[Captain Canibus]

1) My tap water has a ppm reading of 220 (mineral, not oganic). How high does it have to be b/4 its considered "hard" water?
I purchased a ton of regular GH nutes.

2) I premixed some GH nutes in bottles with ph adjusted tap water. Each bottle was enough for 5 gallons. A white chalky, sandy substance formed and settled on the bottom on the bottles. About 1/2 of it disolved when mixed with the proper amount of water. Is this normal/OK?

3) The ph of the water rise substantially in the water farm. What's a good way the handle this?

[DoctorDro]

Hey Captain, I might be able to help with your last question. I used a single power grower (very similar to water farms) at first and also had problems with the ph rising. Then on my next grow I added another power grower and a controller unit and no more ph problems.

Also, don't forget to wash off the Grorox thoroughly because there is a lot of dust and debris that could throw off ph levels.

Sorry I couldn't help with the first two questions.

[krusty]

captian -
1. my tap water reads about the same...and i have awsome water.....i dont think you can go by ppm readings:/

2. ph adjusted water then you ussed gh products?? that is your problem right there...read the bottle careful before you mix your nitrients...you have to add the general hydroponics product FIRST ...never add ph + or - before you add yer nutrients....General Hydroponics has ph buffering ingredients in it and yer fucking witht he process by doing this...its a huge no no...:/

3. when i find that peoples ph is rising i ussually get them to make a batch of nutrients in fornt of me...99% of the time they are under feeding the plants/system......so basically when the nutrients are added to the system the ph buffering abilities of general hydroponics is too low (because they dont have enough in the system) now this may not be yer case...and doctordro may be correct by saying you have foriegn materials in your system that is effecting it....but when you said you were ph'n yer water prior to adding feed i think you didnt read insturctions and therefore you probably dont haev the right amount of nutrients....dont go by this...but yer final nutrient PPm level should be over 1300 ppm if your water started out at 220....mien starts arround 220 and my ppm after adding ends up beeing arround 1450 ppm

hope this helps

peace

krusty

[HyGradeChronic]

..... DEWD, read the label on yer GH nutes lil mo carefully next time.
..... bwaaaaahahahahaha!!!!!:p
..... sez, DO NOT pre mix GH nutes. causes that powdery stuff you see inthe bottles, and CAN cause nute lock out. true story ...
..... peace
..... HGC

[krusty]

teehee

ya when i read what he said i was like "nah nobody could make that mistake"

i figured he pre mixed as in kinda what i do as in a passive resivoir or something...

but HGC is right...if yer actually taking the threee parts nad mixing them up then adding to water ...and that water is already got ph + or - added to it yer basically screwing up the whole process...teehee

good one HGC...

peace

krusty

[ken]

dont mix nutes undiluted (or at super strong concentrations) they put them in seperate bottles because they react if they are mixed, undiluted, thats why your nutrients turn into that white powder stuff.

[HyGradeChronic]

..... yea, that wht stuff is the salts in the nutes reconstituting, lol, kinda likee kookin' rock from powder=BAAAD JUJU. WHAT????? , YOU RETAINING OL NASTY BAD HABITS FROM THE rock house daze playa!!!!!:p YOU SNOOP DOGGY OR WHAT????? LOL!!!!!
..... yea, i have pre mixed the 3 parts together like enough for a 25 gallon batch, in a 5 gallon bucket when we used to tunnel rat thru the choke cherries down in Meigs, but that was back in the old "varmit" days. it was do that or risk hauking a 25 gallon garbage can into the bush w/us...
..... yea, pre mix undiluted and then you asking for MAJOR HEADACHES. even mixed properly, GH nutes in a rez w/fishie tank type heater will separate into sume RADICAL SALT desposits on either the glass ones, or the titainium ones.
... and, next tyme you into good run in final flowering stages, cuz the plants are soooo big that when they transpire such heavy amounts of water back into the atmosphere in that room; take a gander at any brass screws and such in you outlets, or other hardware: lol, turns em green like a bad penny.
... all the "tree hugging", "orangic purists" have a hayday w/us GH users, but, hell's bells, their bodies are such temples, they should give ALL that they grow to hgc cuz he has their best interests in a health conscious kinda way as it is dont ya know... and, if it not taste like flava of shit they use, like krusty pointed out above, hgc MIGHT even smoke it. otherwise i turn it to compost and grow me onions, karrots, and "maters" inthe end result of said compost pile. go fig're!!!!!
..... peace
..... HGC

[Captain Canibus]

Thanx Guys:

You took me to school and set me on the straight path. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! Huh! They apply to ME! Damn, At times I'm stoopid.

I value your experience, knowlege, and wisdom.

HEY! You all just made me better at what I seek. I do appreciate that.

Carry on. This is a great place.

[Ganjafan]

I spent about a hundred bucks and bought an 85 gal/day RO water system. It filters my tap water of 260ppm to about 15 ppm. Great for hydro, drinking and cooking! Plus it seems to reduce algae build-up.
As for the GH Flora series, I have had excellent results running at approx 1000 ppm (.50 conversion) during veg and flower with kool-bloom (added 1/4 tsp gal) during last 4 weeks final bloom.
Make sure to add the nutrient concentrates into your reservoir water in the following order: (mixing well between each)
GH Flora Micro -> GH Flora Grow-> GH Flora Bloom-> GH Kool-bloom(optional)-> Protekt-> Epsom Salts-> ph solution to 5.2-5.4. Maintain temp at 74*f - Aerate- Change Weekly- Flush for 5-7 days with ph adjusted water.
It seems to have worked well, because I got 7oz in a ngb stealth box out of a 3 plant dwc scrog from clones--screen size 18"X 24"-- 250W HPS --

In fact, I'm enjoying the harvest as we speak!!

Peace

My ppm hovers at 85 out of the tap. But I still have trouble with Ph rising to 6.2 no matter what I do. I start off at 5.2 and the next day it is 6.2 without fail. Is there a cheap water test I can get to determine what the hell is in the water?

The Ph out of the tap is 6.6 also.
You would think 85 ppm and a Ph of 6.6 would work great but it looks like I have to get an Ro filter.