Alternatives to treating high PH hard well water

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Cdub97

Cdub97

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I’ve not had my personal well wasted analyzes but I do know this...it comes out of the ground at around PH 8.1-8.2. It’s also at a PPM of about 300-335. Not sure what the dissolved solids are...

My soil grow plants keep locking up. The more water I run through them (as in the older the plant) the worse it gets. I’ve got extremely high PH runoff in the high 7’s and into the 8’s even if I adjust my water to 6.1-6.5 with citric acid for waterings and feedings. Thinking of trying phosphoric acid and maybe it’ll be more stable.

I know a reverse osmosis system is really what I need but I can’t get a plumber and it’s prohibitively expensive. My house plumbing is totally fucked.

Are there ANY alternatives to filter my water to bring the PPM down? A Brita faucet filter is too small. Is there such a thing as a Brita type filter I can set in a bucket and just pour water through it to filter? Can I DIY some sort of manual fill reverse osmosis filtration system?

I’m going to get a 100 gallon rain water collection barrel but in the winter it’s unclear how well that’ll really work.

Thanks.
 
Mr.jiujitsu

Mr.jiujitsu

1,701
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I’ve not had my personal well wasted analyzes but I do know this...it comes out of the ground at around PH 8.1-8.2. It’s also at a PPM of about 300-335. Not sure what the dissolved solids are...

My soil grow plants keep locking up. The more water I run through them (as in the older the plant) the worse it gets. I’ve got extremely high PH runoff in the high 7’s and into the 8’s even if I adjust my water to 6.1-6.5 with citric acid for waterings and feedings. Thinking of trying phosphoric acid and maybe it’ll be more stable.

I know a reverse osmosis system is really what I need but I can’t get a plumber and it’s prohibitively expensive. My house plumbing is totally fucked.

Are there ANY alternatives to filter my water to bring the PPM down? A Brita faucet filter is too small. Is there such a thing as a Brita type filter I can set in a bucket and just pour water through it to filter? Can I DIY some sort of manual fill reverse osmosis filtration system?

I’m going to get a 100 gallon rain water collection barrel but in the winter it’s unclear how well that’ll really work.

Thanks.

bro installing a personal r/o unit is easy. It’s cheap. It’s easy and cheap. It’s the best option you have. You could get a multimedia bed and that might help. Maybe a carbon bed as well as the activated carbon will collect some, but for way under 100$ you could install a small unit. There is no way your house plumbing is fucked up that this won’t work, unless you have very low water pressure. Still they have small pressure vessels that will assist with that.
 
Cdub97

Cdub97

131
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bro installing a personal r/o unit is easy. It’s cheap. It’s easy and cheap. It’s the best option you have. You could get a multimedia bed and that might help. Maybe a carbon bed as well as the activated carbon will collect some, but for way under 100$ you could install a small unit. There is no way your house plumbing is fucked up that this won’t work, unless you have very low water pressure. Still they have small pressure vessels that will assist with that.

I have 3 places to get water in my house...

1) a trigger spray squirter at my kitchen sink (the actual faucet doesn’t work...and the sprayer is about broke too)

2) my tiny bathroom sink faucet that also has a super slow drain (faucet filter won’t fit the hardware)

3) My shower head (I don’t use it...I don’t have hot water, never had hot water here... and it’s fucking winter...)

How the heck could I even install one? I’m not handy, everything is fucked up here. I mean it’s bad...
 
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Cdub97

Cdub97

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I’m literally going up to my first floor bathroom with 5-gallon buckets, filling them by hand with a 1/2 gallon milk jug in the sink, and then I’m carrying them down my basement stairs every time I need water. I don’t even have a damn hose to fill the buckets up directly... 😒

I’d just like a filter I can pour the damn water through manually!
 
Cdub97

Cdub97

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Maybe something like these!!!!



 
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Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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The RO unit literally has an adapter that screws into a tap and my mother who can't figure out how to change a channel could install.
 
Cdub97

Cdub97

131
43
I literally don’t have a faucet that works...except this one...nothing is gonna fit here...it’s not a matter of just screwing it on...I don’t even have a functioning kitchen sink.

I need a “bush” solution.
 
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MIMedGrower

MIMedGrower

17,190
438
I literally don’t have a faucet that works...except this one...nothing is gonna fit here...it’s not a matter of just screwing it on...I don’t even have a functioning kitchen sink.

I need a “bush” solution.


The part i linked would fit that faucet. Of course you still need an ro unit. I would mix your water 50/50 with ro. You can get ro water at wal mart or similar too. Or a water company that handles filters and water dispensers.

We growers are a foward thinking creative bunch. You could catch rain water too. And mix that like ro water. Low ppm in rain water. There is always a solution just have to figure it out.

You could fix your plumbing maybe with you tube help videos?
 
Cdub97

Cdub97

131
43
Wouldn’t a sand filter sort out the dissolved solids though?

I mentioned rain collection...but again...it’s winter and what is coming down will soon freeze as January and February are the coldest months...

My problem is two fold...PH and dissolved solids. I think I’m going to try running my well water through a series of two or three cascaded buckets filled with gravel, sand, and charcoal. If the PH is still too high I’m going to try a diluted phosphoric acid solution to adjust. It’s gotta be better than what I’m doing and it seems cheaper than purchasing a RO system and never ending filter refills (granted I’d have to change the bucket mediums periodically...). I can collect rainwater once the freezing temperatures stop.
 
oldskol4evr

oldskol4evr

12,306
438
The part i linked would fit that faucet. Of course you still need an ro unit. I would mix your water 50/50 with ro. You can get ro water at wal mart or similar too. Or a water company that handles filters and water dispensers.

We growers are a foward thinking creative bunch. You could catch rain water too. And mix that like ro water. Low ppm in rain water. There is always a solution just have to figure it out.

You could fix your plumbing maybe with you tube help videos?
completly agree ,that faucet is easy as shit to replace and a chepy would run about 20 buck at the box stores,unscrew 2 jam nuts underside ,unscrew water pipes and done,turn water off first
 
oldskol4evr

oldskol4evr

12,306
438
Wouldn’t a sand filter sort out the dissolved solids though?

I mentioned rain collection...but again...it’s winter and what is coming down will soon freeze as January and February are the coldest months...

My problem is two fold...PH and dissolved solids. I think I’m going to try running my well water through a series of two or three cascaded buckets filled with gravel, sand, and charcoal. If the PH is still too high I’m going to try a diluted phosphoric acid solution to adjust. It’s gotta be better than what I’m doing and it seems cheaper than purchasing a RO system and never ending filter refills (granted I’d have to change the bucket mediums periodically...). I can collect rainwater once the freezing temperatures stop.
thats how it was done in primative ways,go for it,that more work than just fixing a faucet but it will work still does in the jungle,more work than i would do,hell id bring a gallon jug of water to house with me every time i came there first,sounds like your borrowing the house,but what you plan is a filter ,i wouldnt drink it myself but for your plants it will work being your using soil
 
Cdub97

Cdub97

131
43
All the problems here are overwhelming.

I have pretty severe mental health problems...and every time I want to fix one thing I think of 100 more and then think about the fact that I don’t have the skills to do 97 of them and I just shut down...

my walls are rotting down...pretty sure I heard the whole place shift loudly the other day...it’s really bad.

It’s all I have...
 
oldskol4evr

oldskol4evr

12,306
438
All the problems here are overwhelming.

I have pretty severe mental health problems...and every time I want to fix one thing I think of 100 more and then think about the fact that I don’t have the skills to do 97 of them and I just shut down...

my walls are rotting down...pretty sure I heard the whole place shift loudly the other day...it’s really bad.

It’s all I have...
you can replace a water faucet friend,it is that easy,type in r&r water faucet on you tube and watch a few vids ,you will see how easy it is,one thing for sure you dont need to be drinking that water,that greenish tint is copper residue around your valves,under the sink there will be 2 lines ,one for hot and one for cold water,after you turn the water off,with a pipe wrench or crescent wrench take both those lines off the faucet,after that,there are 2 jam nuts ,one on each side lossen and take those nuts off and the fuacet will lift right out of sink,put the new one right back in same way ,it easy,watch a few vid's,that is the best teacher these days has ,you tube,i have found buy watching about 5 vids of folks doing stuff,there is always 1 thing in common they do,no matter which way they do something,they all come down to doing something same way,key in on that and fix your own stuff.
except the challenge,if you have mental issues this is something to test you,beat it ass,this is really simple ,take mine and others advise and watch a few vids and see,after you watch it,then you will see that paying some one hundred buck for something so simple is crazy
 
BloodShot

BloodShot

538
143
Wouldn’t a sand filter sort out the dissolved solids though?

I mentioned rain collection...but again...it’s winter and what is coming down will soon freeze as January and February are the coldest months...

My problem is two fold...PH and dissolved solids. I think I’m going to try running my well water through a series of two or three cascaded buckets filled with gravel, sand, and charcoal. If the PH is still too high I’m going to try a diluted phosphoric acid solution to adjust. It’s gotta be better than what I’m doing and it seems cheaper than purchasing a RO system and never ending filter refills (granted I’d have to change the bucket mediums periodically...). I can collect rainwater once the freezing temperatures stop.
I bought a set of Berkey water filters and additional Fluoride filters and made my own from a couple large stainless steel pots. Even at about 230 ppm give or take they clog fairly fast and I constantly have to backwash and flush them out, they run very slow now and mostly on the top 1/3rd of filter. Was ok at first but now it seems clogged and no amount of flushing water through them seems to help much at this point so I just purchased a ro filter meant for aquariums and hope I at least get my money's worth out of it.
maybe check out how to make activated charcoal and build your own, I would.
 
Deadstill

Deadstill

I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.
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Bro I just recently broke down and bought myself an RO system after growing for YEARS with 650ppm well water. At the price I just paid, I wish I would have gotten this a LONG time ago!


Do you have a garden hose? I mean this system I bought comes with exactly what you need to hook it up to your sink with no extra crap involved. It has a self-piercing clamp for the drain water you just screw onto your drain pipe and has a fitting that you install under your sink near the valve for the cold water input for your faucet. It's pretty easy.

The unit itself comes pre-assembled all you have to do is insert the RO membrane. It's the BEST 60 bucks I've ever spent, and I've been to Mexico!! 😆


Buy that unit and I'll help ya install it if you have any questions. TRUST me you'll wish you had spent the money years ago like me!
 
Deadstill

Deadstill

I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.
Supporter
2,161
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All the problems here are overwhelming.

I have pretty severe mental health problems...and every time I want to fix one thing I think of 100 more and then think about the fact that I don’t have the skills to do 97 of them and I just shut down...

my walls are rotting down...pretty sure I heard the whole place shift loudly the other day...it’s really bad.

It’s all I have...

We're all cheering for ya bro, you got this. Hang in there I know how rough it can be.
 
D

dean1963

646
93
can you get a hand held shower wand and take the head off and just use the hose from the shower head to fill the buckets?
you could cut some holes in the bottom of a 5 gal pail for brita filters and another catch pail under it, but i doubt the filters would last long.
good luck

awe shit, i thought this was a new thread
i was searching and came across this but didn't check the date
 

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