Total newbie from southern Nevada and the tap water here is hard water and probably full of chlorine and other things. Is this ok to use for watering as long as the PH level is correct? If not what would you recommend? I’m not likely getting any rain anytime soon so I can’t collect rain water. Thanks in advance to all you helpful grow bros out there!
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I use a 5-gallon bucket with fish tank bubbler to aerate my city PH 8.5 water for 24 hours (after sitting for 24 hours, prior). PPM under 100.
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I concur with @DEEPDIVERDAVE do the exact same five gallon bucket with air bubbler. I let water sit in there at least 24 hours to let chlorine dissipate then ph to desired level. My tap water is also right around 8.5 ph.
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A cheap RO filter is stellar. Time consuming but worth every penny if you have some patience.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F71QR5L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ARCSG605CCMHBGDWE9K7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
It’s about a 1:1 on clean/dirty water. I collect the “dirty” water in a bucket instead of letting it go down the drain and just feed my roses with it. They don’t care, they’ve been drinking dirty city runoff since the day they were born.
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What is the PH and TDS of your tap water?
I use plain tap my ph is about 7.5 with ppm of 45 i let it sit uncapped for 24 hours also use water collect my dehumidifier it ph at 6.7 and 3 ppms alot of the time i mix the 2 water together
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FYI adding a teaspoon of peroxide will bind and dissipate all chlorine and chloramines present. It only takes a few minutes and leaves no residue.
If growing in soil and not adding supplements you should be fine. If you ARE adding salts, you have to account for the native TDS of water when calculating total salt levels in your solution. I lived in SoCal and the tap water was 550 ppm so going to R/O was necessary. You can find a decent one for under $100.
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I use a mix of rain and tap (well) water. My well is loaded with iron, sulphur, calcium (350ppm). This stuff is not bad but good for plants but I’m trying to balance it with the rain water which gives me @175-200ppm before notes (Jacks 321).
Just ordered a pH meter today so I will check.
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I’m really thinking about this beacuse I’m trying not to spend too much would this be a cheap consistent alternative?? Also what is R/O?
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Hmmm I have alot to learn 
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I’m just now reading more about ppm. I have alot to learn. How would I measure ppm and are there cheap ways to do so?
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RO is reverse osmosis and we all have a lot to learn. That’s why we’re here.
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Thankful there are so many helpful people here!
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A cheep tds (total desolved solids)meter is OK but a cheap pH meter not. I had a cheap pH meter that was one whole number off…useless!
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You’ll get the best education of your life here Growmie 
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Went through 2 cheapies before the Apera, same reason
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This is the one I used and ran it into a 30 gallon plastic barrel. It’s not as efficient as more expensive reverse osmosis filters so be aware if you are in an expensive water area: you might want to capture that to water outdoor plantings. You’ll get 1 gallon of R/O to 2 or 3 gallons of waste.
Buy good instruments. They’re your most used tools growing cannabis. Plan to get calibration and storage solutions as well. PH meters typically need to be kept wet with 4.01 (I think) calibration solution. Bluelab makes a good meter too: I’ve had both Apera (3) and Bluelab and the Bluelab outlasted them all. It does both PH and TDS (ppm).
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Thanks for this info. Never knew this one. 
Going to start using it tomorrow!
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