Ever notice how 1 teensy little droplet of pH down will make distilled water pH 2.0, but a full nutrient solution it won't even move the needle? What does that tell you? RO or distilled water will react with the salts in the soil, making your pH adjustment pointless.
I'm in the weeds
- Thread starter Notanist
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LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
Any water you pour into soil will react with the salts in the soil and their pH, whether it's distilled or not.
I've used distilled water and nutrients in a pinch and not had trouble pH'ing them effectively. Though I'd love to see some actual science to the idea that there's something special in distilled water besides it being just water with all other additives removed. I hate to insult, but that seems bro'ish to me. Also, I don't pH my water before adding nutrients, I do it after. Since they effect your pH anyway, no point in doing it twice.
Sounds like we are agreeing. I was initially commenting on the guy that said "distilled water kills plants"
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
The thing about salts in your soil is important though because if you're not watering well, you'll never wash out the chemistry you've been feeding your plants, so your pH will certainly be off in the root zone and you never get rid of all the 'waste nutrients' that the roots didn't take up; no matter how dead-on you've adjusted any water.
I learned that the hard way and once I finally bothered to really check my runoff I has over 2000ppm showing. 5 gallons of water through the plant brought me down to ~330ppm. A slurry test of the soil showed a solid 6.5pH, so I was in a place where I had a lot of salts but my pH wasn't drifting terribly...but I don't think you can really get down into the deeper root zone where bad watering practices may leave more variance to do a slurry test.
I learned that the hard way and once I finally bothered to really check my runoff I has over 2000ppm showing. 5 gallons of water through the plant brought me down to ~330ppm. A slurry test of the soil showed a solid 6.5pH, so I was in a place where I had a lot of salts but my pH wasn't drifting terribly...but I don't think you can really get down into the deeper root zone where bad watering practices may leave more variance to do a slurry test.
DrOgkush
Well-Known Member
I don’t need to further explain a ph of 5.4 will kill your plants. That’s common fucking sense.
Why on earth would you use distilled water?
Because it’s stripped of everything.
So why would you use something that you have to re add everything to your water. I don’t use ph adjuster. Barely ever have to. Use distilled water. You have to. So my point is. What’s the point? And if your going that far. You should be using a Rez that’s hardwired to its correct ph. In case you don’t. I’d say tap water with a standard ph of 7 is a tad better than a ph of 5. My 2 cents.
But by all means. Go ahead and use distilled water. Pay for water or work to make it. Have fun!
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
I generally have distilled water on hand as a 'control'. I know my TDS meter is working correctly when I try it in a small cup of distilled water and it hits somewhere around 4 or 5ppm. I also use it to store my pH meter. Of course not all distilled water is the same either. True distilled water should be too high a pH at 7, but we know that being open to air changes that. the most recent jug I had was 5.7pH when I last tested.
Out of the tap, my well water rides between 6.8-7.1 on a given day predictable enough to know how much to adjust without even measuring first.
Out of the tap, my well water rides between 6.8-7.1 on a given day predictable enough to know how much to adjust without even measuring first.
DrOgkush
Well-Known Member
That’s my actual point.
Unless you have a general purpose to use it. It can cause more harm than good. Iv personally never seen distilled water with a ph of 7 but not to say it isn possible. Everything iv seen and tested is a low 5.
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
I'd consider it for a lock-out flush. It's super low PPM even after adjustment should make it an effective way to get soil growers' TDS down to base level quicker than a tap water with a few hundred PPM.
As with anything, it's a tool, but also generally speaking don't pour rando shit on your plants before you've checked pH and EC/PPM. To me, even new at the game what kills plants is people not paying attention to the details.
DrOgkush
Well-Known Member
Thing is. I wouldn even consider it for that because my tap is around 200ppm.
But everyone’s does things different and I understand that 100 percent.
and things like using distilled water would be a perfect example of “paying attention” when something is going the wrong way
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
I think our discussion overall combats that, and without throwing insults at anyone.
Distilled water has a PPM close to zero. What's the point in measuring pH if that's the case? The second you add to any soil, it will immediately alter the pH, rendering your measurement of it pointless.
LeastExpectedGrower
Well-Known Member
If this were true growing would ONLY be about having or building the best soil possible. But it's as much of an over simplification as 'distilled water kills'.
Between the lines, water pH + soil pH =what a plant sees. (in all honesty, the plant sees whatever is in solution, so to be technical it may be more or less than the soil pH) If you've consistently using a specific watering pH then you're altering the soil pH over time. Quantity also matters because as you water-to-drain you're washing out old nutrients, lowering soil ppm (or raising it depending on your feed) etc.
Of course, this is what doing runoff tests and slurry tests is about.
DrOgkush
Well-Known Member
Exactly. You can’t water your plant with ph water of 5.0 and expect your soil to buffer it up to a perfect 7. Yeah. I understand people use soil as a buffer at times. But I’m pretty sure they are not constantly watering with ph 5.0 water. And yes I stand by what I said. Distilled water will pull back your plant and eventually kill it.
And I’m not even gonna say what happens to a plant watered with 0 ppm and 5.0 ph happens. C mon. Is this conversation even real at this point.