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Well, figured out at least one reason my plants are shit. :)
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:03 pm
by A Bloke Down The Pub
Soft water!
For years I've been using Canna Aqua nutes, and getting good results, but the last couple of grows have been a bit disappointing.
I knew the water here was different from my old place, but the Canna nutes always seemed to get the pH buffered about right when I mixed them and I assumed they'd do the same here.
Well, after
finally getting a new pH meter, I find the pH after mixing as normal is about 4.
Tried adusting with some caustic potash, but it takes quite a bit to get the pH up and I'm not happy about bunging that much extra crap into the reservoir.
So, soft water nutes on order, and we'll see how well they work.
Well, figured out at least one reason my plants are shit
Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 9:15 pm
by A Bloke Down The Pub
....and so far, so good.
pH as mixed is 6.2 at CF 9.
The girls are in, and the lights are on.
Might have time for one last grow log before the doors close.
Well, figured out at least one reason my plants are shit
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 1:04 am
by Jesús Malverde
Hmmm, I've never had water that fucked with pH to that degree, must not be fun. Of course I've never grown with well water either.
Well, figured out at least one reason my plants are shit
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 7:47 am
by A Bloke Down The Pub
Jesús Malverde wrote:Hmmm, I've never had water that fucked with pH to that degree, must not be fun. Of course I've never grown with well water either.
Not so much the water, that comes out of the tap at pH 7.2 and TDS 0.
Problem is there's absolutely nothing in it to buffer the pH, and with most nutes being formulated with a little acid to counter the carbonates in "average" water, the pH goes way down and stays down.
On the plus side, it really keeps the domestic appliances clean... after 3 years, the kettle still has zero fur on it.
Well, figured out at least one reason my plants are shit
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:49 am
by country boy
When using RO water, I use a bit if epsom salts to help with the pH issues.
Well, figured out at least one reason my plants are shit
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 1:59 pm
by Earl
Glad you got things going better! Slight PH changes can really bugger your grow. Best to have a good meter to keep it going well.
Well, figured out at least one reason my plants are shit
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 2:01 pm
by bentech
from what ive read
municapalities can varry where they source their water
so the ph etc isnt a sure thing
the year through
Well, figured out at least one reason my plants are shit
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 9:39 pm
by A Bloke Down The Pub
country boy wrote:When using RO water, I use a bit if epsom salts to help with the pH issues.
When we were in a hard water area, I used to mix 1/2 RO and 1/2 tap water. Worked well.
Earl wrote:Glad you got things going better! Slight PH changes can really bugger your grow. Best to have a good meter to keep it going well.
I got a cheap one from Alibaba, about $8 I think.. works perfectly.
Calibration was spot on out of the box and hasn't drifted at all (tested it with buffer solutions yesterday).
I'll be ordering a second one as backup.
bentech wrote:from what ive read
municapalities can varry where they source their water
so the ph etc isnt a sure thing
the year through
I suspect it's pretty constant here, the water is very soft for miles around, so we don't get much variation.... the reservoirs are pretty local, and we tend to export water rather than importing it.