tap water issue

[Hammerhead]

I have a question.. My tap is 800 I have never had a issue like this. The tap water recently has gone bad it was 160ppm.. When I add my nutrients do I minus that 800 from the tap ppm#. I have a reading of 2000ppm does that mean the real nutrients# is 1200ppm????

I have noticed some plants are looking hungry. I was not doing it like above I was just adding enough nutrients to get the ppm to 1200 or 2ec so the added nutrients was not much 4-500ppm.

 

[vertigo0007]

Yes its the total. Dont subtract. 800 is not acceptable. Thats ficking dirty! I use municipal tap water just fine in coco but my tap is like 180-250. Small boy filter would do wonders

 

[Hammerhead]

Its very odd the water was fine 160ppm the last time I checked it. Now its reding 850. I just cal the meter.. If I use the 800 I cant add any food. its already passed what I give for veg plants. I can see the bottom om my res. Usally its dark brown when I have 500ppm. I dont know what to do now. All my plants look fine. I noticed the 800 so I did like you say and only added 400 ppm to get the total up to 1100 now I have a few plants that look hungry.

 

[Hammerhead]

Im going to have the City come check the water. The level is so bad that its unsafe from what I have read. This can make people sick if they drink this. I will have to bring water from my house until I get a filter installed.

 

[vertigo0007]

Man that blows. I know our ppms go up a lil and the ph goes up more in the winter. If theres no obvious lead burn up the ppm 100 every couple days until they no longer look hungry. Just watch your leaf tips for burn and watch for deficiencies and leaf curl. Good luck.

 

[Hammerhead]

Thanks for the feedback. I have it set to 2.5 EC. I will keep an eye on it until I can get the RO system installed.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Im going to have the City come check the water. The level is so bad that its unsafe from what I have read. This can make people sick if they drink this. I will have to bring water from my house until I get a filter installed.

This!^ When I saw what you were posting I gasped, something is wrong with that water supply. Do you have a copy of the most recent water quality report? They should have it on file or, if they have a website they should have it posted up for their customers.

The other issue is what's *in* that water, what's causing the EC to run so high. It could simply be high carbonate levels (alkaline water), but if it's other stuff then you definitely want to filter it.

Is this what's coming into your home, or what? Even our UNfiltered well water isn't that bad.

 

[Fly by Night]

HH glad u are on point, your diligence and attention to the details will ensure you a healthy harvest! Ive been the victim of highly mineralized tap water, and the resulting issues were baffling till I purified the source! Peace homie

 

[Hammerhead]

yes this is coming into my house. I tested the water source before it enters my house its 885. I use my last pouch of calibration before I tested it. What is odd is the fact that it was good then went bad. I cant say when it went bad.

aiam sure they do have the report but I dont know what imn looking for when reading it. Let me see if I can post the numbers here.

 

[SeaMaiden]

They test for a bunch of crap that growers aren't interested in, but fishkeepers are, like total nitrates. The EPA allows up to 40ppm NO3, which is extremely high in my world because it can be a fish killer, for example. But also alkalinity, carbonates, heavy metals and minerals. I believe that they're also interested in spore and bacterial counts, but I don't see those being placed as prominently on muni water reports as I do well reports.

If the water quality changed that drastically then I'm thinking that your muni uses surface water and treatment. The question is what kind of treatment, and what's happened with their water supply at this point. I'm thinking you may want to call them and tell them what you're testing out at.

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

yes this is coming into my house. I tested the water source before it enters my house its 885. I use my last pouch of calibration before I tested it. What is odd is the fact that it was good then went bad. I cant say when it went bad.

aiam sure they do have the report but I dont know what imn looking for when reading it. Let me see if I can post the numbers here.

My water company changes the "blend" of source water. From local watershed to wells by the river.
During this transition, the water quality changes significantly. Really high ph, ppm goes from 100 to 600 or so for a week..... It always catches me by surprise. And then it settles back to 7ph 80-100ppm.

GS

 

[Hammerhead]

I have 4 glasses of water on the counter that I filled up to be washed. The 1st glass was 2 days ago I measued the water in that glass 120ppm. The water now is 778ppm. What ever happend was done in the last few days.

 

[johndoe123]

This happened locally as well. The municipal switched from a local lake to piping in river water. Went from 150 ppm to 600ppm. I was on ro water anyways but still test the tap water from time to time. Been telling my grow bros. 4 a while to filter there water. Most have listened. A lack of quality and unpronounced lockouts followed those that had to learn on their own and didn't listen.....

 

[Hammerhead]

the public works guys are here already I see there truck parked at the managers office. im going to talk to them now..

 

[Hammerhead]

I just got done with the PW guy.. Here is the scoop..During the summertime they get the water from a diferant source. When winter comes they add well water so they dont have to buy water from the other source saving the city money in the winter months. He told me well water can be 1000 ppm and thats acceptable. I told him its not acceptable to me. He said he could not do anything about it. He took some samples had a talk with the manager and left. I have no choice but to buy a RO system now.

 

[rangergord]

Acceptable for what? The EPA does not approve drinking water above 500 PPM.

 

[Hammerhead]

you have to look up well water specifically. They have diferant allowable levels. He gave me the sheet. It says 1000ppm is the max allowable level for well water.. I dont agree with these #'s. At this point I dont have a choice. Im not going to go buy water everyday it is cheap 3$ for 10g...I will order a whole house filter system..

 

[SeaMaiden]

So your city is switching water sources, from surface to subterranean..? Do I understand that correctly? Are you in California by any chance, and if so, are you in SoCal?

 

[Mister_D]

Hammerhead - I suggest you start with one of these (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...d=-1&keyword=whole+house+filter&storeId=10051), possibly two in your situation, before investing in an expensive RO system. They do a suprisingly good job of removing minerals, and what is likely sediment from your city switching to a well that has sat stagnant for a few months at least. Even if they don't provide enough filtration for your needs, they will save you alot of money on replacment RO filters.

 

[Hammerhead]

Yes there are switching to well water in the winter to save money. Thats what the PW dude told me. No not socal. im in the middle. Close to Sac.

Im not looking a RO only there not that expensive. Im looking at Whole House Filters they dont use RO membranes only Sediment and carbon blocks. If this get the ppm back down to 200 or less im fine with that plus it treat the house and not just one water source for RO.

The unit in looking at has 3 clear housings for either carbon or sediment. I will use 2 for sedimet and 1 for corbon. Its only 85$. I will have to buy fitting to plumb it into the hous water supply. I will mout it out back whare the water come out of the ground and up into the house. I can put it on the wall next to the AC unit.


Im not found of RO systems they waste to much water I dont like that. My first choice will be a whole house filter system.