well water!!

[westbuds]

id like to use my well water but dont know what to do...
how should i treat or shock water and how much.
i dont have reverse osmosus.
my water was checked for hardness they said something about 45 to 50 hardness.
and should i check anything else about the water.
somebody said something about useing cooper somehow i dont know, any help would be thankfull.
those trips to store for water are not cool and get pricey
thanks.

westbuds Reviewed by westbuds on 04-25-2008. well water!! id like to use my well water but dont know what to do... how should i treat or shock water and how much. i dont have reverse osmosus. my water was checked for hardness they said something about 45 to 50 hardness. and should i check anything else about the water. somebody said something about useing cooper somehow i dont know, any help would be thankfull. those trips to store for water are not cool and get pricey thanks. Rating: 5

[stinkyattic]

Your water sounds fine for a soil grow. If you see the runoff pH dropping faster than you expected, add calmag plus.
Don't use copper around plants. They need only TRACE amounts supplied by the fertilizer; anything more is very toxic.
Edit: I'm silly, I see this is a HYDRO grow lol!
It should still be fine, but add calmag up to 300ppm before adding your nutes.

[westbuds]

what about shocking my well and how much and when i should do it ? and sometimes i get a little sulfur smell not alot that might be because i need to shock it.

[stinkyattic]

I don't know much about shocking a well; I always thought that was to treat for bacteria, which really don't affect your grow if you keep your 'zyme' products up to date and the res properly aerated.
If you get a sulfur smell, you will want to watch for signs of lockout from too much S in the water, but plants DO use some- it is not necessarily a deal-breaker for using your well water on a hydro grow, but something you need to be aware of and monitor.
You also need to be aware of the pH coming out of your well. You will need to set your reservoir in the correct range for hydro, whcih is 6.0 +/- ~0.3.