I have checked out the website of the water company. I couldn't find any breakdowns or levels but found this. Don't know if it will mean anything to you.....

All water supplied by XXXXX Water is
filtered. The XXXXX Filter Plant, a conventional
filtration plant with a treatment capacity of
90 MG D, draws water from Lake 123456.
This plant uses coagulation, sedimentation,
filtration and disinfection to treat the water.
Alum is used in the coagulation step along
with small amounts of sodium hydroxide for pH
adjustment. Chlorine, combined with ammonia,
is used for disinfection to protect against waterborne
diseases and a polyphosphate is added
for corrosion control. Fluoride is provided to
prevent tooth decay.
A state-of-the-art filter plant was placed in
service in July 2000, to provide filtration for
water drawn from the XXXXX and 123456
Reservoirs. This 75 MG D plant is one of the
largest in the United States to use Dissolved Air
Flotation (DAF ) in the treatment process.
The YYYYYY Plant uses an innovative flotation process
for particle removal rather than sedimentation.
The remaining processes and chemicals used are
similar to those at the ZZZZZZ Plant.

Their site also claims to have been voted the best tasting drinking water in North America for 2011...

Maybe I can request a breakdown report of what is in the water, for aquarium needs....

google a water analysis company from oregon. can't provide link here but you should find it/

buy his water analysis kit for a few bucks, he sends you some vials, you fill em up send em back and youget a very detailed analysis.

you have nothing to worry about with only 30 ppms. probably 80 and above will cause issues with LF

watch your ppms and let the plants tell you what they need. it will become really easy after a few weeks with LF. My last grow with LF, I never pH'ed my tub. I just mixed it up at what EC i thought i needed, let it run for 10 days and dumped it and did it again. i checked with drops and it went from orange'ish to light greenish and when it got to greenish it was 10 days old. I only added back RO water. I didn't use the addback.

But with a 70 gal rez, i would use addback and i would start at a goal of only 3 or 4 rez changes for the whole flower cycle. It really does work! Just use your meter and "read" your plants

Most, if not all, municipal water suppliers have public water quality reports that show how much (in ppm ppb ppt) of what is in the water. I'd contact them for a report, if you can't find it online, instead of paying a company to test it but it is up to you.

At least you know the source of your water and what they use to treat it...

Try add-back once you're more comfortable. You'll do a little more work and waste a little more nutrients until then but nutrients for LF aren't that expensive and the waste is still good for your lawn and garden.

OK, SME, i just pulled on my ill fitting tinfoil hat. I'd want an independent analysis. McDonalds' told me their Big Mac value meal was healthy!!! LOL. but there are options. for happy, he's good to go from what I have seen. so if 14 ppms were from xxx and 17 were from yyy it wouldn't really matter.

And the addback is not that complicated either. It says for advanced growers only. Happy is advanced IMO. He's got a rez size where the addback would pay off. and it would be easier on his back. LOL. i think b/t you and I we could get him on the addback ASAP.

and look at his plants, they are awesome looking. no defic's from what i can see.

RKYMTNMAN

I doubt many muni water supplies would lie about what's in the water, these days, since it would be so easy for third parties to double check but if it makes you feel better then pay for the test. However, since we're playing the tin-foil-hat game, how do you know that the muni water suppliers don't have lucrative deals with all of the companies that offer testing to say whatever they want them to say?

You know how "they" are...

He could do add-back but it'd be easier on him to keep it simple for the first grow or two. Less of a learning curve, add more complexity as he gets more comfortable, etc. It really is up to him whether or not he wants to try it now or later...

With a little help and support I'm willing to take the gamble....I am ALL about learning and mastering how to produce top shelf results. I can forgive myself a few mistakes as long as they aren't fatal, and I learn from them. I have been told by several that here and elsewhere that I have put together a jam-up system, very capable of many successful grows. And I'm chomping at the bit to reach that!!

Even though this is still new and challenging to me, I am intelligent, I am good in science and math, have about 10 years of self taught salt water aquarium experience, over 20 years vegetable gardening, and more years than I care to count in design/engineering...I catch on quickly, try to learn from my mistakes and I try to not do anything half-assed.

I am determined and confident that I will succeed at this...it will just be a matter of time, how much I have time to read & research, and the great, expert guidance I get....lol And I do greatly appreciate every bit of it!!

I am willing to learn if you anyone knowledgeable is willing to teach me.... NOT for any savings, just for the experience and gained knowledge!!! Even if you don't help I might still give it a shot...

Happy

BTW....SME, you never did tell me...Carlin fan or Parochial school?? LOL

HappyWeedz wrote:BTW....SME, you never did tell me...Carlin fan or Parochial school?? LOL

These kids today...

Not Carlin but from the same era. Sister Mary Elephant is a character (voiced by Cheech Marin) from Cheech and Chong's 1972 hit comedy album named Big Bambu.

SisterMaryElephant wrote:These kids today...

Not Carlin but from the same era. Sister Mary Elephant is a character (voiced by Cheech Marin) from Cheech and Chong's 1972 hit comedy album named Big Bambu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6OdV85hJr4

Hahaha, I knew that I knew it from somewhere, just couldn't place it.. Thanx!

Well....before lights off I topped off my rez with 4 gallons...BEFORE I found the "add back calculators"...and I think I did ok...

Going from what Rkymtnman said about my ppm moving down I figured my girls were a little hungrier than 1200....and by luck, logic & a little thought, I mixed 4 gallons of tap water with the nutes just a little stronger than orginal fill, ph'd it and dumped it in.....thinking to myself that with a 40+ gallon buffer I had a little room for a small error...

But by whatever, I nailed it!!! Think I got where I wanted!! And hopefully where the girls want it...lol By the time I finished my work in the room (about 20-25 min), the GroChek was making me smile with a reading of 1220!!! I don't even know if raising PPM 10-20 was wise, but that is what my aim was...and I'll see how they react tomorrow.

But now that I have found a calculation that makes sense to me, I think I will try it by the numbers....

If I can get this down I won't need to change water every 7-10 days???

I know people that only change out their reservoir 1 time per grow...