help!..went from 412 ppm to 1030 ppm overnight

so I got 8 tubs that are around 3gallons each. the resevoir holds about 8gallons, so I usually calculate that at full capacity there are 12 gallons all together. My PPM has been high for some unknown reason(around 412ppm)..check this out-> I hook a hose up to the sink and have it dumping into a Brita filter that is on top of a 5 gallon bucket and then when its done I dump it into my resevoir.

yesterday I checked the PPM and it was 400, where it has been. I then added thier first set of nutrients since being moved to the new setup...
Gen Hydro;
the numbers in sequence PER GALLON x GALLONS = TOTAL / 2 = HALF STRENGTH <- what im using
floroGrow -> 12.5 x 12 = 150 / 2 = 75
floroMicro -> 7.5 x 12 = 90 / 2 = 45
floroBloom -> 2.5 x 12 = 30 / 2 = 15
floraBlend -> 10 x 12 = 120 / 2 = 60
floraNectar -> 5 x 12 = 60 / 2 = 30

. I checked it just now after I added 3 gallons of regular Brita water, and the PPM thing says 1030!

this is my first time using FloraNectar this early in veg...its a relatively thick solution, could this be raising the ppm?
FloraNectar is Molasses...If it is the Nectar, is it ok to have the PPM this high?

would the Brita filter go bad and add PPM to the water?

I just checked the PH and its FINE! its about 5.2

THE PLANTS LOOK FINE! But a shift from 400 to 1000 PPM will eventually hurt the plants so please any comments or ideas are welcomed!

O YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Im running a small ducting from my air conditioner to the inside of the resevoir. When it gets hot enough to cool down the plants, it also reduces the temp in the res....however, could something that the AC blows around be causing this problem?

I use the FloraNectar its NPK is 0-0-1 and it doesn't raise the concentration of the solution much, if any. Did you test the water coming out of the brita filter to see what it measured?

yea, it was only 400 in the bucket. I didnt check the res until after I poured it in (today) from the bucket but the day before it was only 400 as well. There has been a slight film that sometimes crusts the top of the res but I got a airstone in there now.

The water is a very light color due to the fact that all that I have given them is a light dose of nutes.

MAYBE the Bubbler broke up that slight film/slime that sometimes gathers at the top and spread it around the system?

I mean they look fine, but the res = 1040PPM and inside each bucket = around 1100PPM!

so your filtered water measures 400ppm before nutes? then you added nutes and now you have 1100 ppm?

TyPo said:

yea, it was only 400 in the bucket. I didnt check the res until after I poured it in (today) from the bucket but the day before it was only 400 as well. There has been a slight film that sometimes crusts the top of the res but I got a airstone in there now.

The water is a very light color due to the fact that all that I have given them is a light dose of nutes.

MAYBE the Bubbler broke up that slight film/slime that sometimes gathers at the top and spread it around the system?

I mean they look fine, but the res = 1040PPM and inside each bucket = around 1100PPM!

Click to expand...

actually, I put the nutes in last night, I remember checking the PH and PPM and they were 5 and 400, normal.

I did add the airstone just last night though, that might be distributing that slight film to the buckets.

does thicker water raise PPM? my air conditioner may have been freezing a small amount of area on the top of the surface and when I put the airstone in it broke up and distributed. I dont think its that.

try calibrating your meter

I did that too. Meter is ok

about the only thing I can think of to explain this would be having some nutrient undissolved when you first measured 400 and then it dissolved later on. I don't think this would be the case using the GH 3 part, so the only other guess would be operator error. sorry typo maybe you should try again and see if you get the same results

having an AC go to your res is a bad idea. The AC just spits of cold air, really cold, and dry

im sure its the AC that is makin your PPM fo up, think about it, the AC is just a fan that blows over cold coils, so that air is getting sucked from somewhere. Is your filter dirty? regardless you are going to get some dirty of some sort by doing it that way

just blowing cold air into your grow room will cool your res, put some mylar on top of your res, a big enough peice that will hang down and protect the sides too, that will lower it as well.....my res temp doesn't want to go about 65F and that is the method i use

I started a new thread, and I also had the AC off while I flushed and it raised again. Unless small amounts of 1040PPM can dilute 12Gallons of 340PPM aaalllllll the way back up to 1040PPM !!

I will try to make it so that the AC does not hit the water directly thought, thanks everyone.