Watering

[Dad220]

Hi all what water do you guys use tap or rain. I’ve been using rain water just wondering if there’s a difference.

 

[TeddyTough]

I know pro growers use certain water. I use tap. Leave it open so all the chlorine evaporates and then water. And add your nutes if you are using. Which I ain't. Not yet anyway.

 

[TeddyTough]

And they measure the PH levels. I don't. Once again not yet anyway.

 

[Dad220]

I’ve started testing ph levels apparently that’s really important wrong ph they won’t get any nutrients

 

[bluter]

depending on water quality a lot of us will use reverse osmosis water. you see it abbreviated as RO all over the site.

RO water has very few elements in it and will often require a cal-mag supplement as there is not enough trace elements for proper development.

and ph is super important if you want healthy plants. particularly indoor. the soil naturally balances ph if you are outdoor and in the ground direct. otherwise, there are different ph guidelines depending on your grow media.

 

[Dad220]

depending on water quality a lot of us will use reverse osmosis water. you see it abbreviated as RO all over the site.

RO water has very few elements in it and will often require a cal-mag supplement as there is not enough trace elements for proper development.

and ph is super important if you want healthy plants. particularly indoor. the soil naturally balances ph if you are outdoor and in the ground direct. otherwise, there are different ph guidelines depending on your grow media.

But if you had to use rain or tap what would it be

 

[Icemann420]

Rain water would be in the lines of Deionized water is just a super pure form and you will need all trace nutrients and elements and it probably has a high pH of 7 to 7.5

 

[Icemann420]

I’m a ro water user.

 

[Icemann420]

Are you a soil grower or hydro. Ph is one of the most important things next to light. Without proper ph the best light and chemicals are crap. It be like you eating chili with heartburn. Just won’t workout. You get nutrients lockout. And some just won’t be accessible period.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I’ve used rainwater exclusively for the last ten years or more. It has a ph of around 5.6. Technically if it was pure water it would have a neutral ph of 7. However it picks up small amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, making a very weak carbonic acid solution and lowering the ph. (Your rainwater may be more acidic if you live in a place with more air pollution.)

However- the ph value can be considered as basically meaningless since the solution is extremely weak and doesn’t have enough acidity to have much effect on your growing medium. The ppm of rainwater is near zero and even a drop of ph+ or ph- will shift it drastically. Conversely, (if you think of the process in reverse) it just doesn’t have the power to change the ph of your soil or grow medium, except very slowly over time.

The ph of tap water would be more important to regulate since it generally has a higher ppm of dissolved minerals and therefore a bigger impact.

It’s generally very important to regulate the ph of a high ppm solution like a nutrient mix. Unless you are growing in organic soil, then it’s less so because real soil has very good ph buffering qualities.

As it happens, 5.6 is the perfect ph level for my style of growing (soilless and hydro). But even if it wasn’t I wouldn’t bother adjusting it.

 

[Dad220]

Are you a soil grower or hydro. Ph is one of the most important things next to light. Without proper ph the best light and chemicals are crap. It be like you eating chili with heartburn. Just won’t workout. You get nutrients lockout. And some just won’t be accessible period.

I’m doing one in soil one in coco just to see what works best both cheese ones a auto the other photo period see pics

 

[Icemann420]

Natural lighting is the key to picture taking of the plant then we can see the true colors.

 

[Icemann420]

What’s up teddytough how’s things in your worlds.

 

[Dad220]

Natural lighting is the key to picture taking of the plant then we can see the true colors.

Better you think there looking good

 

[Icemann420]

They do look really nice I see a little yellow maybe they could use a bit more nitrogen

 

[Dad220]

They do look really nice I see a little yellow maybe they could use a bit more nitrogen

Thanks how do I get nitrogen into them

 

[Icemann420]

That would be in your nutrients. Maybe step up the grow part. What type of nutrients are you using. At the moment

 

[Dad220]

4ml per litre of water with bio bizz bloom
2ml big bud

 

[Icemann420]

I’m not sure with them nutrients I use general hydroponic.

 

[Dad220]

What are you using