Soft water has an EC level of below 0.4. With CANNA CALMAG AGENT you can raise your EC level to 0.4.

Normal water has an EC level between 0.4 and 0.6. It contains calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate to stabilise the pH. All CANNA products are designed to work best with this type of water.

Hard water (EC>0.6) contains more calcium and magnesium than the plant can handle. When you’re growing plants, the best way to treat this kind of water is to use a reverse osmosis filter and then mix your hard water with the R.O. water, until you reach an EC level of 0.4. Or, more easily, you can use 100% R.O. water and then use CANNA CALMAG AGENT to raise your EC level to 0.4.

Bad water (EC>0.6) contains mainly sodium and chloride. These two elements block the uptake of nutrients and can even become toxic to your plants. With a reverse osmosis filter, you can remove both these elements. But making a mixture of R.O. water and bad water will not bring in enough calcium and magnesium, only bicarbonate to stabilise the pH. Make a mixture of R.O water with the bad water until you reach an EC of 0.2 and then add CANNA CALMAG Agent to this water until you reach an EC level of 0.4, or use 100% R.O. water in combination with CANNA CALMAG AGENT until you reach EC level 0.4

How can you test the difference between hard water and bad water?

The best way to find out is to:

1. ask your water supplier
2. have your water analysed (done by an official laboratory)

You can also test the water yourself using an EC meter and two small tests based on colour indication. First, measure the EC to be sure it is not SOFT or NORMAL water:

• EC 0.0-0.3: the water is SOFT
• EC 0.4-0.6: the water is Normal

If the EC >0.6, continue with the TEST (to determine which elements contribute to the EC measured).

• A testing kit can be bought in an aquatic shop.
• Buy the kH and the gH bottles.
• If the gH (Gesamthärte = general hardness) < 8 (drops), the water is BAD, e.g. the EC consists mainly of sodium, chloride etc. not calcium and/or magnesium.

If the gH is > 8 continue with the TEST.

• kH (Carbonat-Härte = carbonate hardness) < 8, the water is also BAD, e.g. the water is not sufficiently pH buffered.
• kH > 8, the water is HARD