ppm question please help

I would like to kno if there is a way to lower ppm? right out of my tap its 270ppm is that bad? once I add my nutes im up to 460ppm. is that ok? does this mean I need a reverse osmosis system? any info would b appericiated!!!

Yes there is a way to lower the PPM's - add a lower or 0 PPM water to it. 270 is not too awful - there is alot worse - mine is 165 (well). I add rain-water to my tap - the rain water is filtered with an aquarium carbon filter and floss for debris.

There is no way to answer your question if 460 PPM is ok or not. It would depend on the size, age, nute tolerance of the plant.

As an alternative you could use distilled water or an RO system if you wanted 0 to near 0 PPM's when starting off.

You can reduce the ppm of your water by using filters. Try to keep it under 200 and you should be fine.

Try that Zerro system advertized on tv, similar to Britta, 'course the filters are probably expensive.

I appreciate the info. im using flora series gh. my resivor holds 7.5gal . plant is 3 weeks old. took 2 weeks to root tho. the strain is NL.

hey mr. bunny when u say "add a lower or 0 PPM water to it" do u mean bottled water? im new. thanks 4 your time.

You should be ok with using the water you have. Mine is 200ish and while I had some issues dialling things in at first all is fine. Im using a flood and drain setup BTW and my biggest hurtle was PH and again once dialled in all is good. RO filters are i believe the only way to filter out minerals but could be wrong. Brita type filters do not remove minerals as far as i know.

randynewman34 said:

hey mr. bunny when u say "add a lower or 0 PPM water to it" do u mean bottled water? im new. thanks 4 your time.

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yep distilled water

Im greatful for all the help. thank u evry1!!!kiss-ass

I buy purified water. I have a Reverse Osmosis filter that we use for our drinking water and the tank only holds two gallons at a time, but purified water is pretty cheap here. I used to use my tap, which would range anywhere from 250-300 ppm, but I have found that my plants simply respond better to water that only has the nutrients I put in it. It is also easier to track your feeding using RO water and in my opinion decreases the chances of dealing with nutrient lock-out.

if it causes you problems, check your local craigslist for an r.o. filter. even if cultivation is not legal in your area, many people use them to maintain aquariums so they shouldnt be too hard to find. they can be a bit pricy new, but ive seen them sell for 50 or less if you find the right person. pick up one of those and a food grade barrel of decent size and youll have 0ppm water on hand all the time.

Be aware that if your buying a used RO filter you should be prepared to buy a new set of filters for it and some r very expensive. New smaller units r around $250 i believe. Check local hardware box store.

I have 800ppm tap water, I have no RO filter, I have never used an RO filter, my plants do just fine. Don't invest in an RO filter unless you have the extra cash for it. It is not a necessity for plant life, and it will not make your plants grow any better. All it does is allow you to control what is in the water to a higher degree. If your water is not messing with your plants, and you don't want/need that level of control, don't bother buying one.

This is how you do it. Get your tap water put it in a pot and boil it. While its boiling catch, then cool the steam and the water will be 0.

waterdawg said:

You should be ok with using the water you have. Mine is 200ish and while I had some issues dialling things in at first all is fine. Im using a flood and drain setup BTW and my biggest hurtle was PH and again once dialled in all is good. RO filters are i believe the only way to filter out minerals but could be wrong. Brita type filters do not remove minerals as far as i know.

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My water has a pH of 7.5 and a ppm of 295 and an EC of 0.3 out of the tap.
I tried a britta filter and it changed to pH 6.7, ppm of 195 and an EC of 0.3.

If you are using the flora series I believe you should be fine. (3 part brown micro, green veg, and pink bloom). You may need to watch your dissolved mineral levels like calcium and magnesium. They could be high or low and you should adjust the formula accordingly. It depends on your area's yearly water report, which should be posted online. Not only that, the GH Flora series has a specially formulated alternative for hard water. The micro bottle, I believe, is the one that is different, but then again they all could have the hard water version.(grow, micro, and bloom) I have 300ppm well water and have no problems, other than pH adjustment down to a suitable level. In my case I'm 300 ppm, pH around 7.8-8.2. I use the vial pH method because the probes are expensive to replace. I used the GH flora series with municipal tap water in the past with success, but now I use the dyna-gro line with some other stuff for as needed situations/problems. The well water has been great.

my tap water is 240ppm and i am fine. it is mostly calcium and magnesium and other trace elements good for the plant, i cut down on cal mag and i do good

800 ppm is way to high to start with. If you have never used R/O then how do you know it wont make better plants? I'm sure it is better to use R/O most of the time. It makes mixing nutrients more accurate. Your plant can lock out nutrients if your ppm or pH is too high.

chocobear said:

I have 800ppm tap water, I have no RO filter, I have never used an RO filter, my plants do just fine. Don't invest in an RO filter unless you have the extra cash for it. It is not a necessity for plant life, and it will not make your plants grow any better. All it does is allow you to control what is in the water to a higher degree. If your water is not messing with your plants, and you don't want/need that level of control, don't bother buying one.

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