Softwater and nutrients

[tazzman]

Simple question I hope Does soft water cause nutrient lock? I searched for soft water on the site but came up with nothing. I started with distilled water and went to tap water which goes through a softener. would like my plants to be healthy and strong. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Water soften water contains a lot of sodium you gonna run into problems with that.

 

[satch]

if you are on a well i would try to pull that water before the softener the plants don't like the salt.i am a plumber and usually run the outside spigot unsoftened for outdoor watering of plants.your tds will be higher but you could knock that back with a good sediment filter 5 micron oughta do.ive seen a number of grows that use well water and the plants seem to like it hard lol. if you are on city water you still want to take it before the softener and then bubble it for 24 hours to remove chlorine.

 

[tazzman]

Thanks satch that was very informative! I will check the out side spigot to see if it is before or after the softener!

 

[satch]

not a problem good luck.like i said im a plumber if you need any help with that let me know maybe i can talk you through it.

 

[tazzman]

outside spigot is before the softener had a hell of a time following the pipes in the basement ceiling! Flushed the crop and now things are starting to look better! Thanks again!!!

 

[satch]

no problem glad i could help.

 

[jandre2k3]

Sorry I'm late, I'd just like to confirm those above posts about soft water. I'm sure you know that a water softening system adds salts to the water. One of the major factors for plant failure is the buildup of salts in any substrate, soil, or hydro. I'm glad that it is possible to pull water before your softening system, it looks like you should have no problem with salt buildup.

I would further suggest, simply because I don't know the mineral profile of your well water, that you perform a full flush every two weeks with distilled water to keep these minerals from building up in your substrate and causing a mineral toxicity, or certain minerals being in such abundance that they actually lock out other minerals and nutrients from being absorbed.

I use a problem solver posted by our editor to help me find which mineral will lock out which nutrient when tweaking my nutrient regimen. Here's the link. @420's excellent Cannabis Plant and Pest Problem Solver - Pictorial