Should i invest in a R/O system?

[StrictlyHerb]

Hi there!
In this last grow i've experienced some strange curling of my leaves (picture posted below).


My tapwater has a ph of 7.5 - 8.0, it has a ppm of 140 (american conversion).

After 15 seedlings died during the first months here i gave up on organics and switched to canna coco with their full line-up. And the problems didnt stop??? I've still managed to get all the way til harvest now.

Soo, if i am doing everything right, and still getting this strange behaviour from my plants i guess its because of some excess of nute in my tap?

Next grow im planning to grow some pure, landrace sativas wich are known for being sensitive to salt build-up. And i would love to get back to that original, traditional, organic soil growing.


LOTS of people are saying that R/O is just a waste of money and that its actually bad for plants..... But rainwater has been recomended for plants for centuries and isnt rainwater just as pure as R/O?

 

[StrictlyHerb]

Fyi; someone said to me that this is mag def. I acted and started giving epsom salts at every feed and the curling didnt stop.

 

[RetroGrow]

Nothing wrong with your tap. "RO" water is a waste of money and completely unnecessary. Curling is a temperature thing. Has nothing to do with the water.

 

[StrictlyHerb]

Hi there.
When the symptoms started 3 months ago my temps where at 23c (73f). My humidity is at 70 -80 in veg and 60 - 70 in flower.

Im using a 250w hid at 30 - 40 cm distance from canopy.
Even the leaves below the canopy are showing this "curl".

So even though it might be temperature, i highly doubt it.

In every other place i've been growing i've used straight tapwater in soils, didnt bother with PH meters and stuff, didnt need to.

But here my water has such a high PH that without strong acidic ph down my plants wont survive after 3 weeks.

Why is R/O a waste of money? If rainwater is the best water for plants, why wouldnt R/O be close to the same quality of rainwater?

Best regards!

 

[MJPassion]

140 ppm isnt too high but that pH needs to be delt with.

Check with your water supplier to see if you can get a water analysis from them. If you want to go back to soil you can build your soil so that it is optimized for your tap water such that you're not adding to much of something & causing a lockout type of effect.

OR...

Get the RO system and know exactly what is in your water.

 

[StrictlyHerb]

yeah, 140 ppm shouldnt be a problem at all, so i can't understand what is fucking my leaves up? maybe 130 of those ppm are calcium (or something else) making an excess of it.

Hmmm... making my own soil, specifically for this tapwater would be a great idea! I love experimenting with that kind of stuff!.. Problem is; you have to go through a bunch of trial and error before you dial it in.

I have scorched the internet before on threads like "soil for alkaline ph water" without any results, maybe someone can guide me in a direction here?

First off; i gotta contact my water supplier.

Thanks

 

[bigworm74]

how are you reading your temperatures because it looks like its getting hot.

 

[ben_710]

I have scorched the internet before on threads like "soil for alkaline ph water" without any results, maybe someone can guide me in a direction here?

I've heard that dolomite lime helps maintain a neutral ph

 

[StrictlyHerb]

Hey bigworm!
Im using 2 thermometers, and one of them has this cable to measure "outside" temps, that cable is hanging at canopy level. So basically i get readings from the canopy and also from the floor level.

When these pics where taken it was not hot at all, like i said, 23C. And my light (250w hid) was like 30 - 40 cm away, more than 40cm and i would loose alot of light.

How far away do you recommend keeping a 250w hid?

 

[StrictlyHerb]

Hey Ben!
I used Dolomite last grow in soil, and fuck me.. i got a calcium toxicity and my PH actually increased instead of decreased.
If i were to use only R/O water i would amend the soil with dolomite lime, otherwise im skeptical.


The interesting thing is that i recently found 5 or 6 different growthreads from my country/area, and ALL of them showed the same symptoms on the leaves!?? The threads were both indoors and out.

The water here is quite soft (140 ppm) and when i measured PH today with my new Ph pen it read 8,5!

So the mystery remains.. please holler if you've seen this on your plants

 

[bigworm74]

30 cm should be fine i wouldnt get to much closer. are you phing your water now? what was your last pen reading your water at?

 

[StrictlyHerb]

Since i had so much problems in soil i made the switch to coco, will start flushing today and harvest in a week.

In veg i had the PH at 5,6 - 5,8, in flowering i've tried to keep it at 6,0 at all times.
Have you seen this on your leaves?

 

[bigworm74]

yeah i have but only when the lights are to close use a infared thermometer to see what the temperature is on your leaves.

 

[Granger2]

I've heard that dolomite lime helps maintain a neutral ph

You heard bad info. If you are trying to lower pH, don't use dolomite. Gypsum has a neutral pH. -granger

 

[Snook]

I jacked around with 200ppm/7.5PH tap.. finally bought the RO machine.. problems solved.. I wish I had bought one that filtered at least 150 GPD instead of the 75GPD one I did buy.. takes 5-6 hours to make 18 gallons of RO, only 2-3 hrs would be nice.. BTW RO use can overflow a septic system, I drain the waste into my plants outside..

 

[Floridian]

Someone said an R?O is a waste of time?Thats opposite from my experience.It matters

 

[BakedBandit]

I jacked around with 200ppm/7.5PH tap.. finally bought the RO machine.. problems solved.. I wish I had bought one that filtered at least 150 GPD instead of the 75GPD one I did buy.. takes 5-6 hours to make 18 gallons of RO, only 2-3 hrs would be nice.. BTW RO use can overflow a septic system, I drain the waste into my plants outside..

What's your pressure at? If it's too low the membrane won't be as effective and will take way longer to make water. You can add a booster pump to raise pressure and increase efficiency and decrease production time

 

[Snook]

What's your pressure at? If it's too low the membrane won't be as effective and will take way longer to make water. You can add a booster pump to raise pressure and increase efficiency and decrease production time

If you are talking water pressure from the faucet it's real good... I see them @ 50GPD @ 75GPD and 150GPD and more. but I'll call the guy.. thanks..

 

[Floridian]

The filters and membrane for the whirlpool WHER25 is almost as much as a brand new one.I'll get a new PPM pen too with the unit.My dog would tell you without R/O calcium runs amok blocking magnesium totally,at least down here with the calcified water.His water bowl became befould quickly with the shit down here.

 

[Snook]

RO in the humidifier too, that calcium will gum up that float valve in there.