# Tap water?



## Real78 (Feb 23, 2009)

I have read to use RO water now what do people like me do if I can't do that. I will be spending my money on my setup and lights so I will be using tap water but know I have to watch out for my pH and ppm.


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## blancolighter (Feb 23, 2009)

As long as you know to ph and whatnot, you'll be fine. Some people like to leave tap water uncovered overnight to let any chlorine in it evaporate, but it doesn't matter, you plants will grow just fine either if you do or don't do this. When you can afford it, you should get RO, but chlorine won't hurt your grow, it just won't let the plant achieve its peak performance...


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## noneedforalarm (Feb 23, 2009)

blancolighter said:
			
		

> but chlorine won't hurt your grow, it just won't let the plant achieve its peak performance...


so take a simple step and leave your water out for 24 hours,also this lets it cool to room temperature,making a cold or hot shock to your roots unlikely.


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## CasualGrower (Feb 23, 2009)

noneedforalarm said:
			
		

> so take a simple step and leave your water out for 24 hours,also this lets it cool to room temperature,making a cold or hot shock to your roots unlikely.


 
WIll also help to aereate your water while it sits..... 

That will let the sttraight chlorine evaporate fromt he water..... but some chloramines will remain for some time, it take a lot longer to get them out of the water.......  I am trying a lil experiment on this grow, I have added an aquarium ingredient to my current grow, De-Chlor.....  THis additive removes chlorine almost instantly from tap water and speeds up the release of chloramines.  Should be a good move, I will report more when I find out more though.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Feb 23, 2009)

Real78 said:
			
		

> I have read to use RO water now what do people like me do if I can't do that. I will be spending my money on my setup and lights so I will be using tap water but know I have to watch out for my pH and ppm.



You absolutely need to know what the ppm of your tap water is.  If you have a high ppm and use that to water, all that money you have spent on lights and a setup could be for naught.  It takes a combination of a lot of things to grow quality bud.  Your light and setup is only a portion of it. If your water has a high ppm and you cannot afford an RO, you will need to buy distilled water to get a quality grow.  NEVER believe that this is less important than the other aspects of your grow.


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## garden_engineer (Feb 23, 2009)

im usin tap water and my plants are lovin it,i have to add some ph down to it,but besides that,it works just as good as the $1 a bottle distilled i was using on my last grow. hemp goddess does make a good point though.if you can,just use some on a couple of your plants to see how they like your water.
i wouldnt use water from the tap if it were well water,but if its just regular city water,i dont see why not but thats just my opinion.i say run with it,if it doesnt work,RO water is only 30 some odd cents a gallon at your local grocery store,just get yourself a ph tester/test kit and you should be ready to roll. good luck


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## bigb (Feb 23, 2009)

i dont know what kind of nutes you will be using but the gh line of  nutes makes a hard water micro, the guy at hydro store said it was the best to use while using tap water.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Feb 23, 2009)

I use tap water, too, but my tap water has a ppm of under 50.  The last place I lived, I had a ppm of over 300--I used an RO.  It depends on your tap water's ppm as to whether it is okay to use it or not.  

If you have a high ppm, you have no idea what you are feeding your plants.  You cannot get your nutes at optimum levels because you have unknown minerals, salts, and metals in your water--not all them good.  Test your water before you make a decision as to whether or not to use it.  This is especially critical when you are running hydro.


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## Real78 (Feb 23, 2009)

will do


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## blancolighter (Feb 23, 2009)

CasualGrower said:
			
		

> WIll also help to aereate your water while it sits.....
> 
> That will let the sttraight chlorine evaporate fromt he water..... but some chloramines will remain for some time, it take a lot longer to get them out of the water....... I am trying a lil experiment on this grow, I have added an aquarium ingredient to my current grow, De-Chlor..... THis additive removes chlorine almost instantly from tap water and speeds up the release of chloramines. Should be a good move, I will report more when I find out more though.


 
Hay man, I tried this and boy does it turn out bad. I thought it was a good idea too, but what that product does is neutralize all the heavy metals in the water, so yes it takes away chlorine, but also it takes away calcium, magnesium, copper and other beneficial metals from your plant. It may  take a second to see your plant  hurting, as these are all micro nutrients, but trust me, it'll happen, and its confusing and overwhelming to try and diagnose almost all of your micronutriets missing!! (that is if you didn't know about the dechlorinator before hand)


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## Real78 (Feb 24, 2009)

Does anyone know of a cheap system a person can buy?


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## BuddyLuv (Feb 24, 2009)

You can get a print out of your tap water from the water authority. This will give you an idea of what you are dealing with in your local water supply.


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## BuddyLuv (Feb 24, 2009)

blancolighter said:
			
		

> As long as you know to ph and whatnot, you'll be fine. Some people like to leave tap water uncovered overnight to let any chlorine in it evaporate, but it doesn't matter, you plants will grow just fine either if you do or don't do this. When you can afford it, you should get RO, but chlorine won't hurt your grow, it just won't let the plant achieve its peak performance...


 

I can not agree wit this statement because there are too many independent factors and differences in tap water from one city to the next.


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## Real78 (Feb 24, 2009)

I will know more when I buy my tester.


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## Real78 (Feb 24, 2009)

Anyone know of a cheap set up?


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## TURKEYNECK (Feb 24, 2009)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> I use tap water, too, but my tap water has a ppm of under 50. The last place I lived, I had a ppm of over 300--I used an RO. It depends on your tap water's ppm as to whether it is okay to use it or not.
> 
> If you have a high ppm, you have no idea what you are feeding your plants. You cannot get your nutes at optimum levels because you have unknown minerals, salts, and metals in your water--not all them good. Test your water before you make a decision as to whether or not to use it. This is especially critical when you are running hydro.


 
:yeahthat: 
yes my tapwater is between 48 and 55? ppm and it works fine.. wow 300? was it well water?


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## CasualGrower (Feb 24, 2009)

TURKEYNECK said:
			
		

> :yeahthat:
> yes my tapwater is between 48 and 55? ppm and it works fine.. wow 300? was it well water?


 
Not necessarily, I run off city water and my PPMs run around 200 or so..... PH will drift from season to season.. Usually higher in the summer to prevent algae with chlorine and such... Btu my water is taken from the Midwestern aquafer, which is calcium and lime based..... got some silicates there too from the natural filtering processes......    Pretty good water overall to use....   Very little bad things in the water for hydro growing.


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## Vegs (Feb 24, 2009)

I use Distilled Water only.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Feb 24, 2009)

TURKEYNECK said:
			
		

> :yeahthat:
> yes my tapwater is between 48 and 55? ppm and it works fine.. wow 300? was it well water?



Yeah, it was well water.  A deep well about 350'.  There were 2 wells drilled on the property--obviously hoping to hit a different aquifer, but to no avail.  Lots of iron and sulfur in the water.


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## Growdude (Feb 24, 2009)

Real78 said:
			
		

> Anyone know of a cheap set up?



This is the cheapest and easyest RO system that works great to fill 5 gall on water bottles or whatever.

I use this and it works great, and quickly pays for its self vs buying RO water.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Portable-4st-50GPD-Reverse-Osmosis-RO-Water-Filter_W0QQitemZ110355870408QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSmall_Kitchen_Appliances_US?hash=item110355870408&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50


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## Real78 (Feb 25, 2009)

Thanks now that's what I will look into once I get my meter reader.


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