EC Levels

[Ruben_Redd]

Ok Brains Trust,

Now I have finally received my EC meter and I'm getting my head around EC in and EC out (Coco/perlite) I have a problem. My tap water is already ~1.4. I know it's high but I live in a rural area. Now I know EC just measures the conductivity and useless components components of the water are measured as well.

But what can you do is this case ? Just feed the plant at the recommended nute levels and watch for deficiencies...?

Cheers

 

[Bullfrog]

I would say that EC is criminal. I would get a rainwater tank if you can or buy a small reverse osmosis filter.

 

[Pikey]

Not sure what area you're in, but you should be able to get the water quality data for most areas online these days. Would help to figure out what is causing the EC to be so high .

If you're in SEQ it's available here.

Or, if you know which supplier you're with, you can go to their page.

eg. Urban Utilities supply for greater Brisbane 2022 (ignore the initial pages of BS, all the data is in the appendices).

 

[Ruben_Redd]

I would say that EC is criminal. I would get a rainwater tank if you can or buy a small reverse osmosis filter.

Yeah super high. I know the EC meters can be out a bit but I tested it against demin water and bottled.

 

[Ruben_Redd]

Not sure what area you're in, but you should be able to get the water quality data for most areas online these days. Would help to figure out what is causing the EC to be so high .

If you're in SEQ it's available here.

Or, if you know which supplier you're with, you can go to their page.

eg. Urban Utilities supply for greater Brisbane 2022 (ignore the initial pages of BS, all the data is in the appendices).

 

[Ruben_Redd]

Yeah cheers I'll chase it up..

 

[Old fox]

Those readings of 1.4 e.c. for tapwater don't seem correct. Has your local water authority deemed it safe to drink? Can you borrow a different ec/ppm meter to test it again?

 

[Indy]

Yeah, thats a wild EC reading. I'd be finding another source of water to work with.

 

[VinDeezle]

We had waste water plants breach the river and end up in our drinking water last year during the floods. They issued warning about the water quality and it only hit an EC of 0.8 and I thought that was insane.

I do have a few mates who live out stick who get water delivered...it's regularly 0.8-1.1 EC as well which is kinda crazy.

For reference our tap water here is what I consider a pretty high EC at 0.4-0.5.

 

[Ruben_Redd]

Those readings of 1.4 e.c. for tapwater don't seem correct. Has your local water authority deemed it safe to drink? Can you borrow a different ec/ppm meter to test it again?

I did test it against demin water and it read next to nothing so took that as a zero check anyway. The plants seem fairly healthy though so fingers crossed. Might get anther meter. It was only cheap.

 

[Bullfrog]

I did test it against demin water and it read next to nothing so took that as a zero check anyway. The plants seem fairly healthy though so fingers crossed. Might get anther meter. It was only cheap.

have you calibrated it with calibration fluid ??
you cant calibrate it against an EC of 0
apparently you can also check it with 1 gram of salt in 1 litre of demin water should have an EC of 1.0
personally id prefer to use the calibration fluid

 

[Indy]

I bought Bluelab's calibration fluid once. Only really got to use it that one time as well. They reckon it only has a shelf life of 3 or 6 months once opened, going by what was printed on the bottle.

Might want to check that out before purchasing it, if you're considering that route.

 

[Goonie Goat]

These filters work pretty well but from memory I think they don't filter all the magnesium in the water but still made my tap water taste so much better (think they call them candle or urn filters can't remember). Or spend more on a RO filter as mentioned

 

[Bullfrog]

These filters work pretty well but from memory I think they don't filter all the magnesium in the water but still made my tap water taste so much better (think they call them candle or urn filters can't remember). Or spend more on a RO filter as mentioned

yeah they dont remove mineral so you're probably left with calmag
I have a counter top one for drinking water which has an EC of 0.3 so its not bad. not sure how many litres its good for

 

[Stackr]

I have some EC meters, best to calibrate them, sometimes you get calibration fluid with them, and they have a calibration program, but you have to use their fluid.
Like pH meters, I just use them to see if its the same as yesterday or last week, consistency and balance is the key.

 

[Bullfrog]

consistency and balance is the key

 

[Stackr]

yes sensei