I hav well water with a salt softener. Ph coming out of the tap is 8.0. I have ph up and down and I use a 5 gallon bucket to water with. I add some ph down and mix the water. I use a ph pen on the surface to get a reading. Is this the proper way to treat my water? I read you only need to balance ph when adding nutes. Is this true? Also how do people collect run off for a ph reading? I have buckets lined up on the floor and to get a run off reading I would need to remove the bucket from the room. Place a collection tray under and run some water thru it. I hate PH!! Also I'm using ffof anf ffhf.
ALWAYS pH your water, nutes or not nutes. Yep, just put the pH up/down in and then mix it up, stick the pen in and it should read. When you water your plants, the run off water in the spill trays is typically the pH of your soil, I never do this only because I pH at the same amount every time, but it doesn't hurt to check it especially if you are having issues.
That's an easy 10 - 20 gallons a week for me tho... Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Water softeners remove the "hard" minerals that cause scaling (lime, calcium) and replace them with more soluble salts that wash away and therefore don't clog up showerheads and damage tiles. If I had to use softened water, I'd make sure that I water with plenty of runoff each time to wash away and prevent those salts from accumulating in the soil. Much like you would for any nutrient solution that has the potential for mineral buildup.
No. You need to measure the runoff, that is the number you need to buffer to get in range. Your input water needs to be whatever pH will bring the runoff in line. As DankHerb said, the runoff represents the pH that your plant's roots are experiencing in the soil, after the water has interacted with the soil, amendments, ferts, etc. You won't flush salts away by using even more of the salted water. You need water without high salt levels. To the OP, "well water" just describes the source, not what the water itself is like. All well water is different. You should get your well water tested and then either filter or buy water for your plants (and for drinking yourself).
The more runoff he has with each watering, the less buildup he'll get. OP appears to be avoiding runoff, which in his situation will eventually kill his plants. I do agree that it's not optimal though, I'd try to avoid using it but if it's unavoidable... http://forum.grasscity.com/sick-plants-problems/151756-water-softeners-bad-mj.html
Im sitting on well water and I can tell that is the HARDEST water that I have ever had. Hopefully, OP, yours isnt as hard as mine and the softener does the trick. At one point I was buying water, the best way to do it is 5 gallons at a time for like $2.00. Thats what I did, so I had at least 10-15 gallons of RO water that actually came out the dispenser at a perfect pH level... Flushing will be your biggest task if you are buying water.
Tintizzy, what does the ro filter do and how hard are they to install? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Dank, is ro a filter u can attach to you well system? I'm just confused on what ro is. Also I'd spend some money to avoid buying water at the store constantly. I bought the house about 5 months ago and had the well tested then by a professional company and it passed. Just fyi Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Without a ton of money I dont think you can attach anything like that to a well pump. You can however buy a whole RO ( Reverse Osmosis ) setup for your sink/faucet and then run water through there and into a big barrel or bucket or whatever you want to store it in. What I meant in my earlier post was that I was go to the store with 5 gallon jugs and at the store there is a water dispenser that shoots out Reverse Osmosis water for like $2.00 @ 5 gallons, it just saves you some money instead of buying one gallon at a time.
it removes all impurities by pushing the water through filters before the final ro membrain that nothing but the water can go through...clean water comes out one tube and the bad water comes out the other...i have mine hooked to the washer machine cold output with a garden hose and then run it to my tub so the bad water just goes down the drain..i fill up 5 gallon buckets but you can attach a float valve to a tub if you want it to stop right at the amount you need...mines on a well also but i have pretty good pressure like 60psi...you just need a min of 35 psi or you need a booster pump...heres the one i have http://www.ebay.com/itm/0PPM-Portable-100GPD-Reverse-Osmosis-RO-DI-Filtration-/380341933047?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588e2553f7 you could also probably put it before the water softener so its not working extra hard they have a pipe tap kit also... i have about 350ppm hard water and its been going 3 years with 0ppm output still...i did find the cheap hose adapter they give you leaks cause its all plastic but i found a metal threaded one that works great with no leaks http://www.ebay.com/itm/Garden-Laundry-Hose-Adapter-Connector-for-RO-DI-System-3-4-1-4-plumbing-parts-/350780806641?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51ac2a55f1 defienetly worth it once its hooked up...it runs slow but makes around 3 gal an hr or so depending on pressure
That's true if you assume you are watering with clean water. If you are using salty water it won't be washing salts away, not any more than washing dirty clothes with muddy water will get them clean.
I see your point, OP would be better off using clean water especially in his situation. My opinion is that if he has to use mineralized water, that his medium would maintain an equilibrium if he runs enough of it through his pots.