Hey, fellow growers. I've got a bunch of white schmutz in my water tub. Here's my deets: -60 litre tub -Active Aqua 6watt 4 stone air pump -Hydro Farm ph down No nutrients at all, so please don't tell me it's a salt buildup. I have looked at different opinions on similar questions and the only answers centered around nutrients and salts. Crud is rubbery/soft and formed after about 2 weeks.
What kind of water? Has it been checked for purity? Is this with or without plants, and if with plants, how big? That stuff can't come from nowhere.
City water. No plants. Just a tub of ph'd water that I keep oxygenated with an air pump so I can hand water. My water comes out of the tap at 7, but after offgassing chlorine tends to settle at 8.2. I'll add enuff ph down to get it to 6.5. And now crud.
I think you have proved that your city water has crud, or something that reacts with pH Dn. If the pH Dn causes a fine precipitate, it could take awhile to settle. I doubt you would have this problem with RO water. Cheap RO systems (<$70) are available from PureWaterClub, ROBuddy, and probably many other places.
In truth, other than being ugly and, well... cruddy, it's not having any major negative effect. The crud is all settled at the bottom. I'll probably just use the remaining water and clean up. Close my eyes and hope for the best.
I think, I’m not sure, but I think that’s one of the reasons hydro guys use products like hydroguard that, if I understand it correctly, prevents that slimy whitish buildup you’re seeing in you water storage (I use the same method). When you throw roots into the equation I imagine the same crud is what the hydroguard might prevent on them. Maybe, spitballing here.
On the bottom of the tank ! Normally sodium and calcium floats to the top . 8.2 normally means your water has hi amounts on minerals . Hydro guard / bleach ,, never used the stuff …. I change my water every 10 days ……. I use Canna Nutrients . Normally I don't use Cal Mag any more . RO systems , my water is so hard that the first RO system I bought only produced about 12 gallons a day . RO performance has allot to do with water pressure and how hard the water is . The RO system I have now produces about 200 gallons a day . I run anywhere from 8 to 12 thirty gallon rdwc systems Normally I use about 2500 gallons of RO water per month . I flush for 5 to 7 days every 5 weeks .