Whats the best water to use? I have tap water, should I boil the water ahead of time and let it cool down? Should I just use tap water and let the water settle for 24 hours ?
i wouldn't boil it . I would get an air stone and air pump(fish-tank kind) and let it bubble for 24 hours. thats what i do. then later you can make compost tea for feedings
Buy distilled water or get a RO system... those are the best water sources...remember these have ZERO ppm's so you want to add esential minerals even when your not feeding. Cal-mag works great for this. I use it every watering. Hope this helps. good luck
I sell water treatment systems for a living. To be exact, rainsoft systems. So this I know about. Boiling the water will work, it instantly removes the chlorine in the water, and will kill most bacteria and nitrates. However the hardness (dirt, dissolved minerals) and dead bacteria will still be in the water, but the bacteria should be dead. The proper way to boil water, is to set up a tent shaped steam catcher above the pot, with a water catcher to catch the steam as it rolls off your steam catcher above the pot. That's a lot of work. Just let your tap water sit in open air for at least 24 hours. This will remove most of the harmful chemicals in the water (chlorine). Now the hardness will still be in there (average house has around 8 grains per gallon, about 18 pounds of dirt coming through their pipes each month), but that's not going to be a problem. Just keep the ph levels adjusted. The best water would be a full house water treatment system, with a r/o unit under the sink. Here's a pic of a unit id sell you for $4000 with a r/o. Sorry for the bad pic, I just used my cell and took the pics from my pitch book.
Put a filter on your tap water, then no boiling, no need to buy distilled, etc. And you get the benefit of drinking and cooking with better water as well.
And like mentioned above, if you use a ro unit, alone it will get your water 98.2% pure from dirt and bacteria, with a household system it will get it 99.8% pure. So you will want to eventually use some cal feed for sure, and prob some mag.
Don't use pure or brita filters. They are good for a week or 2 depending on how much dirt is in the water. I test at least 2 sinks a day with these filters, and they are ALWAYS more filthy than if they just use plain tap water. The hardness in water builds up incredibly quick on these filters, and without bi-weekly maintenance, they are garbage. The same goes with your filter on your refrigerator. This is what I went to college for, and have done since I graduated. Trust me on this.
all i do is use tap water and leave it for a day and then put my nutes in and then ph it and that's it. i don't measure the run off like a lot of people do and i have no problems at all
LOL, you should see their faces when i show them the precip test. Basically I separate the dirt and dead bacteria from the water and make it visible.
Ok my advise is coming from my head...and the data from past grows.... I had much better results from distilled and RO water than tap water... I have well water and the plants didn't like something in it. I always got brown spots during flower... veg was fine but flower time here came the spots... I really like wrestler dudes info. How does well water fit into house hold water test?
With well I have to test for several other things. First off, lime build up is a concern. I also test for iron, because this is the most common element found in well water that you won't find in city. Also the tannan from leaves is a nitrate (poison), a great fertilizer, but awful for water. So ph issues is common. In fact with wells, the it isn't uncommon for the ph to be at 8-9. With well water i highly suggest at least a softner. And you get a honest water treatment guy to set you up with a 1 piece treatment system for like $1500 as opposed to spending $500-$1000 on a water softener that you need to replace every 3-5 years. The 1 piece treatment system is like a triple decker. The top of the tank is a carbon layer (removes chemicals), under that layer is a charged resin layer (removes dirt and bacteria), and beneath that is a salt water chamber. You'll need to buy about $5 worth of salt every 3-5 months depending on usage. The salt chamber does a automatic flush to the carbon and resin chambers to keep them clean. This is controlled by a timer you can set. Mine is set to every 48 hours, I just have a different system. If you do hydro, a treatment system, with a r/o is plant candy.
first you should see what is in your water. this can be found online. it should tell you ppm and any additives. if you live in a semi humid climate your best and cheapest bet is to buy a dehumidifier for about 180$. mine creates about 2 gallons of 0ppm water per day. I just save the water in a larger tank and then use it. Distilled water runs about 1$ a gallon so this can add up in a hurry. this is definately the cheapest way to make water for your plants although I have not heard many people talking about it on here.
Do not use dehumidifier water on your plants! Big no no. It has metal traces in it. Look don't believe me about anything else, but I went to Penn st for 4 years and graduated with my major being in environmental studies. I've owned my own tiny independent water treatment, and testing company for 7 years. Seriously, if you guys don't want to believe anything else I tell you, the subject of water and air quality and air treatment is what i do. My word is gospel, not opinion.
The same water that goes to your toilets is the same water you shower with and comes out your sinks. What would be done is id set up the unit directly from your water main where your water enters your house. So the water gets treated before it even goes into your hot water heater. So yes, every water using appliance in your house would have treated water. Cloths stay white and newer longer, save money on your electric bill, food tastes better, no more hard water stains, endless benefits.