Ph'ing water / Bottled water

Hi,

Just a couple of quick questions. How important is it to ph balance your water? Is tap water acceptable for plants?

I read everywhere people saying ph balance your water, but no mention on how. I did a bit of research and all i found was you need to add either HCL or NaOH, however, apart from nicking them from uni, i don't know where one would acquire these chemicals..

Finally, i brought some bottled water, it's 93p 5 litre so i'm not sure how much this would add up to after 10 weeks of growing, i've included a pic, ph is apparently 6.1, does anyone know if this would be suitable/

Many thanks

all you need is ph up and down. mix your nutrient and water and ph up or down. then pour a little bit in the test tube with 3 to 5 drops of the indicator and observe the color. you can get a tester kit at your local hydro store for 10 bucks. tap water is fine as long as your not running off of a well

Invest in a digital ph meter. Even the cheaper ones will work and are better than not havimg one at all. Also if you're on city water you should let the water sit out for at least 24 hours to let the chlorine evaporate. Of course some cities use ummmm i think its called chloramine, which will not evaporate. I am struggling with city water myself and think next time i will grab bottled. Good luck

Cool, cheers for the info guys

Any comment on the bottled water we're using? I have a cheap ph tester thing with an indicator and little tube but it says it's for testing soil, any idea if it would test water as well?

Cheers