10ickyfingers
New Member
Usually have good luck with ocean water or fresh water, just depends on what the tide is doing when I'm dipping from the river.
What is the best type of water to start with?
- Thread starter Smokin Moose
- Start date
redfox30
New Member
The ideal water to start should have a neutral pH and be relatively free of chlorine and other harmful chemicals.
BWC BayArea
Member of the Month: 3rd Place Winner
Distillation
No, distilled water would be the evaporated, condensed water collected as a result of boiling. Kinda like a by product of an extract or an extract (depending upon the substance being boiled).
The process involves at least 2 containers. One to boil, the other to catch. The 2 can be connected by glass or other high temp resistant materials such as stainless steel. This is how I understand the process. Distilled water is an affordable option for a small grow.
No, distilled water would be the evaporated, condensed water collected as a result of boiling. Kinda like a by product of an extract or an extract (depending upon the substance being boiled).
The process involves at least 2 containers. One to boil, the other to catch. The 2 can be connected by glass or other high temp resistant materials such as stainless steel. This is how I understand the process. Distilled water is an affordable option for a small grow.
Re: Distillation
Thanks! I'll go get a 99cent jug of distilled water for my next grow attempt.
Thanks! I'll go get a 99cent jug of distilled water for my next grow attempt.
If you use distilled water, don't you have to add additives like cal/mag? I started to use distilled and was told that it was short on these vital minerals. Was told the city water here where I live is fine so I have been using tap water that I let sit out. But I would prefer distilled. Just worried about the lack of minerals.
Distilled water-Are you mixing nutrients with the distilled water?? If you just use distilled water plain it will leach all the nutrients out of your soil, which is good for doing a flush. If you add nutrients, it should be ok.
Well Water-Well water should be the best to use since it's the most natural & should have nutrients that are good for your plants. I have a friend with a well that's 800 ft down with the pump at 400 ft. She has the purest water the surrounding city has ever checked. I'm going to get some and test it to see where it stands. She has a fabulous garden (veggies), I know she's not using nutes like we do. I can only imagine what it would do it with some of our medical plants. I wouldn't use it through a water softer/purifier, that takes to many of the good, natural elements out of the fresh water. Perhaps get your water tested to see where it stands.
I use the city tap water (same as paul1791), let it sit for at least 24 hrs, usually more, then add nutes and ph @ 7.0. So far that's done fine for our plants & the others I know in our area.
I love growing these plants!
Well Water-Well water should be the best to use since it's the most natural & should have nutrients that are good for your plants. I have a friend with a well that's 800 ft down with the pump at 400 ft. She has the purest water the surrounding city has ever checked. I'm going to get some and test it to see where it stands. She has a fabulous garden (veggies), I know she's not using nutes like we do. I can only imagine what it would do it with some of our medical plants. I wouldn't use it through a water softer/purifier, that takes to many of the good, natural elements out of the fresh water. Perhaps get your water tested to see where it stands.
I use the city tap water (same as paul1791), let it sit for at least 24 hrs, usually more, then add nutes and ph @ 7.0. So far that's done fine for our plants & the others I know in our area.
I love growing these plants!
BWC BayArea
Member of the Month: 3rd Place Winner
Creek Water
This is kinda iffy in my opinion. Here in the bay area, most creeks I've lived around just collect and move rainwater and runoff from the gutters from city streets. So oil, soap, antifreeze/coolant, alcohol, drugs, etc. all washes down these drains from leaky vehicles/roads and poor recycling/disposal habits. The best advice I can think to give is to not count out the water in ur creek (especially if u intend to use the water for outdoor growing) until u test it and see/know whats in it. Just my 2 cents.
This is kinda iffy in my opinion. Here in the bay area, most creeks I've lived around just collect and move rainwater and runoff from the gutters from city streets. So oil, soap, antifreeze/coolant, alcohol, drugs, etc. all washes down these drains from leaky vehicles/roads and poor recycling/disposal habits. The best advice I can think to give is to not count out the water in ur creek (especially if u intend to use the water for outdoor growing) until u test it and see/know whats in it. Just my 2 cents.
I would agree with BWC BayArea, although I would test it to be sure. Do you know where the stream starts from? Maybe try it on one plant and see how that one reacts from it, as a tester. I wouldn't use on the whole crop but a trail of one plant won't hurt. I would also let it sit out before using it for at least 24hr just in case. There could be parasites, that might not be good but there are good elements that could be there to.
I would love to hear the out come of you trying it on one plant. I hope it works good!!
I would love to hear the out come of you trying it on one plant. I hope it works good!!
Purple Goose
New Member
I just picked up a Ro/di system and it turned out the de-ionization filter was faulty but when I talked to the company they asked what its use was and when I told them gardening they actually suggested I switch from ro/di to Ro/mineralized as the mineralized filter adds calcium and magnesium. Now my unit is producing 6.4ph water at 75ppm should this added calcium and mag be enough to be able to avoid using calmag supplements?
xave420
Well-Known Member
is it ok to use tap water after its been boiled and cooled to room temp/?? thanx
Bishnoi
New Member
But distilled water still has to be ph-adjusted to 6.5 or 7 is acceptable? Will nutes, say Gold Label, lower the ph?
sostenon250
New Member
yes nutes will change the ph of distilled water, so the ph should be adjusted after all nutes are added. hydro ph should be between 5.5 - 6.5, while soil ph should be between 6.5 - 7.0
Purple Goose
New Member
Well in a soil grow I would say the best water to use would be from a 3 stage ro filtre which will clean your water down given you buy a good system to 6.5-7.1 ph with no higher then 8ppm's , this water is very stable has great buffering capacity as there is no unwated iron .calcium.phosphors, etc in the water I personaly would suggest if you have watter of this quality you would even do your self one better by using An Ph perfect nutrients as these have been formulated so they can be added to water with a bas ph 4.5-9.0 I personally have tested this with a resevoir of 40 gallons before nutes ph was 7.2 at 18ppm extra minerals following An's directions for the base nutrient it calls for 2ml per liter of each A and b grow mixed for for 15 minutes and tested according to An's instructions this should have provided me with 950-1000ppm and optimal ph my ph came in at 5.9 then continues to lower to 5.6 and then fluctuated between 5.6-5.9 for 8 days with normal top ups and add backs of nutes acording to the feed schedule on the 9 day when I dumped the rez to go to flower the nutrients were still stitting at 1050 ppms and rez ph was 5.7 with no fluctuations below 5.6 or higher then 5.9.
As for a soil grow though you can use whatever nutrient you choose but as the advanced nutrient ph perfect line has been tested in drip,ebb,dwc,soil,cocoa choir and they back up there products with a full return if your not happy you should check it out anyways in soil if you using an just foolow instruction as it is for all systems if you using other nutients I would suggest you have ph up and ph down handy us ro water with low ppms perferable below 20ppm add nutrients as directed and then ph the water to about 6.25-6.3 water till you have abou 30% run off test it for any major fluctuation. For instance if you water with 6.2 ph and run off is say 6.7 then you know before watering your soils ph was probably closer to 7.0 or neutral which in a soil grow with good nutrients is no big deal but continually rising ph is a problem as eventually alkaline will rise to high , both higher and lower can be neutralized by adding calicified lime which should return soil ph over a week or so period to 6.5 ph.
But the key is to definetly keep you soils ph around 6.6 promote load of benefical bacterial grown and you will do well . ]
If however you decied to go all hydro I would say once again use An's ph products keep ph between 5.6-5.8 and as well as an ro filter I would personal also get one with a built in uv filter that kills all forms of bacteria in the water which I have helped a great deal with the occurence of root diseases in a hydro system , as adding h202 every 5-7 days wont hurt either keeping the system sterile as well as increasing temporarily the amount of disolved oxygen.
Bishnoi
New Member
So even if AN seems to set a PH of around 5.7 it has been formulated to be able to use in soil; despite the low ph?
Purple Goose
New Member
Yep actually from my own personal research it seems the way the nutrients are formulated to be mixed without adjusting the ph by hand is due to the use of extremley high end nutrient sources , high end chelates , and then they balance out the anions and ions of each macro and micro nutrient , so that once its introduced to its medium it may not bring the medium to the ph you would normally test for but do to the fact that the formula of nutrients is so heavily chelated that if you could actually have a ph as low as 3 and as high as 11 and the plants will continue to uptake nutrients with no lock outs for as long as the plant is able to keep growing back feeder roots. This is why An states that you need to have a base water of 4.0ph-8.5ph to start and of course always let the water sit a few days if its from the tap I can tell you that I have grown using tap water with a starting ph of 7.6 and ppms 167 and have managed good quality crops by doing my best to eliminate as much contaminates from the water such as chlorine and then use good nutrients and maintain optimal climate conditions, which to tell the truth a steady temp, humidity , regular watering, good amount of fresh air or co2 supplements etc so that the plants recieve as littls stress as possible and good results can be achieved with pretty much any water as long as its not to full of residule minerals like iron calcium potassium etc .
