I was wondering what everyones favorite hose filter was for well water?? Thanks!!
@brianjasiewicz how many gallons per day are you looking to produce? Any known hard minerals or anything like that in your water? Our ppm out of the tap is over 800 here in my town, we have to filter everything!
I have not done a water test at this property. I am guessing I will be needing about 500 gallons per day.
I’ll see if I can snap a few pictures of my neighbors setup; he’s got a filter system he put in recently and he’s been very happy with the results (I have too, he shares his water with me haha!) One thing to keep in mind is there is a lot of waste/excess that gets drained off, he’s got it watering his lawn (and man his grass is tall already,) so maybe keep that in mind as well.
Thanks man…I would really appreciate that!!
I read in your previous post that you haven’t yet gotten your well water tested. HydroLogic can help you get your water tested if you would like. Info on our well water test kit is here: Well Water Analysis Kit.
If you would like to work with your own lab to get your water tested, I can email you the list of key contaminants we look for in order to suggest the proper setup to filter it.
Let me know if you have any questions.
- Sara from HydroLogic
How often should you have a water source like a well tested?
We need to know your source water chemistry before recommending the proper setup to purify it.
If a cultivator is using unfiltered well water for growing cannabis and wants to ensure that the contaminants in the water will not cause issues for the plants, we would recommend that he/she tests the well water monthly.
However, using a reverse osmosis filtration system will eliminate fluctuating water quality from being a variable in the garden. It will ensure that you have a consistently pure RO water base for each plant feed formula. You do not need to get a detailed water analysis of the RO product water. But we do recommend monitoring the TDS/EC of the RO product water to ensure the RO membranes are rejecting 95-99% of the contaminants in the source water. If the membranes do not have a high % rejection, that’s when you know it’s time to change them.
If you are simply wanting to filter particulates, a GrowoniX SediSCRUB-XL will handle that and directly connect to a garden hose… But, whether growing medical cannabis in soil or or with hydroponic methods, a reverse osmosis filtration system is a must, in my opinion, for full control of the nutrient mix and to eliminate contaminants.
After all, you are growing medical grade plants. Glyphosate is reported to be contributing to cancer development at small parts per billion.
For water analysis, I recommend the CompleteRO Screen from National Testing Laboratories: Complete RO Screen | National Testing Laboratories, Ltd. – Watercheck , which analyzes everything needed for characterizing RO performance and covers most everything needed for growing, including Boron.
Depending on your local geography and obvious water characteristics (sulfur smell, black slime, etc.), you may want additional tests for radiologicals, glyphosate, etc. For well water you definitely should get bacteria tests, especially if in an area with grazing cattle.
HydroLogic offers the NTL Well Water and City Water test kits for $180. You will find more info here: Water Containment Testing. Results will come back in about 10 business days.
We also offer a less detailed water analysis through one of our local labs for $160. Those results will come back in around 3 to 5 business days.
I generally recommend having a well retested about every three years, unless you notice major changes in water qualities (smell, taste, color, etc.), which usually is due to spring runoff or the well running dry.
Of course, this depends on your local geography, water table height, well source and local/regional developments in agriculture or industrial activities potentially affecting the water table.
Pretty much everywhere in Colorado has high hardness. With geologic filtration effects upon the water traveling southward along rivers, water generally reduces in hardness. Except for Florida!
My local water runs 200-350 ppm during the year, but i still have a (1,200 GPD) whole house reverse osmosis system since ‘fluoride’ is a known neurotoxin and skin is the largest organ.
A global water quality visualization portal is here: http://portal.gemstat.org/
(note: hover over the vertical bars to get the measurement data - frequency is number of samples)
Oh, and @brianjasiewicz; I recommend a filter that has a capacity 3 times the demand. You will thank me later!