water problems

Hi lems, I use tap water but ph it. Other people I know use bottle water with the ph stamped on it here. What ever u choose I think u have to get the ph within tolerance, coco 6. 5 ph is good , with soil I always use ph7. Try and keep the water the same ph through the whole grow as it saves lots of problems. No expert but sure others will let u know there experiences. Welcome as well lems👍

@lovetoflyfish how do i change ph up or down

@lemsthefarmer I use tap water and it’s 8 ph , so cut a lemon and squeeze the juice in ,drops it down to 7 ph. U have to buy a ph tester it’s really a must buy man.I help a old lady out and she buys bottled water with the ph stamped on it ph6.5 and she does fine man

I've used apple cider vinegar before to drop PH. And yes you MUST buy a PH meter. I found our tap water here is exactly 7 to 7.1. After nutrients its between  6.5 and 6.8. Amazon has some good ones for cheap too. 

@colacody well said check ph after adding nutrition, as it will change the water ph.keeping me right cody😁

It depends what your water from your tap is like mate.

There is something called "Background EC". This will tell you how much trace elements are in the water before adding any food. 

In some places, the tap water is great, in others, not so much. 

You can check with your local water supplier to see what they put in the water and how much, but its best to get an EC meter and check yourself to see whats in the water before adding food. 

If its above 0.4, itll be a good idea to use bottled water. You can mix bottled water, with tap water until it at the desired BG EC. This will save money. 

But if youre in the UK< your water is probably good straight out the tap mate. 

In some cases a grower might use "Reverse Osmosis" Set ups to completely remove everything from the water. Can be expensive, but if your tap water is very "hard" it might be a good investment 

Perfect explanation Macky, once again leave it to a writer to find the right words. 100% agree as that the seemingly overlooked EC meter will soon solve a myriad of potential problems when things go sideways. I’m my opinion money well spent on peace of mind and higher yields and better quality possible too.