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What is this White Gunk clogging up my pipes and how do I get rid of it?

ChenBenTz

Member
So, for the third time this month, I've had to replace my entire system because this white gunk has clogged up all my pipes.

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What is it and how do I get rid of it?

Thanks.
 

HqFarms

Member
It's just regular tap water. Are you saying you can't use tap water with hydro plants?

No he is not saying that. He is just asking is it well water or city water. You can use what ever you want, it's just you have to take different precautions when using one vs the other. That is just salt build up. Get drip clean and run that in your res
 

Bush Dr

Painting the picture of Dorian Gray
Veteran
Calcium from your tap water

I have to dismantle my drip lines and soak then flush through with citric acid after every run

You'll find it causes a deposit to form on the delivery line that can easily block a 1/4" drip line

Pain but beats having a blocked dripper
 

ChaosCatalunya

5.2 club is now 8.1 club...
Veteran
There is a product called drip clean... I believe it is what you need, it also helps with overfertilisation issues, people use it on no waste coco systems (as opposed to the normal drain to waste)
 

ChenBenTz

Member
No he is not saying that. He is just asking is it well water or city water. You can use what ever you want, it's just you have to take different precautions when using one vs the other. That is just salt build up. Get drip clean and run that in your res

So, no one uses tap water without having to use this one product?

Doesn't make sense. I've seen plenty of people running the exact same setup I have and I've never heard this thing mentioned.
 

Bobby Boucher

Active member
If you can't go through a single run without minerals clogging your lines, you are going have to either run cleaner water or run a product that will prevent the build up. Sorry if that doesn't make sense.
 

OldPhart

Member
I don't see the point in fighting water quality. A 100 gal/day RO system cost about $100, hook it to a float valve in a large plastic tote, and poof, you have a big tub of clean water and never have to worry about water quality again... just change the pre filters a couple times a year, and the membrane about every 2 years. fyi, I wouldn't bother with the 7 stage or 9 stage .. or what ever they are trying to sell. I have always used the 4 stage, three pre-filters to remove the junk and chlorine, then the membrane. Just one less thing to deal with, having good water!

OP
 

Bush Dr

Painting the picture of Dorian Gray
Veteran
So, no one uses tap water without having to use this one product?

Doesn't make sense. I've seen plenty of people running the exact same setup I have and I've never heard this thing mentioned.

Depends what your tap water is like, if you live in a hard rock area you'll probably be OK, if a limestone area (furred up kettle) then you need to do something

Drip Kleen can cause problems in coco, so that's why I don't use it
 

HqFarms

Member
That's not build up from calcium in your tap water, that's salt build up from your nutes. I bet if you run straight water with no nutes that shit will disappear. You can waste your money on a ro system and also waste some water too or you can back off your nutes some and run drip clean. I don't know what kind of issues bush Dr had with it but it has never caused any issues with me or anyone I know that uses it. You do need to back off your nutes though when using it.
 

ChenBenTz

Member
That's not build up from calcium in your tap water, that's salt build up from your nutes. I bet if you run straight water with no nutes that shit will disappear. You can waste your money on a ro system and also waste some water too or you can back off your nutes some and run drip clean. I don't know what kind of issues bush Dr had with it but it has never caused any issues with me or anyone I know that uses it. You do need to back off your nutes though when using it.

So, why haven't more people come out against H&G if their nutrients cause this?

Makes more sense that it's the tap water.

Someone recommended something called Hygrozyme, which is apparently similar to Drip Clean.

Question is, should I go with these products or use RO water?

The problem with RO is that I never know which nutrients to add to it to make up for the loss of filtering everything.
 

Loc Dog

Hobbies include "drinkin', smokin' weed, and all k
Veteran
I have heard a lot of people say, that over 150 PPM is unacceptable and needs to be RO filtered. White buildup is typically calcium, and too much calcium locks out other nutes.

Those products are used because of the problem. Eliminate the source of the problem with RO filter. One consideration is some RO filters make water constantly which is wasteful. I have no name one that only makes water when the tank needs it. They need to be connected to drain, as well as water supply. They use about 5 gallons to make one gallon RO water.

From Stitchs guide -

Too much Calcium will lead to other micronutrient deficiencies. Calcium fixation is caused by many types of mediums such as: clay soils, unbuffered coco and humus. The lime tends to bond to these soils very easily. The stems of the plant will not be able to hold the plant up and will exhibit a white brown in between the veins of the leaves when having too much calcium.
 

HqFarms

Member
So, why haven't more people come out against H&G if their nutrients cause this?

Makes more sense that it's the tap water.

Someone recommended something called Hygrozyme, which is apparently similar to Drip Clean.

Question is, should I go with these products or use RO water?

The problem with RO is that I never know which nutrients to add to it to make up for the loss of filtering everything.


Hygrozyme and drip clean are two different beasts. Hygrozyme is a enzyme and drip clean forms a bond to things that keeps salts from building up on them.

Seems like you know little about the bottle nutrients. The nutrient comes from salts then water is added. H and g, canna, botanicare, GH, heavy 16, age old, blah blah blah are all derived from salts hence way you get salt build up and have to keep your drip lines clean. Yes hard water can do the same thing but under 200- 250 ppm isn't considered hard water
 
Is that like a powder or a crystal? Or is it slimy?
If slimy like snot it could be beneficial fungus. You can kill that stuff off using h202 or a few drops of chlorine bleach.
 
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stoney917

i Am SoFaKiNg WeTod DiD
Veteran
Everyone's water is different just cause grower A doesn't have an issue doesn't mean grower B won't... personally I prefer ro n when in drip system use drip clean as well... I use salt ferts n drip clean makes sure I don't get the build up... your problem could be the water the ferts or both either way drip clean will solve it...
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
So, no one uses tap water without having to use this one product?

Doesn't make sense. I've seen plenty of people running the exact same setup I have and I've never heard this thing mentioned.
"Tap Water" is hardly ever the same for everyone, even a few miles down the road. HUGE variations with tap water, even seasonally.

Number one reason to use reverse osmosis filters? Everything you put in the water is food or something which can be used by the plant (hopefully anyway). R/O is one of the corner stones required for growing clean burning, smooth hitting and low temperature smoking cannabis. :tiphat:
 

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