole barrel in less than a week and I only grow 6 plants....If I didn't have the big barrel I would have to add daily...I veg for at least 6 weeks and plants get to be about 5 feet tall, So If I had to lift them I can't without damaging the roots or the plants......The barrel makes it real easy...I only have to mess with it once a week...

You could mix a small barrel and hand pour the mix into the buckets already with nutes and PH'ed...just a thought.....

Yes I will be checking the levels on a daily basis. I will mix up the refill in a gallon container and ad as needed. But the big hassel is on water change day. I am in an apartment and the whole thing is in a cabinet in my closet. I was planing to change water once a week and was gonig to ad strait from the tab then ph balance to save lugging buckets of water from the kitchen.

Tap water should be at least air rated before use. Chlorimine needs to vap off and that usually takes about 6-8 hrs if using a air stone and pump. I use straight tap water to flush and it doesn not seem to hurt them, for the same reason convenience.

Good luck

I was lead to believe that Chloramine does not dissipate

It doesn't. Chlorine does. It depends on what your local water supplier uses. Chloramine is generally removed with RO filters (activated carbon). There's also the possibility that it's neutralised by nutes. I remember something from my uni days about salts (particularly sulfur I think) breaking it down.
Personally, I think it's all exagerrated. I've used straight tap water without resting it and never noticed any problems. I've had far more problems using water from the hot water tank that had excessive Ca.

I use API tap water conditioner (from petco) to treat my tap water for chlorine and chloramine.

I can tell it works because if I don't use it, I get slimed every time because the chloramine kills my pondzyme. When I do use it, the pondzyme works fine and my roots blow up.

I don't know why more people don't use it. I figure if it can make tap water safe for a $6,000 aquarium with plants and fish and coral... it will work in hydroponics too. One thing to note is the water conditioner shit at walmart contains slime colloids to help fish slime coat... I wouldn't fuck with that.


I don't believe ph difference will shock your plants' roots. For one, tap water has just never damaged any of my plants (mine is 120-200ppm)... But for two, ph is needed to be in a certain range so nutes can be absorbed... which doesn't matter when you are doing a 10 minute res change.

Could too acidic or basic ph burn the fine root hairs on your roots? That I could see as possible... but even then, pretty sure your roots would still work fine.

The active ingredient in API is Sodium Thiosulfate and according to the net that is the stuff to use. I just could't find a brand name...thanks.

how many gallons does your system hold? just buy an extra tote or two and mix ph down and nutrients in them and pump into your system. mixing in your system i'm sure the plants would survive but i'd personally feel more comfortable having everything mixed before introducing your plants roots to it.

I like that idea. I could keep all my junk in it and use it on water change day

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$=money....the idea sounds great....two birds with one stone situation...

I was thinking "You Are Money" like Swingers,


Better still, after searching Walmart and Target for an 8 Gallon Tub, I realized I had one in the back of the "nondescript White Van"
$$$$$$$$$$ saved !!!

Commander Strax said:

I like that idea. I could keep all my junk in it and use it on water change day

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Would be careful about keeping your junk in a tote with ph down.. lol - seriously though, it is a good idea for when you're doing switching.. just keep an eye out so you don't have crystallization or separation of any mixes you put together building up on the bottom of the second / pre-mixed tub.