Watering question

[Captain Kronic]

If I may interject... all well water is not created equal. I have seen salt water on one lot and the next one had great water. Property just the other side of the decent water... couldn't get water if they dug to China.

While well water is typically better than city water... there is no gaurans that it will be good water for cannabis.

The point is, just because you have a well on site, don't take for granted that it is "good water" because the opposite could be true.

My well water is usually about 7 w/50 ppm but, my neighbor across the street has a really bad iron problem and can't even wash whites w/it.

I was at one time a professional field tech installing muni, commercial and private wells so I base my opinion on that experience.

Not trying to buck anyone... just thought I would add my 2... peace on you all!

 

[Maer]

Also the high ppm of well water will foul RO membranes quickly. i would be leary of water pH balanced at a pet store. Ask them what they are using for pH up / down it may be toxic to plants - or you.

 

[jwb87]

Also the high ppm of well water will foul RO membranes quickly. i would be leary of water pH balanced at a pet store. Ask them what they are using for pH up / down it may be toxic to plants - or you.

good call, didnt think to ask! they sell it for fish tanks & aquatic plants so hopefully i didnt just F up my $80 seeds....

 

[Elevate420]

The new Bud Booster water filter by Elevate 420 will remove chlorine, chloramine, and fluoride. That's your best choice.

 

[thehitman]

I'm not a chemist, but I recall being told by an authority, that chlorine evaporates from water into to air in about 15 min.


thehitman

 

[Elevate420]

I'm not a chemist, but I recall being told by an authority, that chlorine evaporates from water into to air in about 15 min.


thehitman

Hi hitman - chlorine will evaporate overnight. I've never heard 15 minutes. However chlorine creates numerous byproducts which are known carcinogens. Those don't evaporate. Fluoride doesn't evaporate. And chloramine doesn't evaporate.

A recent study in China demonstrated that baby rats who drank water filtered like the Bud Booster filters water were smarter (tested in a maze) than baby rats drinking tap water.

So there is some kind of effect these carcinogens are having....in rats, humans, and I would say plants...

Jim

 

[Elevate420]

a tds of 290 - 300 should be fine, better in fact that RO water. But your pH is way too high.

TDS is a generic measure of minerals in water and it would really depend on what the 290 - 300 consists of but in general studies done by a variety of people have concluded that water with minerals is healthier than water without...even considering that you will be adding your own mineral content.

The same studies show that filtering the water appropriately is much better than not. See my note below.

 

[Curbcalamity]

I am wondering what kind of water to use. Plain tap water, filtered tap water, distilled water, mineral water, R/O water are all options. Will any kind work better than others?

Also, I have heard that bubbling water with an air stone for 24 hours before watering is helpful as it oxygenates the water. Is that a good thing to do?

Thanks!

it really depends. bubbling water through it mostly oxygenates the water by breaking the surface tension. not a lot of the bubbles are actually absorbed by the water. sometimes a pump can do the same job quicker and easier. then it also helps remove chlorine from the water which is good. but it also increases the rate at which specific n nutrients (mostly iron) turn into useless forms. you can tell this is happening if you Ph is always climbing steadily.

 

[Nunyabiz]

10 years later.

I used RO water for a couple years without a problem.
The pH was good, TDS was like 10 with no chlorine or Chloramine.
You simply need to add whats needed to the water, in my case I just added a little coconut water.
RO is just a clean slate to work from.


In comes covid so RO is out, so the past year or more I've been using tap water run through a large charcoal filter that takes out most of the heavy metals and cuts down the Chloramine considerably.
My TDS varies a little day to day but yesterday was 89 before adding anything.

Oddly enough either well water or rain water "could" be way worse than tap.
Our air and ground water are so polluted today because of unfettered out of control capitalist greed that odds are its pretty bad.
If you have good well water then yay, if you've had it tested and its one of the lucky few not contaminated then have at it.
But odds are for the majority your best bet is filtered tap water.

I always super oxygenate my water with o2 emitters to bring my dissolved oxygen up as high as I can get it.
The best stone will get a dissolved oxygen level in 68⁰ water to maybe about 8ppm after 24 hours and it won't be 68⁰ after 24 hours it will be about whatever your room temp is.

The o2 emitters will get the dissolved oxygen to between 12 to 15ppm after just a couple hours and the temp won't change.
Dissolved Oxygen should be considered a nutrient as the roots need it just as much as anything else.

In fact so does everything in a living soil, the microbes, worms, bugs etc all need oxygen.
Its literally what brings it to life.

 

[bobrown14]

I agree with everything @Nunyabiz just wrote. ^^^^

I've been indoor growing for a long time.

Switched to RO water and air stone it in a reservoir for automated watering.

I had city water which was TERRIBLE, recently moved to the country well water HIGH alkalinity enough to kill plants in containers.

4 stage RO filtration does the trick down to 2ppms.

Gets me the "clean slate" and eliminates the water as a possible grow challenge..