Results of water analysis - What does it all mean

[Applesauce]

I do good things using KISS, but I figured I would get a better idea of my base water. Here are the results:

Calcium, Ca 21
Magnesium, Mg 4
Total Hardness, CaCO3 69
Nitrate, N 1.1
Sulfate, SO4-S 3
Chloride, Cl 58
Bicarbonate, HCO3 52
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 44
Total Iron, Fe 0.03
Sodium, Na 26
Potassium, K 2

PPM = 190

Anything stand out?

 

[SeaMaiden]

No, a little high in carbonate hardness I *think* (I have to convert that number to German degrees of hardness), and will have to revisit why alkalinity, even when measured *as* CaCO3 (the stuff that makes shifting pH difficult) is being listed as a different number. Clean, but a bit of Cl.... the nitrate numbers I'll have to convert to be able to say, too. But I'm thinking that the carbonates may present some issues for you in terms of resistance to pH shift and getting it driven downward, staying pegged at that mark. The Cl will contribute to the overall high(er) pH.

Are these numbers ppm, mg/l, what measurement?

 

[Applesauce]

Thanks for your help. Everything is in PPM. 190 total ppm and then the breakdown as what you see. The pH comes out of the tap at 7.2 on my meters. They measured it at 6.7 which is odd being bottled for a few days. The pH does tend to creep upwards...

 

[Granger2]

I wish I had your water. A good Carbon Filter, some Citric Acid, and you're in bidnis. If you've got Chloramines rather than Chlorine gas, get a Small Boy or Tall Boy with the KDF-85 Carbon Filter. Good luck. -granger

 

[Applesauce]

How can you tell the difference? I bubble my water out of principal but pointless if I have chloramines. I will say I tend to get yellowing on top leaves late in flower. This usually happens if I do a feed > water > feed schedule. The yellowing seems to set in during the pure water drench. I do add cal/mag @ 1tsp/gal and to be honest, it seems to make the problem worse as I get the yellow/stunted growth right on the tip of the bud. My guess is something to do with the pH drifting too far upwards without nutes in the water but everything I read can be contradicted by something else so it is challenging.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Chlorine smells like chlorine. Chloramine is ammonia bonded with chloride, and is very stable. Your water report says you have Cl, not NH2Cl.

You're just throwing Cal-Mag at it, eh? For me the addition of Ca and Mg is dependent on the water source, the feed, and the method of cultivation. Coco coir I add back Ca and Mg because I use either rain or RO/DI water, and I add them back separately.

 

[Applesauce]

Why is it that after bubbling the ppm doesn't drop if Cl is evaporating?

 

[SeaMaiden]

Perhaps you're not measuring Cl via EC, which is what ppm's are calculated from. I don't know how conductive chlorine is.

 

[Granger2]

BTW,
Bubbling is not pointless even with Chloramines. It aerifies the water and your roots will appreciate it. -granger

 

[queequeg152]

your Cl measurement is the measured concentration of the chloride ion Cl-, not chlorine.you can not remove chloride from water by aeration. this Cl is going to come from any chloride salt you have dissolved... potassium chloride calcium chloride magnesium chloride sodium chloride etc etc.

the chlorine you are thinking of is HCLO or hypochlorous acid. comes from sodium hypochlorite typically. its pumped into smaller water systems. larger systems will use chlorine monoxide for economic reasons, however it still dissociates into hypochlorous acid.