Is my water "too hard" perhaps?

I have been having issues with my water, it comes out at ph 9+ after setting out for 24+ hours. I used ph down to get it to around 6.5 to 7 but I am still noticing distincts issues. I don't have a ppm meter to be sure but I am wondering if my "hard" water is causing issue in my grow? I know there is just a ton of calcium in there for one. I am experiencing yellowing of lower growth, lack of nitrogen uptake in new growth (pale leaves) some leaf twisting on new growth... need to get a new camera.


Outdoor 5 gallon bucket with local nursery potting mix and a hint of lime in 5 gallon containers out back... will do a run off test next watering.

is it city water? from a well? if its city water I would get a ro filter.

if its that high, ive heard its a little much. PH down to 5.5-6. as stated above i would also go for a water filter. either RO of some soft of water softener.

Well I just moved this year, I was used to my city's water coming from a municipal underground well and it was decent water... but now I live in the suburbs for the next likely year and I am noticing... the water here is crap. And my pipes are old... I can see calcium buildups around my outdoor taps. But yes it is city water.

How much is an RO filter going to run me ya think? What if I just ghetto rigged a brita?

Ballsonrawls said:

if its that high, ive heard its a little much. PH down to 5.5-6. as stated above i would also go for a water filter. either RO of some soft of water softener.

Click to expand...

So I shouid ph down my water another point to point and a half ya think?

I am sorry to seem so very noobish but what exactly is a water softener? is it an agent that combines with the minerals in the water to either dissipate them or make them heavier so you can siphon off the good stuff? I am familiar to an extent with RO filter's but I have never used or purchased one before, as I am a soil grower. Never messed with hydro or aero so I never had to worry about PPM's till I got back into the city.

not sure what its gonna cost you. but you could go to a home depot and ask them for one. and if you can lower it down to 6 if you got lime in there. hard water will kill a bunch of beneficial organisms in your soil. if you have the time to do it, i would filter it into your container, and add a little bit of lemon juice (absorbic acid) the get chloramine out. you may notice a difference

Thanks for the advice!
wel looks like I'll need to save up yet more moola soon...

make a rain collection barrel if its good for nature should be good for ya plants. just run your gutter down spouts to a 55 gal barrel, make sure you keep your gutters clean

slowandsteady said:

make a rain collection barrel if its good for nature should be good for ya plants. just run your gutter down spouts to a 55 gal barrel, make sure you keep your gutters clean

Click to expand...

Normally I do in fact use rain water, but I also used it for my garden garden and drained my 55 gallon trash can maybe a month ago. Haven't had any real rain to speak if for close to a month and a half.

be careful with rainwater. shit has lots of aluminum and a few other chemicals

https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/294579-water-most-essential-compound.html

Awesome read.
Rain water is great unless you have a lot of air pollution in your city. Wouldn't recommend it for LA, Houston, or the like.
Are you in the southwest? I am and we have super hard water here.
Go to the city water website. They are required to give a breakdown of solids, minerals, etc for the water they deliver to the public.
The use of beneficial fungi in the soil, and aerated teas that include earthworm castings will help bring the pH back neutral quickly after addition.
Fungus dominated soil. Bacterial dominated tea.
An RO system, would give you peace of mind.

if your tap water is coming out at 9 I would for sure try to use rain water, now you have the option, specially when you have small seedlings in small cup/pot`s

I have hard water with a good amount of lime (ground water that stand in lime stone, clean but also pretty alkaline) witch come out at 7-8 and even after adding PH down it can easily curse problems, specially if its hot (as it is at this time a year) and you need to water more often, in the end the soil is packet with Lime

and leafe twisting is a pretty sure sign of the PH is out, first sign so to speak, second is pale green/yellow growth, then stalled growth/no water uptake and then dead plant`s

9 is pretty high, if I had that I would for sure look in to rain water or a RO filter or maybe a fish tank as Im considering at the moment, both super clean water with a lot of good stuff/nutrients in it and a TV for my Cat and cost less then a RO filter, I think, still need to do some research, but like you I also try to collect rain water, tho Im in a apartment with a balcony, so hard to get enough, so it is used for my seedlings, my bigger plants in bigger pots that don't need water more then once or twice a week seem`s to cope ok with the alkaline water

boiling it can remove some of the lime, but also most of the micro life, so if you try that route make sure to add some micros/trace elements your self (etc, Ca/Mg/Iron) same if you go the RO route

chlorine and ammonia. stuff doesnt come out with evaporation as chlorine does. the lemon juice will unbind the ammonia from the chlorine helping both evaporate. as for rainwater, the levels of metals are unbelievable and are creating problems in nature. doesnt matter whether you are in the amazon or LA.

Im having this exact same issue...Im getting the yellowing lower leaves, pale new growth and the very new growth are slightly twisting...I put it down to some sort of lockout so I gave a flush and am not goping to use my tap water no more. I dont have a ppm meter either so im just going to go with distilled and supplement with calmg+...

How much acid you add to bring pH down is proportional. If it takes 3T then it takes 3T. It is what it is. I've felt the same way about that a time or two, but it works out in the end. Nutrient addition usually brings the pH down all by itself, then the pH is usually buffered by the soil.

It is best to submerge the pH probe in 100 ml of the solution (water), and monitor the neutralization as it goes. It keeps reacting after acid is added, so have a bit of patience. Multiply the drops added to the 100ml aliquot by the full volume, then add that amount to the original container. Eerrr...
6 drops per cup, 16 cups per gallon = 96 drops. Subtract the 6 you already added = 90 drops more acid is needed. Its probably ok to pour the small quantity back into the lg quantity. Rinse the pH probe/pen off afterwords.

HippySmoke said:

Well I just moved this year, I was used to my city's water coming from a municipal underground well and it was decent water... but now I live in the suburbs for the next likely year and I am noticing... the water here is crap. And my pipes are old... I can see calcium buildups around my outdoor taps. But yes it is city water.

How much is an RO filter going to run me ya think? What if I just ghetto rigged a brita?

Click to expand...

ok first of all what you need is an ro filter.. no fish tanks, rain water ect. all just a waste of time. what you need is to find your soft water loop in the garage and sweat in a hose bib with a timer.. put a 1/4 inch adapter to the end of the hose bib and run your 1/4 line to your freshly mounted ro unit which is mounted inside your flowering room, right above your fresh water res.. ya dig? ill take you step by step if you like?

the calcium in tap water is mainly calcium carbonate,, it to big to be absorbed by the roots in large enough quantities with results in poor trans-location of the other nutrients with in the plant, leading to all sorts of problems,

spitsbuds said:

the calcium in tap water is mainly calcium carbonate,, it to big to be absorbed by the roots in large enough quantities with results in poor trans-location of the other nutrients with in the plant, leading to all sorts of problems,

Click to expand...

And what options would you personally suggest to deal with the issue?