# Tap water question?



## Smoothoperator (Jun 27, 2007)

What's up all!    Just joined the site and I must say there's a wealth of information on here and I've read a lot of it.     I have one grow under my belt indoors in a soilless medium with pretty decent results.     I purchased an Aerflo system a couple of months back and have tried two grows and they both failed miserably.   Bought seeds germinated ok put them in the system after a couple of weeks and for  the first week they did fine.  more or less the same problem occured with both grows I tried with the Aeroflo.      After the first res change everything went down the tube and I'm stumped.     Kept the ph between 5.5 and 6.0 the ec level around 1.0 room temps between 70's at night and low 80's thoughout the day.     The plants are under a 1000 watt + 400 watt hps hortilux   with the cooling vents running through the lights and a fan for airflow simulation.     I'm using the GH nuts Micro, grow, and bloom.     Back to the original question my tap water/s ph is 7.2  with no reading at all on my trunchen meter .   Could there still be a problem with the tap water that would cause the plants to stop feeding and turn the roots a light brown color after starting off white and healthy.   Thanks for any advice or suggestions.


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## KADE (Jun 27, 2007)

Roots will usually ''tan'' or discolor from the dyes in the nutrients being used... but if ur plants are dying... then perhaps hard water?  ppm too high?  too many nutes? or lack of oxygen in the solution? Altho if it is an aeroponics setup i can' really see that being the problem


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## RatherBBurnin (Jun 27, 2007)

Do you happen to use a water softner???? 
I have a similar problem with water.. i was getting brown ish sludge on my roots.... is there any light getting in your DWC.. what are you using for ph up and down??? are yo u adding any H2o2?


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## Smoothoperator (Jun 28, 2007)

RatherBBurnin said:
			
		

> Do you happen to use a water softner????
> I have a similar problem with water.. i was getting brown ish sludge on my roots.... is there any light getting in your DWC.. what are you using for ph up and down??? are yo u adding any H2o2?


 
Thanks for your help RB and Kade... but as far as I can see my water should be fine naturally my tap water as stated above is Ph 7.2 and ppm 0.    Could chlorine be a problem with those readings?


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## RatherBBurnin (Jun 28, 2007)

i find it hard to believe that tap water has 0ppm... that doesnt make sense to me... but i could be wrong...  Aer you sure there is no light getting into your solution???


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## Smoothoperator (Jun 28, 2007)

RatherBBurnin said:
			
		

> i find it hard to believe that tap water has 0ppm... that doesnt make sense to me... but i could be wrong... Aer you sure there is no light getting into your solution???


 
There's no light getting into the res.    0 ppm is what i get off the tap.


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## A.K. (Jun 28, 2007)

you should try boiling the water your going to use and let it sit outside for a day so all the chemicals in it evaporate


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## RatherBBurnin (Jun 28, 2007)

and im saying.. i find it hard to believe that tap water has NOTHING inside it.... 0ppm means there is nothing in the water.. and tap water almost always has something in it....


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## pussum (Jun 29, 2007)

Do this, because I had to learn the hard way. Go to your local wal-mart, cost co, whatever and buy your water from the machine that goes through the reverse ossmosis deal. You can buy a 2.5 gallon jug for like three or four bucks the first time and then get refills each time after that for like 35 cents. I started doing that with my grow and then I got lazy and switched to tap water. Come to find out I didn't have soft water. . . in fact the guys that came and tested my water said I had the hardest most calcium filled water they had ever seen. So my plants began to die and turn brown. So, for the initial cost of a few dollars and the follow up investment of a few cents each gallon I would say it is a wise choice to make to buy your water. 

Once you get it, just take the cap off and let it sit in the open for a few days so it becomes room temp and the chlorine evaps out of it. After a few days your good to go. 

A 2.5 gallon jug can easily last a solid week or so depending on how big your pots get and how frequently you have to water them. 

Good Luck.


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## Cook_ (Jul 11, 2007)

I just used Amquel i bought from my local fish store...


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## dobbieman2259 (Sep 6, 2007)

Hi can I use distilled water for my grow?


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## Kthugga (Sep 6, 2007)

dobbieman2259 said:
			
		

> Hi can I use distilled water for my grow?


yes you can


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## dobbieman2259 (Sep 7, 2007)

Hi is Distilled water better then Bottle water for watering my seeds?


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## Hick (Sep 8, 2007)

I'm NOT a water farmer, but 7.2 is too high for hydro...


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## choking_victim (Sep 8, 2007)

I just filter my water..


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## iceman515 (Oct 3, 2007)

I heard from 2 different sources that chlorine in the tap water will fry your plant.  Buy distilled water from the store for like 99 cents per gallon.  Distilled usually comes ph 5.5.


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## whoawhoa (Oct 3, 2007)

I bought bottled water...


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## Growdude (Oct 3, 2007)

Smoothoperator said:
			
		

> There's no light getting into the res. 0 ppm is what i get off the tap.


 
Must be somthing wrong with your PPM meter, there is no way the water is 0 PPM.
gET some calibration solution, chances are this is your problem.


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## Oscar (Oct 3, 2007)

Smoothoperator said:
			
		

> What's up all! Just joined the site and I must say there's a wealth of information on here and I've read a lot of it. I have one grow under my belt indoors in a soilless medium with pretty decent results. I purchased an Aerflo system a couple of months back and have tried two grows and they both failed miserably. Bought seeds germinated ok put them in the system after a couple of weeks and for the first week they did fine. more or less the same problem occured with both grows I tried with the Aeroflo. After the first res change everything went down the tube and I'm stumped. Kept the ph between 5.5 and 6.0 the ec level around 1.0 room temps between 70's at night and low 80's thoughout the day. The plants are under a 1000 watt + 400 watt hps hortilux with the cooling vents running through the lights and a fan for airflow simulation. I'm using the GH nuts Micro, grow, and bloom. Back to the original question my tap water/s ph is 7.2 with no reading at all on my trunchen meter . Could there still be a problem with the tap water that would cause the plants to stop feeding and turn the roots a light brown color after starting off white and healthy. Thanks for any advice or suggestions.


 
I just wanted to add that one of my old places the ppm of the water was 600. High eh? In the city it runs around 60. Worth checking out yers.


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## md.apothecary (Oct 10, 2007)

YOU do NOT get a 0PPM with any tap water. That would be like you have your own untouched acquifer below your sink that is magically pure. Even ozarka has a PPM of some level.

Even the water coming out of the faucet is going to pick up rust, iron, calcium, etc. You will read some ppm. But aside from that, a PH of 7.2 is rather high for hydro, you want to be 6-7pH in my experiences.

You also want to ensure if you do not use distilled water, you leave the water sit out for 24hrs - 48hrs to remove any chlorine and such. It's a hassle, but try not to use any fish aquarium neutralizers and/or pH up/down for your plants. These contain their own sets of chemicals and additives that can be harmful to plants.


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## OLDDOG (Jun 5, 2008)

Lots can go wrong with Aero but it will work if you have the right conditions. The ideal reservoir temp should be a constant 68. Almost impossible to do without a chiller. I used a 1/4 HP and it wasn't good enough. Be prepared to buy 1/2 HP chiller per unit. WARNING!!! Chillers eat up electricity. You also need to be adding hydrogen peroxide to reservoir. Room should not be above 70 as it will contribute to higher water temp. You can use tap water but store it in a separate open container for 24 hours so that chlorine can evaporate. PH must remain constant.


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## parkingjoe (Jun 5, 2008)

hiya smooth same here man my bluelab cf trunceon shows nothing on my tap water yet my adwa cf meter shows 0.2ec so probably same as me.

hick i think you missed smooth stating he keeps ph between 5.5-6.0.

also smooth do you allow your water to stand for 24 hours to get rid of chorine or whatever is in tap water this may be the cause.

i too am doing aero and realistically i dont thinks its cuts it compered to my rockwool dripper system harvest/yeild wise.

try using oxy-plus in your reservoir as this will whiten your roots like a trip to the dentists although this isnt a definition of a healthy root system being whiter than white.

pkj


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## parkingjoe (Jun 5, 2008)

hey md ph between 5.5-6

and how do you adjust ph without ph up or down now tha would be a hassle for sure

pkj


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## wakebud77 (Jun 9, 2008)

Check your meter it sounds like its broken. i had well water and it still has around 20-30 ppm(last time i checked was a while ago so im a lil fuzzy. But your best bet is to pick up a decent filter from walmart/target/homedepot. it should take out most of the bigger particles and then leave it out for a day or two and the rest of whatever is in there should evaporate... best of luck


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