Ah Ranger. I worked in the water industry for a while too! Sounds like you may have worked the water treatment end, while I worked the other end. I worked for water resources international. We made filtration systems & RO units. While water treatment plants were busy pumping chems into the water, we were busy filtering it back out! Haha!
-- I've taken the little rockwool cubes in the little baskets & hung them along the back rim of my aquariums (where the bubbles rise from the air stones) with clones in them. Rooted faster than any other way I've done it. That was due to the hormones in the tank water. The natural nutes kept them healthy, but its the hormones that encourage the rooting.