Water: The Most Essential Compound

**Jay_normous** · 01-23-2010, 06:47 AM

Originally Posted by doc111

Rain water is usually ok to use but it depends on where you live. In some areas with a lot of industry and factories you can have acid rain which has dissolved sulfates, heavy metals and other junk. Normally though, the pH of rainwater is ideal and it has a bit of dissolved Nitrogen in it. That being said, I don't bring anything from outside into the growroon. Rainwater or anything brought in from the outside can have bugs, spores and many other things you may not want in your growroom. I would personally stick with something that I know is clean but if you are short on money or whatever then just be careful. You can boil your rainwater which would kill anything that might be in it. Also, make sure you check your pH and watch out for problems. Best of luck to you my friend.

Edit: An airstone is a good idea but it only helps chlorine dissipate a little quicker and oxygenates your water. It won't change your water quality though.

Thanks for clearing that up for me..
I've been using it for the last 2 years with no problems yet, although i do boil the kettle and add the contains to it during the winter..

**connorbrown** · 01-23-2010, 06:49 AM

Should I use rainwater? I mean, it has natural nitrogen and stuff. I thought that was good for the plant. But maybe not?

**tusseltussel** · 01-23-2010, 07:03 AM

hello i use tap water my water comes out with a ppm of 25...... i never have trouble its good stuff. but maybe you could clear this up for me . i was told to never use distilled or r\o water because it is lacking in buffers and other vital minerals that promote healthy growth... do you know if this is true. ive heard a lot of ppl talkin bout it. than there is all the addatives ppl use makes me wonder if they just used good ol tap water, would they need all those addatives??? i dnt use any and havnt for a long long time with no ill effects, i think its kinda like a placebo, you think its better because it tells you that on the bottle

**doc111** · 01-23-2010, 07:05 AM

Originally Posted by connorbrown

Should I use rainwater? I mean, it has natural nitrogen and stuff. I thought that was good for the plant. But maybe not?

It's not that simple. Rainwater does contain a little bit of Nitrogen which you are already giving to your plants I'm sure. Some rainwater can be full of pollutants and other garbage. It may be fine for use indoors where you live but just be careful......anytime you bring in anything from the outdoors you risk bringing in bugs and other nasty sfuff that you may not want in your garden. Give it a try but maybe boil it before you use it. In a lot of places rainwater Is good for your plants but not if you live down wind from a lot of factories.

**connorbrown** · 01-23-2010, 07:06 AM

I live out in the middle of the woods, so I'm not worried about acid rain. But yeah, I run the water through a screen and then boil it just to make sure there are no bugs or anything.

**doc111** · 01-23-2010, 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by tusseltussel

hello i use tap water my water comes out with a ppm of 25...... i never have trouble its good stuff. but maybe you could clear this up for me . i was told to never use distilled or r\o water because it is lacking in buffers and other vital minerals that promote healthy growth... do you know if this is true. ive heard a lot of ppl talkin bout it. than there is all the addatives ppl use makes me wonder if they just used good ol tap water, would they need all those addatives??? i dnt use any and havnt for a long long time with no ill effects, i think its kinda like a placebo, you think its better because it tells you that on the bottle

25 ppm is very low and only a little higher than most r/o water. There is a myth that distilled water leaches nutrients out of the soil and even out of the body if you drink it. This is a myth and is absolutely not true. If you have good tapwater I would use it. If your tapwater is good it will have a little bit of Calcium and Magnesium which your plants need. If it's too hard what can happen is over time these minerals can build up in your soil and cause lockout. 25 ppm is very good tapwater and I wouldn't even consider distilled or r/o if mine were that good. As for natural buffers I have been using r/o for a few grows now and I have been having very good results. I have to add cal-mag but other than a little bit of magnesium deficiency in the beginning I have had no problems with it. It works way better than my crappy tapwater which is around 600ppm!

Are you growing in soil? Do you have to add cal-mag or anything?

**tusseltussel** · 01-23-2010, 07:20 AM

Originally Posted by doc111

25 ppm is very low and only a little higher than most r/o water. There is a myth that distilled water leaches nutrients out of the soil and even out of the body if you drink it. This is a myth and is absolutely not true. If you have good tapwater I would use it. If your tapwater is good it will have a little bit of Calcium and Magnesium which your plants need. If it's too hard what can happen is over time these minerals can build up in your soil and cause lockout. 25 ppm is very good tapwater and I wouldn't even consider distilled or r/o if mine were that good. As for natural buffers I have been using r/o for a few grows now and I have been having very good results. I have to add cal-mag but other than a little bit of magnesium deficiency in the beginning I have had no problems with it. It works way better than my crappy tapwater which is around 600ppm!

Are you growing in soil? Do you have to add cal-mag or anything?

never add anything and yes in soil but ive used the same tap water in hydro too. thanks for clearing up the myth.

have you seen the charts.... someone posted a link maybe a year ago where you could look up your water specs, each town has to monitor ther water and that info can be found online and is public information if you wanna know how much arsnic is in yer water..... dnt remember the link but google is good at finding things like that.

**doc111** · 01-23-2010, 07:44 AM

Originally Posted by tusseltussel

never add anything and yes in soil but ive used the same tap water in hydro too. thanks for clearing up the myth.

have you seen the charts.... someone posted a link maybe a year ago where you could look up your water specs, each town has to monitor ther water and that info can be found online and is public information if you wanna know how much arsnic is in yer water..... dnt remember the link but google is good at finding things like that.

I seem to recall seeing that link. I've looked mine up and it's not listed. Probably because it's so crappy! Our water company draws from 4 different wells at different times of the year so the quality fluctuates a bit. The lowest I've tested it was around 300ppm which is still awful. I wouldn't mind finding that website though and posting the link in this thread. Thanks for the idea.

**FootClan** · 01-23-2010, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by doc111

I seem to recall seeing that link. I've looked mine up and it's not listed. Probably because it's so crappy! Our water company draws from 4 different wells at different times of the year so the quality fluctuates a bit. The lowest I've tested it was around 300ppm which is still awful. I wouldn't mind finding that website though and posting the link in this thread. Thanks for the idea.

Hey all......How does one test the hardness of there tap water? is there a cheap way to test it at home? and whats the highest your ca & mg ppm can be? whats the lowest?

Also i accidently watered a batch of clones with water that was treated first by a water softner. Does this mean that the water contained too much soidum? isnt that really bad for plants and meduim? also was that water within proper ca mg levels for growing even though is may of had too much sodium? Or was is just bad on all accounts a loose loose? the plants seem fine and only 1 didnt make it im not sure if that had anything to do with it......the rest are now 2 days into 12/12

**doc111** · 01-23-2010, 05:36 PM

Originally Posted by FootClan

Hey all......How does one test the hardness of there tap water? is there a cheap way to test it at home? and whats the highest your ca & mg ppm can be? whats the lowest?

Also i accidently watered a batch of clones with water that was treated first by a water softner. Does this mean that the water contained too much soidum? isnt that really bad for plants and meduim? also was that water within proper ca mg levels for growing even though is may of had too much sodium? Or was is just bad on all accounts a loose loose? the plants seem fine and only 1 didnt make it im not sure if that had anything to do with it......the rest are now 2 days into 12/12

A TDS meter is one way to test for hardness. These meters can be bought relatively inexpensively. They give the ppm (parts per million) which will tell you the relative hardness of the water. Unfortunately they don't tell you exactly what or how much of each dissolved solid that's in your water. You can request a report from your water company. Most are obligated to do this free of charge. As for sodium softened water. You should not use this for growing! Plants need some sodium (very minscule amounts) for growth but the sodium in softened water is too much. It may not hurt your plants outright but you will have problems down the road. You would probably be better off just using hard water (depending on how hard it is). I don't know what the cutoff levels for Ca and Mg in water are. If I come across this info I will post it in this thread.