Indoor Treating City water and perfecting pH

[CannCan]

Hey folks, unfortunately RO and rainwater is out of the question for me (and I'm not buying water) therefore my sole option is city tap water. I know that the main threat involved with municipal water is the chlorine and the chloramine? (correct me if there are other pertinent harmful elements).

To my understanding it just takes time for the Cl to leave the water, so for my first couple grows I would use tap water that had sat for at least 2 days. Similarly when I top off my beta's tank I would use the same tap water that had been sitting BUT I would treat the water with ordinary tap water aquarium treatment solution.

My success (both buds and beta) has always been average. I'm at the point where I seek improvement, therefore I've done some research...

For my upcoming grow I will be using oxygenated water (pump and air stone), a pH tester to ensure perfect pH, and very little added nutrients as the focus will be on how water will improve my results.

Now that i've given a bit of background, I have a few questions;

1- Will letting my tap water sit and oxygenate for at least a couple days sufficiently remove all the chlorine and other harmful elements? would using a tap water conditioning solution be beneficial or redundant after oxygenation?

2- is the ideal pH range of water and soil the same (5.8-6.5)? of course pH preference is strain dependent , but for DP autos does a soil pH of 6.2 and a water pH of 6.0 seem to be a good starting point?

I appreciate any time and energy put into a response, some re-assurance is always nice! Thanks!

 

[Scott817]

I use tap water so no worries there. I bubble my tap water with a little pump and airstone and that helps get the chlorine out. . I adjust my ph during that time and always bubble for a day or so before using.

THe ph range you listed is for soil. If you are using a soiless media like sunshine or promix you will want to lower that some.

 

[CannCan]

Thanks man, very reassuring... so i've been testing my water with a new pH pen i got and I've been getting readings in the 8.5 range which seems really high? since I will be lowering the pH quite a bit, and can do so with accuracy, which pH should i go for? is it typical to start with a higher pH and slowly lower it?

I suppose all these questions can be answered after some trial and error observing the plant, just wondering if anyone has any personal preferences and why?

 

[low_and_slow]

Did you calibrate your pen? A lot don't come dialed in from the factory.

 

[Eekman]

Canncan,

Those numbers do seem high. Our city water is at about 8.0, You should be able to check online what your last city water report was. Make sure your stick is calibrated, usually they come calibrated, but... sometimes they slip up. and the thing is if you knew your stick was not out of calibration, but the set point is different, then you could just adjust your PH level to the differnce in your readings, as opposed to adjusting back to a number. But since you can't be sure, do make sure your stick is on target. If you don't have a way of calibrating, check the stick of some known PH, like the city water. (it will always be within a point or two.) Then at least you know you are checking with a good stick.

my two cents,

Eek

 

[CannCan]

Thanks guys, it was calibrated at the store, then not too long ago I re-calibrated (they gave me the solution and all that jazz). I checked water that had been sitting out for a few days (*) and it was 7.9 so I'm feeling better in that department... my big oxygenated supply (filled it up at 6 pm last night) has been consistently lowering with its last reading at 8.4, so i figure its well on its way to 7.9ish. These numbers make sense to me!

---------Side Bar----------> I just popped my freshly germinated Mazar and Think Different into soil after 48h germ, unfortunately the Blueberry which started germinating at the same as the other two hasn't showed many signs of activity... I figure I should give it another 2 days or so before either switching techniques or getting worried?

Back to pH, those freshly planted Mazar and TD have been receiving that 3 day sitting water (*) which i pH corrected using lemon concentrate (super potent apparently) to 6.2, In y'alls opinion is 6.2 an okay place to start or should i start higher? I'm not quite fantastic at knowing which nutrient elements my babies require at which stage in life, but I do know there is an ideal pH range for specific elements to be consumed at... anybody?

also a chart that shows the progression of nutrients requirements corresponding with ideal pH range could be handy for noobs or ppl having a difficulty grasping the topic...

 

[CannCan]

CORRECTION- in the first paragraph, my most recent reading of freshly poured and oxygenating water was 8.2 NOT 8.4

 

[MeefChief]

 

[CannCan]

thanks man I've read through the pH manual a couple times, i suppose i was wondering which nutrients are needed most and when specifically they're needed throughout the life of the plant, and then i'd correlate to the gtables in the pH manual, but i realize this is a completely different subject. Thanks again

 

[UrbanFarmer]

My city water sucks too, after 24 hours of bubbling it still reads 8.1 to 8.4 range. I use a BlueLab PH pen and i keep it calibrated.