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HARD AND SOFT WATER?

BENJI

BENJI

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
hi everyone can someone please explain to me what hard and soft water is and how i can tell the difference also which one is better to feed to my babies sorry but im a noob to hard and soft water never heard these terms used before..
 
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T

toodles

BENJI said:
hi everyone can someone please explain to me what hard and soft water is and how i can tell the difference also which one is better to feed to my babies sorry but im a noob to hard and soft water never heard these terms used before..
Click to expand...

Hard water has varying amounts of minerals dissolved in it. Here where I am it is mostly Calcium and Magnesium, with some Iron. PPM is about 90. pH is ~7.3

A water "softener" takes your city water or well water and essentially substitutes Sodium ions(Na+) for the Calcium, Magnesium, etc. ions and thus "softening" it.

I seriously doubt you have soft water unless you live near a place where sodium/salt water has got into the water table.... Or.... If you have a water softener in your house then, of course, you have soft water....

ANYWAY...if you do have soft water, don't use it. Sodium is bad news for plants. You'll have to find another source for your water.

I think I'm lucky. The Ca and Mg in my slightly hard water is good for my plants....IMO. I don't do anything but bubble my water, add nutes, LK, whatever and pour it on my plants.

Toodles :rasta:

PS

One way to tell

Soft water will make soap suds very easy. If bathing in it, it feels like you can never get all the soap off your skin. Hard water doesn't "suds" nearly as easy, if at all if really hard. Really hard water often stains fixtures where it drips etc. leaving mineral deposits...rust like if lots of iron.
 
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BENJI

BENJI

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
hey toodles are they seeds or clones they look healthy as i think ive nute burnt my seedlings but now im just feeding tap water and they are looking better...
how often do you feed your little babies?
 
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T

toodles

BENJI said:
hey toodles are they seeds or clones they look healthy as i think ive nute burnt my seedlings but now im just feeding tap water and they are looking better...
how often do you feed your little babies?
Click to expand...

They are seed plants and don't usually feed them for 3 weeks or so. Most need to feed at about 2 weeks or when the "baby" leaves begin to yellow and fall off.

I strongly urge you to read the Sticky Note "Oranics for Beginners" There's a lot of good informatin on starting a grow and soil making, etc.

Good luck

Toodles
 
BENJI

BENJI

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
hey toodles just wondering do u water them every day?
 
T

toodles

BENJI said:
hey toodles just wondering do u water them every day?
Click to expand...

No I water when they need watering. As time goes on it may be every day. Then it's time to pot up to a bigger pot size.

You need to be careful about overwatering seedlings. Many of us feel that feeling the pot's weight is the best indicator of when plants need water. It will lighten up as it dries. It's something you need to learn. Lift your pot after watering thoroughly. That will be max weight. Lift it every day/twice a day when small. You'll learn when it needs water.

Toodles
:rasta:
 
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Weedninja

Weedninja

Member
Hey Benj, toodles is steering you dead on bro. I just wanted to point out that when you do start to feed, go very lightly(1/4 strength tops) at first and then gradually start building up your concentration when the plants start cranking out the leaves in veg.
 
T

toodles

Weedninja said:
Hey Benj, toodles is steering you dead on bro. I just wanted to point out that when you do start to feed, go very lightly(1/4 strength tops) at first and then gradually start building up your concentration when the plants start cranking out the leaves in veg.
Click to expand...

That's good advice about going light on feeding initially.

It's MUCH easier for a small seedling/plant to recover from being starved a bit....If you burn them when young, it can be the end depending on how bad you burn them. As Weedninja says, go easy at first.



Toodles
 
BENJI

BENJI

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
what is the best remedy for nute burn? and if i flush my plants can that overwater them and cause them to die? everything in my room is slowly dying the bottom leaves have all turned yellow and eventually dying the new growth is slowly turning yellow aswell ive tried not feeding nutes also just 1/4 strength ive tried spraying them to no avail ive got good air circulation temps are 22-26 degrees celsius im using 1 1000mh and 1 400mh my ph is good 5.5 to 6.0 all are seedlings i have northern lights, shiva skunk, and afghan kush i dont want these to die ill post some pics soon...
 
Weedninja

Weedninja

Member
what is the best remedy for nute burn?
Click to expand...
flushing
and if i flush my plants can that overwater them and cause them to die?
Click to expand...
no more than regular watering, just allow them to dry thoroughly afterward
my ph is good 5.5 to 6.0 all are seedlings i have northern lights, shiva skunk, and afghan kush i dont want these to die ill post some pics soon...
Click to expand...
that pH range is more consistent w/ hydro. I like mine in the low to mid 6s for soil grows. It sounds like you may be locking out N.
Peace, Wn
 
BENJI

BENJI

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
52085bens_025-med.jpg


northern lights

52085bens_024-med.jpg


skunk clone

52085bens_023-med.jpg


another northern lights same age as the other...

52085bens_022-med.jpg


afghan kush

52085bens_021-med.jpg


my other northern lights same age as the other northern lights bout 6 weeks old...

52085bens_020-med.jpg


same as above..

52085bens_019-med.jpg


my shiva skunk notice the yellowing of the leaves...

so do u think this is nute burn or something else maybe my lights are 2 close?
 
knna

knna

Member
I believe you has a too hard water, and that is causing lock outs. Or maybe you are using a very bad ph.

The hardness of the water is refered to the amount of CaCO3 (Calcium Carbonate in it). A tap water is often valid for use with plants when its hardness is reduced.

But we often simplify and use the term "hard water" to any water having an high amount of dissolved salts in it, being CaCO3 or others. This is measured with an EC/TDS meter.

Although it depends of composition (Na, sodium, is highy undesiderable, as dispace other elements that plants use and its toxic at certain levels), as a general rule of thumb, a tap water with 0.4 mS/cm or less is valid, between 0.4 and 0.6 maybe and over 0.6 rarely its usable (except little cases or if you know accurately its composition and may use a nute profile wich take it into account).

and if i flush my plants can that overwater them and cause them to die?
Click to expand...

overwater is about watering too often, not about watering with too much water, provided there is adecuate drainage
 
T

toodles

1400 watts is a LOT of light. ...and heat.

May I ask a few questions?

Size and type of grow space? e.g. grow tent? Partitioned off room, etc.

How far away are the lights?

Do the lights have a "heat absorbing glass"? It usually slides into a slot on the fixture.

How big are those pots?

How often do you need to water?

How did you measure that pH of 5.5-6.0 or whatever it was?

How many changes of air would you "estimate/guess" you are providing for your grow area? e.g. What size blower... 6" squirrel cage, 8" vortex, etc. do you have for your exhaust/scrubber?

Toodles
:rasta:

I know you have to work with what you got, but....you don't need all that light for those lil plants like you have there....not if they are just vegging.




These are 25 days old here. 3L+ pots. Just had their first feeding 3 days ago. They have been under four 48" 32W T-8's. No ventilation other than a tiny fan blowing on the fixture. You don't need all that light and especially heat to veg your seedlings. You'll be hard put to find nicer seedlings...even if I do say so myself.
:rasta:

 
BENJI

BENJI

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
weedninja thanks 4 the link that was a good read...
knna i just checked my tap water and the EC is 0.6, CF is 6 and the PPM is 420 thanks for the post
toodles i think im going to switch back to my 130w fluros and take my babies that are in the 30 ltr pots back into smaller containers and judging by my tap water im going to start feeding them with bottled spring water thanks 4 the help people hopefully they recover cause they are looking worse 2day...ill keep u posted
 
BENJI

BENJI

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
My brother suggested i make a mixture of perlite and normal potting mix with a bit of coco coir seeing as ive just got straight coco in my pots he also said it doesnt help the roots breathe with just straight coco this is my last resort well this and using spring water fingers crossed!!!
 
F

fumancu

Member
toodles said:
Hard water has varying amounts of minerals dissolved in it. Here where I am it is mostly Calcium and Magnesium, with some Iron. PPM is about 90. pH is ~7.3

A water "softener" takes your city water or well water and essentially substitutes Sodium ions(Na+) for the Calcium, Magnesium, etc. ions and thus "softening" it.

I seriously doubt you have soft water unless you live near a place where sodium/salt water has got into the water table.... Or.... If you have a water softener in your house then, of course, you have soft water....

ANYWAY...if you do have soft water, don't use it. Sodium is bad news for plants. You'll have to find another source for your water.

I think I'm lucky. The Ca and Mg in my slightly hard water is good for my plants....IMO. I don't do anything but bubble my water, add nutes, LK, whatever and pour it on my plants.

Toodles :rasta:

PS

One way to tell

Soft water will make soap suds very easy. If bathing in it, it feels like you can never get all the soap off your skin. Hard water doesn't "suds" nearly as easy, if at all if really hard. Really hard water often stains fixtures where it drips etc. leaving mineral deposits...rust like if lots of iron.
Click to expand...


I thought a water softner had a ceramic bead bed that filters out hard particals.The salt you put in is used to back flush to drain. the beads to clean them
 
Weedninja

Weedninja

Member
Benji:You can try distilled or RO water. They're purer and I think cheaper than spring.
Good luck to you bro, and I hope you get it all worked out. BTW, they ought to free the Iceman. He never killed anyone who didn't need killing.

Wn
 
BENJI

BENJI

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
thanks for the help toodles and weedninja..
I have transplanted all the plants into 3 ltr pots with a mixture of 40%potting mix 40%perlite and 20% silica rocks i removed the 1000w and 400w mh and replaced them with 2 130w fluros and i have started foliar feeding them they are already looking better most of the leaf curl has gone i went and got myself 30 ltrs of RO water bought myself a new digital ph meter and also a soil ph/moisture/light meter im going to nurse these babies back and do a grow log on them i also just popped a GHS white widow and a flyindutchmen's the pure cant wait hopefully everything works out!!!

Ps weedninja the iceman died march 2006 he definatly was an interesting person ive got his book awesome read...
 
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