Is 187 PPM outta the tap considered bad water for plants?

I'm having some unexplained growth issues that I'm trying to zero in on. After narrowing things down I'm now questioning if the high alkilinity of my water is causing nutrient absorption issues with my plants.

Every where I have read so far has indicated an ideal PPM for plants is around 60. I'm no expert on growing by far and would love to hear some more knowledgeable people set me straight on this. I'm experiencing slowed growth and moderate leaf twisting.

Here are the pics of my 4 gorilla glue clones in 5 gallon hempy buckets. The mix is 50/50 coco and perlite from home depot's black magic brand. I PH to 5.8-6.0. The overall plant health is good, but growth is not typical for what I have experienced in the past growing in hempy buckets. I have moved since I last grew in hempy's and am concerned that my Grand Rapids city tap water is causing me an issue. Thanks for any advice y'all can offer. I'm struggling on this one and am thinking I need an RO filter....

I am using Jack's 3-2-1 by the way. This is my first time using coco and so far am not interested in using it again. I have never experienced a severe magnesium deficiency prior to growing in coco. I had great results with all perlite hempy buckets. Maybe it's just my water though...

get a water report (free) from your muni water supplier. they have to provide you one.

seeing what's in it is step 1.

if it's chloramine, you'll need to get rid of it somehow. think aquarium suppliers since it's not good for fish either.

and i'm with you on coco, i hated it. tried it for a few grows and refused to let my medium cause me problems. went back to dwc/rdwc and hempys too.

Depends what that 187 is made up of. Is it salt? Bleach? Jesus blood? Cant tell you if it will be good or bad.
My tap water is about 450 and I use it just fine but I have to suppliment magnesium because I believe it's high in calcium (calcium can lock out mg if they arnt balanced)

My tap is over 800 ppm, I don't use it for anything except for watering the yard, washing stuff, and shower, but I have rain water bucket to rinse off after shower.
Live on the coast, shallow water table, and very industrial.

Well water in Michigan is fine to grow straight from the tap but in hydro I use R/O
Hard water is a tough critter
I don't see your water being the issue

Did you wash the coco prior to using it?

growingforfun said:

Depends what that 187 is made up of. Is it salt? Bleach? Jesus blood? Cant tell you if it will be good or bad.
My tap water is about 450 and I use it just fine but I have to suppliment magnesium because I believe it's high in calcium (calcium can lock out mg if they arnt balanced)

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Per the 2017 water report it appears to be nearly all CaC03. I did wash the coco prior to use. I see no reason why anybody would use the stuff after all the complications it has caused me this grow. I would never recommend anybody implement coco into their garden. About any other medium is a better option. When I'm growing in hydroponic buckets I have no desire for my medium to interact with my fertilizer or plants. The medium in a hydroponic grow should only serve the purpose of giving something for the roots to attach to. This coco experience has truly been a shit show and I so far cannot fathom any reason why people like the stuff.

gr865 said:

My tap is over 800 ppm, I don't use it for anything except for watering the yard, washing stuff, and shower, but I have rain water bucket to rinse off after shower.
Live on the coast, shallow water table, and very industrial.

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Damn that's some rough water man. Sorry to hear that.

jonnynobody said:

Per the 2017 water report it appears to be nearly all CaC03. I did wash the coco prior to use. I see no reason why anybody would use the stuff after all the complications it has caused me this grow. I would never recommend anybody implement coco into their garden. About any other medium is a better option. When I'm growing in hydroponic buckets I have no desire for my medium to interact with my fertilizer or plants. The medium in a hydroponic grow should only serve the purpose of giving something for the roots to attach to. This coco experience has truly been a shit show and I so far cannot fathom any reason why people like the stuff.

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Add Epsom salt and see of it gets better. I'd start with a tablespoon per 5 gallons and adjust as needed. Not sure what people commonly do but that's what I've been doing.

Google "water reports YOUR CITY", and find out what the last report says is in the water. Hopefully it's calcium, and other useful stuff and not like, arsenic, cyanide or lead...

GG4 Is a calmag hog,theres a thread here somewhere about leaf whirl,in plant problems.I think you'll find it helpful.

myke said:

GG4 Is a calmag hog,theres a thread here somewhere about leaf whirl,in plant problems.I think you'll find it helpful.

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You know that makes a lot of sense, because I thought I was over feeding @ 1000PPM (80% strength jack's 3-2-1 formula) so I watered the following day with 50% @ 740 PPM and the plants don't seem to enjoy the decrease. I think you may have hit the proverbial nail on the head here. Since reducing to 50% I am seeing an increase in twisting.

I will increase the magnesium sulfate concentration on the next feeding and monitor the results.