Question About Well Water

[xxsesimeseedxx]

Hi Everyone.

I recently purchased a home in which the water source is from a well. Im not sure yet which nutrients its rich in and which it lacks. Are there ways to treat well water to make it safe for growing my meds? Thanks in advance.

[knottwhole]

Is there a reason you think your well water is bad? Treatments can remove bacteria but not the chemicals that are in it.

Now if you're talking about treatment once it enters the house, yes there are ways. I grow on well water and the only thing I need to do is adjust ph.

[AmishRnot4ganja]

I use well water that goes through a softener. I use potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride to regen the softener, but I don't know if this matters. My water is high in calcium and lime. The softener removes most of it. It comes out of the tap at a pH of 8. I use pH down and plants seem to love it.

[AmberTrichomes]

Small boy or Tall boy filter systems from hydrologic work great!! I have well water and filter it to remove any excess calcium or other unwanted unknowns. I add EVERY last thing my plants need, and think the more control the better. I use the small boy with modified inlet and outlet increasing flow to almost 2GPM I tossed the sediment filter and purchased the KDF85 carbon filter for the RO100 and put that high performance filter last and put the coco fiber filter where the sediment one was. AWESOME results. I think a element or mineral was holding back optimal abilities.

[HerbanLegendSeeds]

Depending on how hard the water is, some wells have great water for plants, others (like mine) are terrible. I have to use a reverse osmosis filter but my water quality cannot get any better, the total dissolved solids in my water after filtering is zero, I get to give my plants exactly what they need and nothing more.

[Mr. Wilson]

Many times well water is fine. One of the main problems being too much iron (why people get softeners) that locks out magnesium. A simple solution to that is adding a little epsom salt.

 

If you want to know how much of what is in the water, you have to get it tested. You will then get a PPM list and you can see what is high and what is low. IF you don't want to spend the money for the test, just use the water and see what happens. You'll find out pretty quick if there is a serious problem.

[Glacier Hills]

this is a grow question and in the wrong section .

[jacklash69]

this is a grow question and in the wrong section .

Geez 5 people have had something helpful to say and you come on here and tell poor guy he posted it in the wrong place.Dude, we have moderators to help/suggest/repost things.They do a good job and dont come across as rude.

[Glacier Hills]

Sorry to the OP. I was in a bummer mood and this is clearly a grow question, I am used to forums where people follow posting guidelines and questions get moved when there in the wrong place. I won't try to guide any one to posting in a place where more people might answer there question, ever again. I see this type of thing in every section of the site And I have offered to help. I was not trying to be rude, but I see how it does look that way. My Apologies

[shishka]

At least find out what the E.C. of your water is. My well water has an E.C. of 1.0, or 700 ppm on a .70 scale. WAY too hard to use on my girls. I went with a R.O. filter and I add back well water until I'm at about 0.2 E.C. thus giving me water with a little bit of calcium, magnesium and whatever else is in it.

[jacklash69]

Sorry to the OP. I was in a bummer mood and this is clearly a grow question, I am used to forums where people follow posting guidelines and questions get moved when there in the wrong place. I won't try to guide any one to posting in a place where more people might answer there question, ever again. I see this type of thing in every section of the site And I have offered to help. I was not trying to be rude, but I see how it does look that way. My Apologies

Hey man, no harm no foul brother,hope I didnt come across too abrasivley

[tooldini]

I use my well water with no problems that I can see. I have not fully tested my water but did some tests on it when I was running a small reef aquarium. Virtually no nitrates or nitrites I know that and it does not leave yellow rings but after some long time it seems to leave calcium deposits. I think it is just fine though I am sure better than city water tastes like bottled spring water

[Glacier Hills]

no worries, jack. was my fault.

[Guest zigg01]

Cant you boil it and it becomes distilled water?Isnt distilled water good for plants?

[phaquetoo]

this is a grow question and in the wrong section .

 

 

looks like it is in the grow room section to me!

 

does it realy matter?

 

Peace

FTW

Jim

 

My well water is better than any city water! its spring water, most of you buy it in lil plastic bottles to drink it, like detroit isnt charging you enough for their sheety water, you have to go out an buy bottled water!

[mibrains]

i have city water in my house, and it was tourtuin my girls...i bought R/O filter from Home Depot and love the clean water...i do however add 1 teaspoon per gallon of cal mag then i feed at 1/2 gallon per plant every other week or so.

[ToadInCan]

Hi Everyone.

I recently purchased a home in which the water source is from a well. Im not sure yet which nutrients its rich in and which it lacks. Are there ways to treat well water to make it safe for growing my meds? Thanks in advance.

 

 

Many municipalities, and especially near the big D, require proof of safe water prior to the sale of a house. You should check your paperwork, as a water test may have been done. You should have nothing to fear from using well water on your plants. However, well water contains macronutrients and micronutrients in varying concentrations depending on the region you are in. These nutrients will change throught the year as water filters down into the aquifer that supplies your well. Water softeners and reverse osmosis filters do not accomplish the same results. If you choose to filter the water for the purpose of watering your plants, I believe that you should use a reverse osmosis filter. It is not necessary though, as long as you adjust the pH to the desired range. It will take some time and some work, but you should get a feel for what you have to do.

 

Good Luck!

 

Toad

[xxsesimeseedxx]

Cant you boil it and it becomes distilled water?Isnt distilled water good for plants?

 

Does anyone know the answer to this? Does distilling help balance PH? Thanks for all the answer everyone!

[ToadInCan]

Does anyone know the answer to this? Does distilling help balance PH? Thanks for all the answer everyone!

 

 

The answer to the first question, "is boiled water distilled water?", is no. Distilled water is boiled, and then the steam is condensed. The result is purified water with very few suspended particles in it, and virtually no live bacteria.

 

The answer to the second question, "does distilling help balance pH?", is most likely yes. Almost all water contains suspended minerals. Hydrogen is the most abundant element on the planet, and bonds readily with many other elements. The HOH bond is very weak, thus allowing one hydrogen atom to separate and bond with other atoms in the solution, leaving behind a hydroxyl molecule (HO). The expression "pH", which stands for per Hydrogen, is a ratio of the hydrogen concentration in a solution. Water molecules (HOH) which have given up one hydrogen atom to form some other molecule and HO have not left the solution, they just aren't water anymore, thus increasing the ratio of hydrogen in the solution. Distilled water being very pure, and with minimal suspended particles, should have a more stable pH. The resulting purity and stability would depend entirely on the water supply used in the process, and the distilling process itself. Some applications for distilled water require multiple distilling to achieve the required purity. However, watering plants is not a popular application for distilled water.

 

Don't use swamp water, if you're on city water with chlorine make sure you leave it sit out for a day or two, always check your pH and adjust as needed, but you really don't have anything to fear from well water!

 

Good luck!

[knottwhole]

 

Don't use swamp water

 

Dang it, now you tell me.

And I've been using it for many years with great success.

[ToadInCan]

Dang it, now you tell me.

And I've been using it for many years with great success.

 

 

Hey knottwhole, Thanks for jab. I'm glad to hear of your success. I know that growers are using many different techniques and having good results. xxsesemee is concerned about the safety of using well water, and I guess I got carried away.

[Royal Smoke]

The answer to the first question, "is boiled water distilled water?", is no. Distilled water is boiled, and then the steam is condensed. The result is purified water with very few suspended particles in it, and virtually no live bacteria.

 

The answer to the second question, "does distilling help balance pH?", is most likely yes. Almost all water contains suspended minerals. Hydrogen is the most abundant element on the planet, and bonds readily with many other elements. The HOH bond is very weak, thus allowing one hydrogen atom to separate and bond with other atoms in the solution, leaving behind a hydroxyl molecule (HO). The expression "pH", which stands for per Hydrogen, is a ratio of the hydrogen concentration in a solution. Water molecules (HOH) which have given up one hydrogen atom to form some other molecule and HO have not left the solution, they just aren't water anymore, thus increasing the ratio of hydrogen in the solution. Distilled water being very pure, and with minimal suspended particles, should have a more stable pH. The resulting purity and stability would depend entirely on the water supply used in the process, and the distilling process itself. Some applications for distilled water require multiple distilling to achieve the required purity. However, watering plants is not a popular application for distilled water.

 

Don't use swamp water, if you're on city water with chlorine make sure you leave it sit out for a day or two, always check your pH and adjust as needed, but you really don't have anything to fear from well water!

 

Good luck!

 

 

Thank you! And now, I'm going to read and study this paragraph 10 times!

[Royal Smoke]

 

Thank you! And now, I'm going to read and study this paragraph 10 times!

 

So, if you add hydrogen peroxide to water it should raise the pH level?

[ToadInCan]

So, if you add hydrogen peroxide to water it should raise the pH level?

 

It could raise the pH, scrub your roots clean, and even whiten your teeth. But it's more a case of the H2O2 giving up that extra O atom and leaving behind H2O.

[Timmahh]

Distilled water, is basically pure water, with near Zero additional substances, ie... disovled solids like magnesium, potassium, salt, iron particles ect....

 

becuase it is so pure (near total lack of solids) distilled water is used for cooling electrinics like in a water cooled computer. if it springs a leak, the chance of electrocution, or shorting out componants is pretty much Nill. the water doesnt conduct the electricity thru the water, the desolved solids do.

 

so i would agree. using distilled water for watering plants would be usefull. as you will need to add all the needed nuetriants to the water, so they can feed the plants.

 

 

back side of this. it takes a long time to distill any large quantity of water to use. its also a large electricty sucker. so can get pricey (still cheaper then buying it by the gallon).

 

a R.O., Reverse Osmosis, system would be much better suited, as it also removes nearly all other contaminantes and desolved solids, but does so in a much larger volume, so you get more water sooner that is useable. R.O. units are generally much more energy effecient than a distiller, so in the long term, cost will be less, even thouhg R.O. system cost much more than a distiller for the initial purchase of the item.

 

 

Ive working for a while in the plumbing department of Sears, and than also with a local culligan company in the past.

 

alot of cool stuff you can learn.