What is background conductivity and what is good water?
A. The best water is the purest water, one with the lowest amount of unwanted salts and other contaminants. Background conductivity is the measure of conductivity of the water before anything is added. The ‘background conductivity’ of your water is measured in the same way you would measure a nutrient solution. Rain, desalinated or R.O. water and distilled water are all excellent as they have a very low background conductivity. Tap water can vary from excellent to unsuitable. Generally, the best results will be with water where the background conductivity is below 150ppm. The maximum acceptable background conductivity should not exceed 350ppm (see Fig 1). The higher the background conductivity reading the less room there will be for the nutrient and additives (see 18.). Some areas are known to have hard water (see 5 and 6.). The bottom line is you should get the best water possible. Better results ALWAYS come from better water, everything else being equal. IMAGE: 300 grams of salt. If
