What's new
By:
GrowWeedEasy.com
You're browsing as a guest. Sign up to join the conversation, share your grows, and get help from thousands of fellow growers — it's free and takes less than a minute.

Ok to use city tap?

I

Isaac11247

New member
Is it a bad idea to use my city tap water but I have a water softener connected, and ph it down? not sure if the softener will affect quality gets tiring buying decent water
any thoughts? thanks
 
Do an EC measurement on it and check what is used to clean the water....it might be fine
 
The water softener I had used salt, not what you want for your plants. Maybe consider a RO unit to over clean the water, then add some calmag back to it. Or can you get water before the softener?
Welcome to GWE
 
  • Like
Reactions: DW2
I use tap water exclusively. I let the water off gas for a few hours or use a chlorine remover for aquariums, mostly use the chlorine remover. Never a problem.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DW2
My provider uses chloramine which does not gas off, you can check with your provider as to what they use.
 
If you are living in a position to catch rainwater off a roof, might be worth a look if your tap is a problem.

Rainwater has an EC of zero and nigh on impossible to do an accurate pH test without adding some nutes. My stored rainwater tends to vary a bit up and down with the pH but easy to manage.
 
I just did a little reading on chlorine and chloramine and what they do to plants.
We'alll aught to consider mentioning these two things in diagnosing plant problems when all the general solutions do not pan out.
San Diego uses chloramines, FYI. High levels of calcium and magnesium. I might have learned why I always have at least a few brown leaf tips.
Learning is cool.
 
Chloramine is 3.9 when I checked my city water report. They issue one yearly and it is available online. I have sit my water for 24hrs and done it straight from tap. My plants don't seem to mind either way. I sit my water just as peace of mind now cause they are taking in so much. Early veg I didn't worry about it.
 
My tap rarely exceeds 100ppm. I go straight from tap into soil. No gassing. They use chloramines to sterilize the water in my area so gassing will have no effect on the chloramine. I also have an RO unit but with as low as my tap PPM is I don't worry about the chloramine levels hurting my plants and welcome the extra calcium and magnesium.
 
Mine two. I get a water quality report every year and it tells what goes into the water to treat it for "human consumption", not exactly what the plant needs. Probably not to good for us either but better than a mud puddle. I collect alot of rain water when i can and treat it. What better that chlorine except "chlorine and ammonia".
 
Howdy Isaac11247 , I have all ways used the local tap water, especially since ours come from wells and surface reservoirs (blended). You should be able to get a water quality report from the city or from the water provider (if not the city or county). Most states require that the water be regularly tested for minerals and possible hazardous chemicals in the drinking water.
Good luck with your growing.
 
hey there well I'm mostly concerned over my water softener being hooked up. I have no access to any water before it goes thru the softener. I'm guessing that it's not going to be safe long term for my plants. wish I had an r/o system. for now I'm trucking my water in! lol
 
Why wouldn't you not be able to use softened water? Soft water just has everything stripped out of it like RO. Straight soft water? No. Mix in Cal/Mag to get it back in the water. Soft water doesn't have any microbes so make sure your soil/medium does.
 
I use my city water and then crush 1/4 of a campden table per 5 gallons, and still let it breath for st least 48 hours before use. If I were you, I would use water from your front garden hose, to bypass the water softner.
 
yes Rwise. the salt is my major concern. really salty water can't be good for cannabis. just like giving my plants ocean water! Almost lol.
 
I have a water softener unit for my well water because of high sulfur levels. I usually bypass it when drawing water for plants but of course forget sometimes. Did some research and most things I read say softened water is fine. Don't know exactly how it works but very little salt if any ends up in the water. Which makes sense because then the water would taste salty. The consensus was that you probably shouldn't use it exclusively for years because it may build up over time but short term is fine, especially if you use non softened water occasionally to flush. Now I water regularly with it and haven't had any problems. Home units also have a bypass valve if you want unsofted water.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DW2
Rootsruler, most domestic water softeners use magnesium 'slats' to displace the calcium oxides and other 'hard' dissolved minerals present in natural ground water. My problem is that by removing the useful 'hard' calcium salts one would need to add them back for use of the plants. I did not intend to imply the use of 'softened' water was, in anyway, detrimental to the cannabis plants. If softened water is what you have, then use it. My opinion is that the use of RO or distilled water is not necessary and' and in my opinion. is a waste of money, unless the available water source is contaminated with dioxin, PCP, or other harmful carcinogens.
 
Rwise and @Isaac1247, as I mentioned before, "most domestic water softeners use magnesium 'salts' to displace the calcium oxides and other 'hard' dissolved minerals present in natural ground water." Those salts are not very detrimental for the plants (accept in extreme concentration) Sodium Chloride (NaCl) is detrimental to the plants, even in moderate concentrations, but most city water plants are geared to remove excess amounts of NaCl from both the ground water and surface water sources. Making the water safe for plants and humans to consume. My guideline has always been, "if you can drink it and water your lawn with it, it's good enough for the plants (LOL)"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top