What is the PPM and PH of your tap water?

Personally I have noticed no difference between using tap water and using the water from my fridge that is filtered. I have used a PH pen and a PPM pen. No difference whatsoever. However, after I use my nutes (megacrop) it always drops the PH down to around 6.4 so I don't really have to measure it. I never measure the PPM when I feed either. I just used half tsp and its been working so I go with it

Being a cocoholic I'm jealous. Lol
From everything I read, soil buffers and tolerates tap much better than say coco or hydro.

TintEastwood said:

My municipal tap is great on ppm and ec.
BUT...if fookin fluctuates randomly throughout the year. Both the ppm and ph.
40ppm
To
240ppm

So I quit that and went RO for consistency, and PH stability.

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We get fluctuations here in Portland when the Bull Run supply gets low and they start adding groundwater from the Columbia river groundwater wells.

xtsho said:

Something's not right. What kind of pipes are in your residence? Is it on a concrete slab? If you have an issue with a pipe the concrete slab can leach stuff into the water raising the pH. But I have a hard time believing that your water is actually 9.4 pH from the tap.

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You may be on to something in regards to my pipes. If I take a reading on the other end of the house in the kitchen the 8.8 drops to 7.7. Go back to the original spot it gets up to 8.8 again. Tried several times and the results are very consistent and I notice the pressure at the bathroom is considerably less than the pressure in the kitchen. Copper piping (1977), no slab on grade, piping is in my crawlspace. Something is apparently gunking up the works in the back of the house. Into the crawlspace I go, might be time for a re-pipe soon - D'oh!!!.

have to check ppm, but my pH is high, 8.8

TintEastwood said:

Being a cocoholic I'm jealous. Lol
From everything I read, soil buffers and tolerates tap much better than say coco or hydro.

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It isn't the soil but the biology innit. Soil in general is insane. I believe there is almost as much life in soil as there is in the ocean. We can accomplish with coco too using dry amendments in conjunction with dolomite and azos

ebcrew said:

have to check ppm, but my pH is high, 8.8

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Right there with you @ 8.5 curious what ur ppms are at. Well I guess all these posts have me considering RO again after all. I think I'm going to try the hose fitment suggested by wizzle prior to the RO.

After you calibrated it in the 4 solution. Did you then clean it off with distilled water, then check it in the 6.8 / 7 solution again, and adjust as necessary?
I've had to repeat the same process a few times before, until they both registered correctly, using cheap ones.

Just a thought.

mistergrafik said:

Right there with you @ 8.5 curious what ur ppms are at. Well I guess all these posts have me considering RO again after all. I think I'm going to try the hose fitment suggested by wizzle prior to the RO.

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give me a bit ill go check

@mistergrafik

i was off on the pH , its much higher (9.1). I often use distilled water or just pH down the shit out of the tap. The ppms arent too bad (186).

.

Processed town tap water ppm 170 pH 7.2

Streight from the lake is about the same.

But I did have some interesting issues, in the spring the pH and ppm changed. I’m thinking spring run off and melting and whatnot

I think @xtsho is spot on about the lime / cement.

Handy info to know here -

Would seem between 6.5 - 8.5 is considered completely normal, as far as your local is concerned.
Also if it's coming from cement mains, up to 9.2 seems completely normal too.

RO might be one's only choice in the end.