Quote:
Originally Posted by cluelessmidwesterner
I just finally got an answer back from my local city water utility.
Quote: "The average hardness last month was 7.2 grains. Hardness varies throughout the year from 7 to 10 grains/gallon"
When asked about total dissolved solids - Quote: "We don’t test for Total Dissolved Solids so I don’t have any values to provide you for that." (insert eye roll here)
I guess I'm mixing RO/Rain/distilled water with my tap water. The question is at what ratio.
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If you want to know the TDS, invest in an inexpensive meter (and a calibration solution for it, so that you'll know that it is working correctly) Then test your water now and then. Many water companies get their water from multiple sources, so TDS is highly variable. (Mine may be 180 ppm on a very good day, 450 on a very bad day, average usually in the neighborhood of 250.) You don't need to stress over exactly what you're using on the plants, but knowing what you have would give you a better idea of how you want to mix it with pure water. The other consideration on using part tap water is to have some idea of what minerals comprise that TDS... if it is mostly calcium and/or magnesium carbonate/bicarbonate, most plants can tolerate it quite well (and benefit from the calcium and magnesium, which are necessary in modest quantities) If it is sodium chloride (salt, as one would get from sea water intrusion) then you would not want to use it on your plants. That info should be in your water analysis.
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