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Had my water analyzed.. what do you think?

B

Big_Al's_Buds

Member
As the title says, here are my lab results.

I am hoping to find a good fert blend I can use with my well water, I currently use jacks with my RO, but they have like 40 other blends, would be sweet to find a 1 part to mix with it straight from the well!

What are the ideal ppms of each nutrient we need?

To me looks like my water is just a bottle of cal/mag!

TEST RESULTS

Soluble Salts ms/cmEC 0.79
pH 7.65
ALK ppm CaC03 309.64
Calcium ppm Ca 104.15*
Magnesium ppm Mg 41.68
Sodium ppm Na . 50.7*
Chloride ppm Cl 50.43
Boron ppm B 0.45
Iron ppm Fe 0.02
Manganese ppm Mn 0.01
Sulfur ppm S 52.05
Copper ppm Cu 0.02
Zinc ppm Zn 0
Molybdenum ppm Mo 0.39*
Aluminum ppm Al 0
Nitrate ppm NO3-N 2.27
Ammoniumppm NH4-N 0.93
N ppm Urea 0.06
Total Nitrogen ppm TN 3.26
Phosphorus ppm P 0
Potassium ppm K 5.95
 
Only Ornamental

Only Ornamental

Spiritually inspired agnostic mad scientist
Veteran
Your water is medium hard but well suited for irrigation.
Carbonate is in the medium range and has to be monitored cause it could lead to clogged drip lines and salt build-up in your medium case you recycle it. Adding pH down will likely cause dissipation (as CO2) of some of it.
Na and Cl are in the upper range of "still okay" though higher than what I've seen for tap water and the SAR (sodium absorption ratio) is good at least at a rough estimate (I didn't actually calculate it).
What's lacking in your analysis it the TDS.

Can't help you with a recommendation for a brand, though. A "tap water version for hard water" should do the trick cause your well water isn't that bad at all. Just make sure that it's a no Na and no Cl version (don't take cheap stuff!) and be careful with adding epsom salt, you've got enough Mg and S in the well water.
Maybe chose one with rather low molybdenum (you've already marked it with a *) although Mo toxicity is scarce especially in rather acidic soils (or at the common pH range used in hydroponics) and nitrate fed plants (like in hydroponics). It could however form plant unavailable complexes with sulphur which additionally knock down your copper values -> At least in theory, Cu deficiency seems a more likely problem you're going to encounter than Mo toxicity.

Oh, BTW, I forgot to ask. You're growing how and where? If outdoors in soil: If the water's medium hard, your soil is likely harder.
Besides, the concentration of Na and Cl due their high soil mobility might undergo seasonal fluctuations. You might want to take several samples over the year and during or rather shortly after different seasons. Rain and drought can have tremendous effects on the leached nutrients. Things you find more in your well water will likely be less in the surrounding soil. As an example: This summer was too rainy and cold and hence I encountered deficiencies in our potted plants I've not seen in the past but which are all easily explained just by the weather (leaching, low pH due soil wetness etc.). The pots run-off was certainly different this summer than in the last or during winter. Just to give your brain cells something to work on ;) .
 
B

Big_Al's_Buds

Member
Only Ornamental said:
Your water is medium hard but well suited for irrigation.
Carbonate is in the medium range and has to be monitored cause it could lead to clogged drip lines and salt build-up in your medium case you recycle it. Adding pH down will likely cause dissipation (as CO2) of some of it.
Na and Cl are in the upper range of "still okay" though higher than what I've seen for tap water and the SAR (sodium absorption ratio) is good at least at a rough estimate (I didn't actually calculate it).
What's lacking in your analysis it the TDS.

Can't help you with a recommendation for a brand, though. A "tap water version for hard water" should do the trick cause your well water isn't that bad at all. Just make sure that it's a no Na and no Cl version (don't take cheap stuff!) and be careful with adding epsom salt, you've got enough Mg and S in the well water.
Maybe chose one with rather low molybdenum (you've already marked it with a *) although Mo toxicity is scarce especially in rather acidic soils (or at the common pH range used in hydroponics) and nitrate fed plants (like in hydroponics). It could however form plant unavailable complexes with sulphur which additionally knock down your copper values -> At least in theory, Cu deficiency seems a more likely problem you're going to encounter than Mo toxicity.

Oh, BTW, I forgot to ask. You're growing how and where? If outdoors in soil: If the water's medium hard, your soil is likely harder.
Besides, the concentration of Na and Cl due their high soil mobility might undergo seasonal fluctuations. You might want to take several samples over the year and during or rather shortly after different seasons. Rain and drought can have tremendous effects on the leached nutrients. Things you find more in your well water will likely be less in the surrounding soil. As an example: This summer was too rainy and cold and hence I encountered deficiencies in our potted plants I've not seen in the past but which are all easily explained just by the weather (leaching, low pH due soil wetness etc.). The pots run-off was certainly different this summer than in the last or during winter. Just to give your brain cells something to work on ;) .
Click to expand...


Thank you for the great feedback. I grow in promix 3 gal pots indoors.

I currently have an RO hooked up that I was hoping to get rid of because it just takes so damn long to fill my tanks, like 6 hours for 50 gals. This is with a booster pump.

The sulfur content does vary greatly throughout the year, im sure as you said the other elements will too.

The Ro bring it down to EC 0.01 with traces of some elements but 0 cloride or sodium.

For what its worth, probably best to stick with RO. Otherwise I would be just battling a constantly changing water source and always one step behind.
 
Only Ornamental

Only Ornamental

Spiritually inspired agnostic mad scientist
Veteran
Short addition:
Haven't realised that the alkalinity is given as calcium carbonate and not just carbonate which puts your water close to the lower end of medium and that's quite good LoL.
And I put the water data into my calculation sheet and got a SAR of 1. Everything below 3 is okay.
Gotta go sleepy-sleep... 't was a hard and long day of work.
 
S

slaveplanet

Member
https://mandalaseeds.com/Guides/Water-and-pH

https://mandalaseeds.com/Guides/Fertilizing-Smart-Guide


"What many do not know: the recommended EC value is always based on reverse osmosis water with an EC of 0.0 mS/cm!


  • Example: Ionic recommends an EC of 2.0 mS/cm for flowering in hydroponics. From this value the cultivator must deduct the EC of the tap water in order to calculate the actual recommended dosage.
    Let's say your water has an EC of 0.6 mS/cm. Then you calculate 2.0 – 0.6 = 1.4 mS/cm.
    The recommended maximum dosage is therefore 1.4 mS/cm."
"Check the EC levels of your nutrient solution first and remember that regardless of what is written on the packaging – never feed your plants with more than EC 0.6-0.8 mS/cm (indoor) to 1.0-1.2 mS/cm (outdoor) on soil! This way you will always be on the safe side. For hydroponics consider using lower EC levels (1.0-1.6 mS/cm) and flushing less, instead of heroic dosages that always push the plants to the edge."
 
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