Hard water / Would a Homeade.......?

[Whobdobub]

Okay i have hard water.
I totally wasn't thinking, (new house well water) Added Softner!!! OMFG
The Salt KIND!

So Anyways, I can only test the water as it is right now and wait for the softner to run out it almost gone.

With softner im at 400PPM and 7.5 PH.

The problem was some of the strains seems like they where yellowing and not getting nutes and at the same time getting nute burn here and there.

It hasnt killed them and they will survive and could survive without solving this problem. At the cost of reduced harvests.


So What im thinking about doing is making a Home made Filter.
I have looked at a few designs online.
Basically synthestic fiber / sand / activated carbon.

Do you think filtering will help lower the ppm ?
(assuming my PPM Is over 300 without the softner)

I Dont want to have to buy water or RO.
A secondary option would be to test public spring water from a park and bottle some up weekly.

 

[HeadyPete]

Sodium from the softener is burning them and locking everything up.

Carbon filtration won't take out salts. RO would. Can't you get the water somewhere before the softener? Well water is usually good, you don't need extra cal mag.

 

[theHIGHlander]

what about leaving ya water out for 24hr? or try boiling it then leaving it out for 24hr?

keep it green
highlander

 

[CantBe2High]

I use potassium chloride in my water softener, not sodium chloride. Leave potasium ions in the water, not sodium. Healthier for people and plants. Costs about double though.

My last grow was 100% watered with potasium chloride softened water and I had zero problems and a healthy harvest.

 

[jammie]

i have the same problem. my solution was to make a cistern by using a 50gal trashcan. i removed the downspout and replaced it with a 3-4" diameter plastic corragated pipe that fits in a hole in the trash can lid. i tied cheese cloth on the end to filter any dirt from the gutters. the rain water has a ph of 4.9, tds 0.0. after adding my ionic grow and a little calmag the ph is 5.4. because there's not alot of buffers in this solution the ph hasn't drifted above 6.4 in the two weeks between solution changes. i also use mycorrhizal fungus and water temps in the mid 60"s to protect against root rot.

 

[Whobdobub]

Im gonna try to empty my softner out and see what the hard water measures straight from the well.

Check back in later

P.S
If i get Salt Free Potassium Chloride Pellets for Water Softeners.
23.99 a 40lb bag

You think this softner would be okay if it still measures in at 400PPM ?

 

[Whobdobub]

Okay , I tested the water before it got to the softner.
Its 340PPM and 7.11 PH

So i Hooked a hose up to the tap that bypasses the softner tank and I Soaked the HELL out of the containers.
I mean I flooded them severeal times and let them drain then flooded them again.
Hopefully this will wash the sodium out.

But technically 340-360 PPM Hard water @ 7.11 PH is still not ideal for the plants correct ?

 

[nukn futz]

judging by your numbers i`m guessing you live in my neck of the woods, theres alot of RO water stands around, before I got on city water thats what I was using.