To Tap or Not to Tap

[NAKEDGARDENER]

For the longest time I had thought I would never use tap water in my grow because I just wasn’t sure of its suitability for growing weed. A friend said one day, about 5 weeks into my current grow, that tap water was safe since if it’s safe for us humans it must be safe for plants. I had been using nature’s spring water, which is almost neutral in its ph and has a tds number of about 160 ppm. As I said I had been feeding the seedlings with this water and throughout most of their veg stages until about three weeks before flowering.

I tested my tap water one day to find that it didn’t need ph ing at all as it was always at a ph of 6.45. To 6.55. So I used it thinking it wou,d save so much time money and effort not having to make my spring water more acidic every time. (Although if using fox farm trio nutes, this is great due to the high acidic content when using all three r even the bloom nutes)

Today I got a top notch ec/ppm meter.. and tested my well water for total dissolved solids. And was shocked... I now think I know why some of the leaves on my fat budding plants are turning at the tips and half of some leaves turning a lime green color, the contaminants in my well water! The reading I got was far from the standard for safe drinking water. It contains heavy metals, and some other contaminants. My landlord will be hearing from me tomorrow about having the well water tested and me seeing the results on paper...

Again. If you’re thinking of using your tap water, know it’s source, know when it was last tested and what the detailed results of that test was.. before even drinking it yourself, and to add the ‘town water’ here is worse since it contains other man made additives which won’t be good for long term use in growing weed..

The More You Know.

[Toker1]

You went from tap water (which I assume you mean treated drinking water) to well water (which I assume isn’t treated; just raw water). Which did you use on your girls? Both?

[Toker1]

So tap and well are 2 very different things in most cities. Well water comes from an aquifer located beneath the ground (from a well) it is raw and untreated. Tap water comes from the faucet and it is treated chemically by the city water treatment plant.

[NAKEDGARDENER]

Toker1 we have a choice of local town water or our own well water. It is pumped up via the aquafier, as you say. My landlord said it had been tested and was very clean. The town water he decided not to go with this summer. We have town water only between the months of end of April through to October 3rd. I don’t live anywhere near a city, nearest town is pop of only 2 to 3 thousand in winter.

[Toker1]

Got it. So you have raw water (untreated) coming out of your tap. So how do you remove pathogens from the water prior to consumption? Those aquifers can harbor quite a bit of Bactria. I would be concerned about contracting dysentery or Hepatitis E from drinking raw water that has not been cleaned or filtered.

[KingKush]

I use straight tap water and don't give a care and neither do my plants. Chlorine, Flouride, all of it grows my buds DANK! My plants love the faucet water!

[Potted]

How about rain water? The ph is neutral?

[Toker1]

Look up acid rain. Not good for plants. Even if the rain water is neutral, the collection method is usually not clean. Collecting run off from the roof? When ever you bring in outside elements into your indoor garden, it just creates problems. If you need to use collected rain water, I still suggest boiling and filtering it.
If you wouldn’t drink it yourself, don’t give it to your girls.

[Potted]

Has any one ever heard of collecting rain water of the roof and putting water in sisters under the house for times of drought,peeps do it all the time in the Caribbean.and thay aren’t died yeat! Toker1

[Ell]

try not to piss off your landlord

[Potted]

I only use tap for my grows, PHed properly. The town where I live the water is tested every year,and all home owners get a report. My girls don’t seem to mind at all😁

[Canuck147]

Got some of the best drinking tap water in Canada here. Chilliwack BC continually wins this contest most every year.

We have the good ole USA to thank for that - specifically Mount Baker in Washington State.

[alltatup]

I've always used my tap water, but it's real soft without much salt. I don't drink it, tho: I got an alkaline machine.

If I still lived in TX, I wouldn't use it because it was so full of shit that it stained peoples' teeth permanently when they were growing up. I seen it with my own eyes.

[NAKEDGARDENER]

Well the difference for me I guess is that I live in a very rural area, and on a peninsula. This means that town water is only provided from April to October. After that you must have a well. This year instead of having the town water hooked up he decided not to and just keep using the well. It’s only now after testing it myself that I have seen with my own eyes that the well water is far from just raw and untreated, but positively dangerous to human health. Which was my point. Back to spring water f or me, which is what I only drink anyway. But no more well water for my plants eithe

[Toker1]

Now you are on the right track. Although RO maintenance cost and equipment costs are higher. Also the membrane requires 1-2 gallons of wasted water in order to produce 1 gallon of clean water. At least you will be removing all contamination. Something to consider is adding cal-mag back into the water after treatment. Pure water will actually strip you (or your plants’s) minerals (electrolytes) away if you consume it. That is not good either.

[NAKEDGARDENER]

Yep the calcium and mangnesium stripping with RO is something I’m aware of also, thank you. Again the cost of bringing the well up to standard is not up to me but my landlords, only thing I can do for now is to use bottled water or go RO and bottled is cheaper by far.

[Toker1]

Agreed!

[Potted]

I’m just wondering if your bad well water is seasonal? Wells not drilled deep dry out during dry spells, or just sucking up the dregs?

[Potted]

Perhaps rain water could b a option?

[Redwasp]

This post has brought up something that is not talked about often. Is tap water safe? It can be depending on where you live is the answer as shown by several people above. Some places it is definitely not safe for humans, animals, or plants. How do you determine if your water is safe? That's a great question.

Anyways where I live my tap water is usually around 3ppm. I couldnt believe it was so low but it is. Anyways I use my tap water. I just let it sit out for 24 to 48 hours before using it. I just fill up 6 5 gallon buckets with water and let them sit. If any of the water sits over 48 hours I usually use it on my garden outside. Not sure why I do that but if you leave it to long without a lid it will turn green.

[Toker1]

Agreed. There is a reason you can’t dump fresh tap down the storm drains near the ocean. Even after 24 hours, the chlorides still remain in the water.

[KingKush]

I have never seen "not able to dump tap water down storm drains

That's some crazy false misinformation right there that should not be believed lol

[Toker1]

Sounds like someone needs to do a bit more research here... lol
You have never seen this on storm drains? I got a picture for all the non-beliebers out there.

http://askhrgreen.org/gtk-gtd/illegal-dumping/

[Potted]

One way or another rain water and tap both make there way to the table. Eather with produce or protein. Just sayen it’s very hard to eliminate from the equation.
Im not for or against using tap it’s just easer and cheaper if possible. As for rain water, well it’s been growing weed a lot longer than I have,it must have something
going fo it. 😎

[Toker1]

KingKush : if you don’t believe me, have a look for yourself.

[KingKush]

Yes I live in an area with the same placards on all the drains. Im 100% in favor of respecting surface waters and preventing pollutions from entering the watershed.

What I disagree with is that tap water is a pollutant and that "you can't flush fresh tap down drains near the ocean."

There are millions of potential things that should not be concentrated into water systems: pesticides and prescription drugs are two of my primary concerns. Polluting clean water with clean water is silly and I believe there are much much more concerning elements to both our clean water security and ecological stewardship than worrying about a few ppm of chlorine in drinking water.

[Toker1]

hmm... chloromines do not exists naturally in water systems. They are pollutants and toxic. I think a bit more research might be required here. So here are the facts...chloromines are deadly to aquatic life. If enough people are dumping tap water into the storm drains you are filling the water system with chloromines, which do not dissipate over time like the old chlorine gas did from tap water many years ago. This chloromine builds up in the water and can cause damage to entire ecosystems. Check this out...

https://puritybay.com/chlorine-chloromines/