Well Water?

My buddy just dropped a semi operational operation on me… I get here and it’s a clusterfuck!!! Ok I can deal with that and get everything up and running, however, why BIG CONCERN is it’s fed off well water that has a sulfur smell. Is this an issue, can it be solved with RO? Will this fart water effect the flavor and aroma of my finished product? Please give me some feed back. Thanx!

5 Likes

BasicNearBlackbuck-size_restricted

Welcome to Growers Network @louiehashbag :grin:

I use well water but mine doesn’t have that sulfur smell to it. I’m not sure if that would transfer to the taste of the plant or not. I’m sure RO water would be fine but let’s ask if the well water will suffice.

@macgyver_stoner @tdubwilly

5 Likes

I’m gonna have to have it tested. I think I’m going to go wit an ro system just to be safe

1 Like

It shouldn’t.

Sulpur taste will go away, if it is any there to begin with, with a flush of distilled or RO water at the end of the grow.

Now, what you might need to check is the amount of sulphur in your water. To much sulphur will lead to toxicities and lockout of other nutrients

5 Likes

Ok, that makes sense… because these girls look anorexic as fuck. Any advice on how to correct that issue? RO will remove sulfur, won’t it? Or maybe not since it comes from gas… … … humm, perhaps I need to reevaluate this venture.

2 Likes

Yes, in fact there are some cheaper filters you can use for better tasting water in RVs that will work just fine for smell as long as your sulphur levels in your water are not too high…

RO will be a safe bet though

5 Likes

Good looking out my friend

2 Likes

I would have your well water tested.

As @tdubwilly mentioned, it can cause toxicity if too high, but it is a needed element for plants.

There may be other things in your water that won’t smell nor taste bad, and are generally not toxic, but that can lead to anorexic looking plants. TDS or EC will hint at this, but you might want to get a actual test that gives you a breakdown of exactly what is in the well water.

However, a R/O system with a good deionizer cartridge should help with most of this kind of stuff.

~MacG

7 Likes

I’m assuming that you mean a rotten egg or sewage odor. If so, that’s usually an indication of Hydrogen Sulfide gas (H2S) which is dissolved in the water. That said, poor well construction near sewage and septic can also happen though I’ve never seen that personally.

While not a problem in and of itself, other than the odor and taste, it is an indication you should take seriously and have your water tested since you are on a well and have unhealthy plants as well.

I recommend the Well-check test from National Testing Laboratories (https://watercheck.com).

H2S is often accompanied by iron or manganese and can also be caused by sulfates interacting with bacteria which consume the oxygen in the sulfates, converting them to H2S.

Since H2S is a gas, RO will not remove it. Chlorination and aeration are two options depending on H2s levels and other possible issues with the water.

Any time you are growing medicinal cannabis hydroponically, you should plan on filtering the water if it’s over 50 ppm as that level of contamination and above will, at a minimum, affect your nutrient mix and therefore plant health.

7 Likes

And

Is something you probably don’t want to be drinking.

Welcome to the forum… @louiehashbag… have it tested as all have said is the best place to start…

1 Like

Taste it take a sip Lol if it’s good enough for you then it’s good enough for them then check you ppm’s

1 Like

That’s the most common sense answer I’ve got. Well played my dude!

Hope you are joking.

A trip to the ER doesn’t sound like a good time.

2 Likes

I obviously don’t drink the fart water… I drink bottled. That being said @hashone made perfect sense… definitely have to run RO and have it tested.

1 Like

I agree that if it’s good enough for you it’s good enough for the plants indeed, barring the issue of nutrient binding over 50 ppm.

That said, your plants are anemic so, if it’s not good enough for them it’s certainly not good enough for you.

You might be able to get a truck to bring RO water to fill your tank until you get the tests back and can put together a filtration design after you know what you are dealing with and know which type of membrane to select to prevent fouling, or which type of chemicals to inject to prevent iron burn and constant membrane replacement for example.

3 Likes

My old partner was a water treatment specialist u have sulpher dioxide after the to filteration you will need to off gas it with a airston set up it will take 2-3 days depending on the level of sulpher in the water it is mostly harmless but will effect flavor of filanl product I think it effects ph as well

2 Likes

If iron is there you could also have a problem with iron bacteria and will require a water softener b4 to treatment

2 Likes

I went thru the exact thing on a grow setup last yr with him beside me we got it fixed up and had the best crop I ever had

1 Like

We had problems with all of the above even arsenic had to set up a green sand filter to fix that tho

1 Like