I have a problem i cannot let my water sit out for 24 hours to make distilled water...i need 20 gallons of water...but can only fill up a 5 gallon each time for watering...so i have to make like 4 trips......the thing is ...im wondering if i can just use non distilled water...basically just straight from the sink or hose ...without distalling....so im wondering if this is bad...or is it ok....or will it harm my plants... My plants are about 14 inches big...from clones...and have been in veg for 2 weeks now ....i waterd them a week ago and they seem fine...i just hope it dont cause long term problems ....anyone help me ? under 2 ...400 watt MH ...
Letting tap water sit out does not make it distilled water. Distilled water essentially is condensed steam. When you boil water, only the H2O molecules escape as steam. When you condense that steam back to water you end up with pure H20 and no chemicals or trace elements. Letting tap water sit out allows the chlorine that is added to all tap water evaporate out. Any minerals etc that are in that water will still be there. It's debatable if chlorine will hurt your MJ plants -- but it certainly won't help them. Why can't you get 3 more 5-gallon buckets? That really is your best option. If you can't let your water from the tap sit out 24 hours you could either buy distilled water or you can get drops from a pet store made to break down chlorine quicker (should be in the fish/aquarium section). I don't know any details about these drops, in general I'm not a big fan of fighting chemicals with chemicals, so maybe you could use half the dose after letting the water sit out 12 hours.