PCaddict's 1st Grow Journal

[PCaddict]

Im was using tap. About 75ppm, but duggs wanted me to run it through berkey filter which comes out around 45ppm

How do you like your Berkey filter ? How long does it take to get a gallon of water from it ? My grand father had one a Long time back I cant remember much about it though

 

[PCaddict]

I will be running LOS this time around I hope my filter works well enough.

 

[Darkscotia]

I use tap water but also had my water checked to make sure everything was within proper levels. I allow water to sit out for 48hrs and aerate it as well as a precaution

 

[Sparkey224]

How do you like your Berkey filter ? How long does it take to get a gallon of water from it ? My grand father had one a Long time back I cant remember much about it though

Hey @PCaddict. It usually takes about couple hours maybe to make a gallon.
I really like it, but with bigger setups. Im sure there's better options. I think @seedlingmtl is using one too. He seems to have a bit more insight on the Berkeys.

 

[PCaddict]

Hey @PCaddict. It usually takes about couple hours maybe to make a gallon.
I really like it, but with bigger setups. Im sure there's better options. I think @seedlingmtl is using one too. He seems to have a bit more insight on the Berkeys.

Yeah I seen that Seedling got one not too long ago. I was just wondering if it would be able to make enough water in time when I water the girls. Last crop was drinking 8gallons of distilled water every three days. I am wondering if it is worth the investment. They are a little pricy from what I have seen

 

[Pennywise]

I’ve had more deficiencies and lockouts with RO than I have tap water. I spent a lot of money on an RO system and used it on one grow then went back to tap water.

 

[shottafire]

I’ve had more deficiencies and lockouts with RO than I have tap water. I spent a lot of money on an RO system and used it on one grow then went back to tap water.

This is especially true I feel in coco. The tap acts as a buffer and keeps the ph from doing crazy things in the root zone. Not sure if that’s what it is but just my guess. I agree with you though!

 

[Pennywise]

It seems that way to me, just fewer surprises with tap.

 

[equinox]

Hey PC did you ever fess up to the wife about the additional lights.......

 

[Fudo Myoo]

Hey PC did you ever fess up to the wife about the additional lights.......

The real questions.

 

[PCaddict]

Hey PC did you ever fess up to the wife about the additional lights.......

No I haven't yet Lol, At this point I think I will wait a while longer before I say anything

 

[Darkscotia]

No I haven't yet Lol, At this point I think I will wait a while longer before I say anything

Or just don’t say anything at all lol

 

[PCaddict]

It seems that way to me, just fewer surprises with tap.

I am going to buy what I can and use my filter for the rest. I don't want to harm the herd, I am really glad you guys said Tap water works fine, That eases my mind about the water situation and weather my filter will work or not

 

[Pennywise]

Remember that cannabis actually uses Chlorine.

 

[Graytail]

If I can pipe up with some stuff I learned ...

The chlorine/chloromine issue is mainly a problem for LOS type grows, where we depend on the soil organisms to feed the plant. If you're using chemicals, it's no big deal. The chlorine will dissipate overnight. The chloromine purposely doesn't dissipate. You have to remove that somehow. A simple inline hose filter like you've shown here takes out both.

The other issue is minerals. RO water has zero minerals. That's not always a good thing. Minerals will flow from one place to another by osmosis. Whichever has the lower concentration will absorb minerals. So in some cases, RO will suck minerals OUT of your mix. (And your body, for that matter - be wise).

Bad water (high hardness - over 120 - check your city report) has too much calcium and magnesium, and it'll turn your soil alkaline, screw up your nutrient balance, and raise pH.

I use an inline filter and RO and I mix enough filtered to put my hardness at about 80. If your tap is 120 or less, it's the best source, once you filter out the chlorines.

 

[Fudo Myoo]

I found my city water report online. It has a list of contaminants and on this list under a subsection for treatment, lists chlorine and it’s byproducts and nothing else. Am I safe to assume that they’re only using chlorine? @Graytail ? I couldn’t find a number for hardness.

 

[Seedlingmtl]

That berkey filter I got is working well. It can process about 2 gallons of water in about an hour or so....I don't time it, I just have a 5 gallon bottle under the spigot and I fill and empty until my bottles are full. Right now I am consuming about my max with a few weeks of flower left and no issue keeping up. If all 4 of my plants are needing to be drenched I need about 8 gallons every couple days. My plants are staggered for water, so I really only need to have 4 or 5 gallons at a time.

On top of that, my water consumption at my house is 100% filtered water. Straight tap is only used for washing.

After switching from RO bought from the store.....it is almost already paid off in what I usually pay for RO. It leaves the "good" mineral content and removes contaminants. Such a good buy.....especially with this covid stuff ...I wouldn't be able to have enough RO right now and most likely run into major issues.

 

[Graytail]

I found my city water report online. It has a list of contaminants and on this list under a subsection for treatment, lists chlorine and it’s byproducts and nothing else. Am I safe to assume that they’re only using chlorine? @Graytail ? I couldn’t find a number for hardness.

Yours is probably chlorine only then - letting it sit for a day will take care of that. So it's just the hardness. Do they give you a ppm number for minerals at least?

 

[Fudo Myoo]

Yours is probably chlorine only then - letting it sit for a day will take care of that. So it's just the hardness. Do they give you a ppm number for minerals at least?

Thanks, I’ll check. Got to find it again...

 

[PCaddict]

I just dropped the Sweet Tooth seeds in the #1s . They had some nice little tails on them. So now I have one amnesia Fast that has broke the surface and the other one hasn't poked her head up out of the dirt. I have my fingers crossed because the Amnesia Fast were left out the other night and it dropped to the low 40s with crazy wind and rain. The one was already up out of the dirt when I left them out and it hasn't skipped a beat, Looking Great so far. She must be one hell of a fighter to have made it through that so she is special already. I am not sure if the other one is going to pop its head out of the dirt or not so I may have to pop another seed.

Anyway my next grow is off to an OK start. The first two Sweet Tooth seeds didn't crack. I still have them in the paper towel and if they make it I will give them to my buddy