Water PPMs & TDS

[dorjewright]

PPM of my well water is 270; TDS reads 150. Do I still need an RO filter for good tasting smoke?

 

[CropAndGardn]

RO removes the immobile micronutrients as well, a hydro logic pre evolution or house filter from home depot/lowes will filter out stuff that effects taste & smell of the water, I don't think the levels in potable drinking water are high enough to effect the flavor or harshness of your produce. I have noticed a placebo effect though LOL
These filter the sediment & chlorine:
Whirlpool Opaque Whole-House Pre-Filtration Housing 22.00
Whirlpool Whole House Water Replacement Filter 30.00

RO filters sediment, chlorine, lead, cyst & some chemicals. but not micro-organisms or pharmaceuticals.

Sediment, Chlorine Taste and Odor & Micro-Organisms, are the things you want to filter from your water

So nither RO or pre filter are achieving the goal which is to make sure the water you use does not contaminate your medium.

A pre filter with a UV light is what keeps the medium safe

An RO with a UV light will filter a little more but the difference is insignificant, it just makes using cal mag a requirement rather than recommendation.

Plant Roots are a semi-permeable membrane which is what a RO filter is.
If you water with chlorinated water then test the water in the plant for chlorine it wont be there. Some special lab equip might detect it in nanoparts.

 

[Seamaiden]

PPM of my well water is 270; TDS reads 150. Do I still need an RO filter for good tasting smoke?

The issue with whether or not you choose to go with reverse osmosis (or further 'polishing' via deionization) has more to do with your style or method of growing, and how you're accounting for feeding of the plant than anything else, in my experience.

Outside, using organic soil food web methods, I don't even mechanically (particulates) filter my well water. It is very hard at something like 9* dKH (German degrees of hardness, a measure of carbonate hardness) and around 10* GH (general hardness), and a pH that varies from around 8 to as high as 9.

Inside, using coco coir as my medium, and more directly feeding the plant instead of soil biology, I found I absolutely had to use reverse osmosis, because everything else just wasn't cutting it. I landed there through the process of elimination, trying to sort out chronic Ca-. (Sidenote: It was when I separated Ca and Mg feeds that I really saw best results and was able to tease apart better what I was observing.)

So... it's really more to do with how you're growing, IMO.

 

[dorjewright]

The issue with whether or not you choose to go with reverse osmosis (or further 'polishing' via deionization) has more to do with your style or method of growing, and how you're accounting for feeding of the plant than anything else, in my experience.

Outside, using organic soil food web methods, I don't even mechanically (particulates) filter my well water. It is very hard at something like 9* dKH (German degrees of hardness, a measure of carbonate hardness) and around 10* GH (general hardness), and a pH that varies from around 8 to as high as 9.

Inside, using coco coir as my medium, and more directly feeding the plant instead of soil biology, I found I absolutely had to use reverse osmosis, because everything else just wasn't cutting it. I landed there through the process of elimination, trying to sort out chronic Ca-. (Sidenote: It was when I separated Ca and Mg feeds that I really saw best results and was able to tease apart better what I was observing.)

So... it's really more to do with how you're growing, IMO.

Thanks Seamaiden;

Friends say my product smells wonderful but has a harsh acrid taste which diminishes over 6 months or so. I've also found this true of plenty of smoke from the local clubs too so Its not just my problem. I use Roots organic soil and earth juice and teas both inside and out. This summer inside I'm using EJ and GO side by side for a crop of super lemon haze under 2 600s. My water is untreated with clorine but a carbon filter drops the ppms and tds by 30 points (the values above) so unfiltered ppms are just at 300, tds 180. Ph is between 7.5 & 8.

I've also read somewhere that plants store P and that can give a harsh taste. I haven't flushed before harvest. Maybe I should and that might make a difference?

 

[Seamaiden]

I don't flush when using organics, and so far haven't found a need to. What I do do that many others don't always do is add sugars irrespective of whether or not I'm brewing teas. I guess the questions for me would be what are the TDS comprised of? And, could you use perhaps a little more sulfur in your feeds? Could it be that the feed strength needs to be dialed back a bit?

 

[dorjewright]

I don't flush when using organics, and so far haven't found a need to. What I do do that many others don't always do is add sugars irrespective of whether or not I'm brewing teas. I guess the questions for me would be what are the TDS comprised of? And, could you use perhaps a little more sulfur in your feeds? Could it be that the feed strength needs to be dialed back a bit?

I do use Hi Brix mostly in tea so at least once a week. Earth Juice recommends feeding the last 2 weeks with a Catalyst/molassis mix. My side by side trial goes to General Organics - tighter nodes, more vigorous growth in the first 2 weeks of flowering so I'll be dropping the EJ Grow and bloom altogether maybe keep some of the others like Microblast, Primal Harvest, HiBrix.

 

[CropAndGardn]

Potable water or RO won't make a difference in harshness, A placebo test will work every time. Take 4 bags of the same smoke tell the smoker two are fed RO water ones flushed one isnt & two are fed tap water ones flushed one isn't, have them rate from least harsh to most, they will end up thinking there is a distinct difference between the smoke even if its all the same.

Flushing will make a big difference & is important whether your using organics or mineral based ferts. After nutes are metabolized into the plant (organics or minerals) they are the same compounds.

 

[dorjewright]

In the past I've feed every other watering. A tea inbetween. Going to try to back off on the feed, use fresh water at least once in between feeding. But super lemon haze maybe a heavy feeder.