itsraininbuds
Well-Known Member
PH distilled water or not? i've heard it both. but have never tried leaving it. what you think?
PH distilled or not?
- Thread starter itsraininbuds
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mightyBUMone
Well-Known Member
I think your wasting money using distiller water.
itsraininbuds
Well-Known Member
well a gallon of distilled water is less than a 20oz bottle of water from 7-11. but please elaborate.
itsraininbuds
Well-Known Member
seen the need for what?
mightyBUMone
Well-Known Member
Water comes out of my tap cheaper than it is to drive to the store and buy distiller water.
itsraininbuds
Well-Known Member
uh, ok man
Cobnobuler
Well-Known Member
They say there are some needed minerals in regular tap or even spring water, none of which are in distilled water which is void of anything.
A chemistry guy once said that if a human had only access to distilled water, he would eventually expire.
A chemistry guy once said that if a human had only access to distilled water, he would eventually expire.
JoObJoOb
Active Member
I bought a phototron many years ago,like 20 years ago,and they said to only use distilled water ( i had my own distiller)
when useing there nutes,which came with the phototron,when i asked them why,it was because they had a program where you could send in media samples to them to be tested,i belive that was once every 8 weeks or somthing,anyway,they did the testing as to see what nutes the plant was useing the most of,then they would send you a differnt nute made just for the plants your growing,well they said if i used tap water,then the testing wouldnt be right due to contamination from tap water being present..so i used only distilled water,and i did get some awsome plants and weed,but other then that situation,i dont see what the need is,
unless your in that situation.I just use rain water that i colect in big cans sitting under a canopy runoff on my deck,works great
when useing there nutes,which came with the phototron,when i asked them why,it was because they had a program where you could send in media samples to them to be tested,i belive that was once every 8 weeks or somthing,anyway,they did the testing as to see what nutes the plant was useing the most of,then they would send you a differnt nute made just for the plants your growing,well they said if i used tap water,then the testing wouldnt be right due to contamination from tap water being present..so i used only distilled water,and i did get some awsome plants and weed,but other then that situation,i dont see what the need is,
unless your in that situation.I just use rain water that i colect in big cans sitting under a canopy runoff on my deck,works great
natro.hydro
Well-Known Member
I used to but since it is a super low ppm cus as stated before pretty much rain water. I assume you are using soil since you hadn't mentioned a res to fill with the distilled water, your soil will act as a buffer for the minor amount of ph that is off so no worries especially if your medium is organic.
fridayfishfry
Well-Known Member
Distilled water works really well toward the end of the grow. In soil it gets all the nutrients out for the flush. In hydro all the tap water stuff builds up if you don't change your rez. You could change your rez less if you use distilled. People add cal-mag if using distilled because of the minerals you are missing out on. I guess you could use rain water instead of distilled (+ cal mag ?). Never heard of ph-distilled. I've heard of ro-distilled (reverse osmosis).
SableZen
Well-Known Member
Assuming you are talking about hydroponic applications: If you mean before adding anything into the water, trying to pH adjust it is pointless (distilled water has absolutely nothing in it). If you mean adding distilled water into an existing mixed reservoir, distilled water won't have much, if any, impact on existing pH. If you mean after adding your nutrients, additives, or whatever else when first mixing up a reservoir, then yes you should adjust pH (after mixing).
For soil, no you don't need to pH adjust distilled water (the soil becomes the buffer).
Alexander Supertramp
Well-Known Member
Distilled water is a poor choice for growing as it generally carries a negative charge which makes it quite reactive and can cause problems maintaining the mediums proper pH. If you are growing hydro then ignore my statement.
itsraininbuds
Well-Known Member
yes, soil grow. thank you for your input.
itsraininbuds
Well-Known Member
i've heard that before. they say thats the reason you don't use a ph meter on plain distilled water. something about ion transfer idk. but if thats true for ph balance, then it does answer some problems i was having with my previous grow. any suggestions for a substitute? i use distilled for veg growth simply because i dont have to ph it. its generally always between 6.2-6.9
itsraininbuds
Well-Known Member
i never mentioned but soil, sorry. thanks for the info though. prish!
itsraininbuds
Well-Known Member
not ph'd distiled, ph'ing plain distilled water. sorry, should have specified. i dont' know if i and fully for the "flush" method yet. i am by no means an expert grower but i been through a few grows now and i generally still experiment with flushing and not. on the one side i completely understand the need to flush the built up salts out of the soil, but i also do experiment with just adding good ph'd fert water and keeping a good watering schedule as to not have the nutes build up. idk though, i may be fucking retarded too. but i've had good results over all.
Dr. Who
Well-Known Member
Oh, boy....To use or not to use,, that is the question?
The use of distilled or RO water is a good idea if you know why and how.
Why; Tap, Spring, or Rain water has a PPM value! You DON'T know what is IN that water to give it that value. To start out with a water that is 0 (or VERY low PPM) is conductive to PRECISE manipulation of the just what exactly goes into your plant for feed!
YOU add the "buffer" (required) of a Cal/Mag (The "HOW"). You then add the nutrient formula to YOUR needs. You now have a solution with what YOU put in it with NO unknown elements!
In any media or hydro application. This is the simplest way to better yields! (non organic)
If you add a Cal/Mag to distilled, it IS easy to control the pH.
I still like RO better!
The use of distilled or RO water is a good idea if you know why and how.
Why; Tap, Spring, or Rain water has a PPM value! You DON'T know what is IN that water to give it that value. To start out with a water that is 0 (or VERY low PPM) is conductive to PRECISE manipulation of the just what exactly goes into your plant for feed!
YOU add the "buffer" (required) of a Cal/Mag (The "HOW"). You then add the nutrient formula to YOUR needs. You now have a solution with what YOU put in it with NO unknown elements!
In any media or hydro application. This is the simplest way to better yields! (non organic)
If you add a Cal/Mag to distilled, it IS easy to control the pH.
I still like RO better!
itsraininbuds
Well-Known Member
great advice! now how much cal mag exactly? i usually do 1/8 - 1/4 tsp.