Type of water

tap water from your sink is fine ust remember to let it sit for at least 12 to 24 hours to remove the clorine. make sure its ph is around 6.5, tap water is good enough to drink its good enough for plants. some people swear by reverse ossmossis water but all ive ever used is tap water with no problems. i was told a while ago never to use distilled water, cant remember why tho..........theres a growth of knowledge on here some one else maybe able to tell you more...........peace and happy growing

 

Clorine is in tap and evaporates when left out,this is not good for growing plants.Distilled is your best bet IMHO for seed dunkin w/PH of <6.5,distilled h2o has NO minirals and can be used alone prior to 2-3 week of veg. stage w/o problems but at 2nd to 3rd week youll need to add nutes and supliments.Distilled is really a waste after week 2.I use 75% r/o 25% tap PHed to 6.5 soak 24 hrs in the dark (till open) then into paper towels very damp(never drying)for 24hrs in the dark(till taproot is 1/8")then into presoaked soil as deep as the seed is (taproot down and be careful) covered lightly with soil and covered w/saran wrap in a warmer place(i use a heating pad @85f.).Light wont hurt at this point and will help in 48 hrs when it pops up at 1/2 to 1" tall,remove the covering and go 18/6.This is what i did and in 4 days i have 5/5 1" tall.Good luck on your 2nd grow man.

 

The real answer is...it depends on your tap water. In many places tap water is fine, but you have to watch for pH levels and level of particulates in your water. I simply filter mine. Regardless, agree that you should let tap water sit out 24 hours in an open container to allow chlorine to evaporate.

Distilled is pure water, but probably isn't necessary to spend that kind of money. Definitely do not waste money on designer drinking water (Evian, Dasani, etc). Bottom line: if your pH is within tolerance, your chlorine is evaporated out, and you have low particulates (or have filtered them out) then you should be fine.

 

So is what your saying if tap water has a good PH that chlorine is gone and the ppm must be low based only on PH?

 

No, the particulates could be impacting the pH, but having the right pH tells you nothing about particulates/ppm/tds.

 

Arent particulates ppm?Seems i missunderstood your comment about having a PH within normal limits and the relationship of the particulates being low,so your saying if the PH is within normal limits and the chlorine is gone,and IF the particulates are low not that the particulates will be low because the PH is within the normal limits.That would make sence.

 

Sorry if I'm not being clear. pH and particulates are, for the most part, distinct things. Yes, particulates and ppm are talking about the same thing -- solids in the water. Some of those solids could alter your pH. But, having low ppm does not mean your pH is OK, and having pH in range does not mean you have low ppm.

Basically, you want water that is as pure as possible (I know you know that). The more pure it is then by definition the lower the ppm but also the closer to a neutral pH of 7.0 it has to be. To the OP's question about tap water, some tap water is great but a lot of it is full of sediment, metals, etc. and/or has whacked pH.

Hope this clarifies.

 

Thank you for clearin that up toasty,and this question may help others or may be my PH meter.Why does my ph meter read ALL h2o except distilled,it just wont recognize it,like it isnt even there?

 

That's a new one on me. What type of meter?

 

2 month old blue lab truncheon,I love this thing and the warrantee is 3 years so be easy on it if ya dont approve please.

 

No, sounds great. All I can think of is contacting the mfgr, that should be an innocent question to be able to ask them.

 

I thought i had a problem w/ cal. cause when i cal. in 4,0 after it shows 4.6 in virgin sol. clean w/a new ring,went to a hydro store and it showed 4,4 and he said it was right on.E-mailed BL 10 times w. good responses so im kinda confused,and now that the dist. h2o wont trigger the lights im really not happy.Good thing it has a 3 yr warr. but $140-$200 it should double as a pocket rocket for my girl.