Water into weed

[WWZEUS]

Today I've collected about two gallons of rain water for my plants will it do themany good. Whats the best kind if water to use when watering your plants? I've heard that rain water and distilled water work well, but what about tap water, purified water or even spring water(bottled) how do they work out when watering you plants?

[cigarettes42]

i wouldnt use rain water. ive tried that an ive got nothing but bad results. it might be different in your area because im in somewhat of a populated area who likes to burn fireplaces. the best kind of water you can use is plain old city tap water. if you you use distilled water you have to add calmag to it. best bet would use ph tap water.

[Weezard]

Today I've collected about two gallons of rain water for my plants will it do themany good. Whats the best kind if water to use when watering your plants? I've heard that rain water and distilled water work well, but what about tap water, purified water or even spring water(bottled) how do they work out when watering you plants?

Aloha DubZeus

Goodonya!
Rainwater is what they expect.:)

Distilled water and some "purified" water will need CalMag.
They are too pure.
Bottled water can have too much sodium.
My tap water is PH 7.2 and seems to cause slime in the hydro tub.

My rainwater can be as acid a lemon juice, PH 3.9
(of course, your milage may vary, our volcano is acting up.):D

Do yourself a favor and invest in a digital PH meter.
If the PH is too high, or low, your plants will be unable to feed.

I also always shake some air into the water just before application.
Roots need oxygen and even rainwater gets "stale" after it sits a while.
The dissolved air and dust is rainwater's advantage over water that lives in a bottle.

So, as long as the PH is in range, there's trace elements, and some dissolved oxygen, you will have to find other things to worry about, ya?:D

'zat answer your question?:)

Weezard

[WWZEUS]

that does answer my question and I am gonna go out right now and get a ph tester. I live in a city with a dense pop. but we've tested the rain water before and It wasn't bad but thats all i remember i dont remember the actually numbers thanks again

[cigarettes42]

watch your plants when using rain water. when i used some rain water corrected to the proper ph my plants drooped like in 6 hours. i did a mild flush and it perked back up

[Weezard]

Aloha WWZeus

I've been thinking about what Cigarettes42 said.
I'm pretty sure that fireplace smoke was not the problem.
I'm thinking it's an aeration issue.
As long as the outdoor plants are happy with the rainwater, that is. :)

I'd guess that he has an aerator on his tap and that the rainwater sat around in jugs a lot longer than the tap water before it was used.
Stale water from any source can "drown" your roots.

You could probably use dog drool if you drop it through a mile or two of air first.:D

I got bullied out of "dirtfarming" by some tenacious Fungus Gnats.:mad:

So, I went Bubba-ponic.
Got no water pump/jets to clog, got no timer to fail.
Got a UPS to keep the airpumps and LEDs rolling through a power failure.
Got an automatic water level adjuster.
I just keep tabs on the PH and Nute levels.

I have incredibly healthy girls with very clean feet, growing in 5 Gallon buckets of rainwater.
The roots are 75% submerged but as long as the airpump/airstone team keep the water roiling with air, the girls are very happy.
Me too!
I'm too lazy to worry and usually too ripped to micro-manage my little green dependants.
They can go for 2 weeks or so with no human input.

I still sit with them every day, of course,
but it's no longer mandatory.:D

Sorry to run-on in your thread, :stoned: :)

I'll go quietly,

Weezard

[cigarettes42]

my problem couldn't be an aeration problem cause i always run air through all of my water. however this might be the problem for me since im in a dense environment.

Drinking Rain Water (http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/wea00/wea00044.htm)

[Weezard]

my problem couldn't be an aeration problem cause i always run air through all of my water.

Intrigueing.

How did you collect the rainwater?
Mine runs off a stone roof which helps to raise the PH,
What did you adjust the PH with?
I use Phosphoric acid and/or lemon juice for down and Bicarb for up.

I just checked one of your older threads about Chlorine, etc.
5 gallon bucket with an airstone , eh?:)
Any other variable that you can think of?

Bat poo?
Actually, a little guano is a good thing.:)

I don't doubt that your plants tanked when they got rainwater, but I'm keen to know why, and really doubt that smoke/pollution is the reason.

Do me a favor and give it some thought.

Hey, Zeus, no wanna hijack your thread.
We can move this if you wish.

Regards,
Weezard

[cigarettes42]

i collected the water with just a few plastic buckets sitting outside for a few hours then poured them into a single bucket then ran a airstone through it. i dont use homemade ph adjusters, i use general hydroponics ph up/down. i dont know why you want to make this thread a dick measuring contest. i never said rain water doesnt work, it just didnt work for me and to monitor when using. i live in ca and you live in hawaii. maybe there is more pollution in ca then hawaii? who knows. all i know is that when it rains, the rain droplets absorb the pollution in the air and when the water goes in the ground the ground filters it out.

[Weezard]

i collected the water with just a few plastic buckets sitting outside for a few hours then poured them into a single bucket then ran a airstone through it. i dont use homemade ph adjusters, i use general hydroponics ph up/down. i dont know why you want to make this thread a dick measuring contest. i never said rain water doesnt work, it just didnt work for me and to monitor when using. i live in ca and you live in hawaii. maybe there is more pollution in ca then hawaii? who knows. all i know is that when it rains, the rain droplets absorb the pollution in the air and when the water goes in the ground the ground filters it out.

O.
K.

<Weeze backs away slowly>

Aloha.

[WWZEUS]

No worries man its actually what I wanted people to talk it out and defend why which water source is better. I know very little about what water is good for plants and the only thing i know about PH is i had to test it all summer long(lifeguard) and I had to add chemicals when ever up or down. this is perfect thank you both. I've been told by people on numerous boards that distilled is the best and others that have told me rain one cause its free and two it goes through earths natural processes. This is my first grow and I used tap water so far and its been great I wanted to try it with rain water and today was the only day it rained so when i water it next I was thinking of usuing the rain water. But I just wanted to see valid points on why i should not use it or use it. Some people just say use it or dont use it and don't give any reason to why they would say so i really appreciate the input.


tomorrow will be 7days since i started my first grow and 5days since they have sprouted out of the soil. they're on their second set of leaves. so far there are no complaints and they are growing wicked fast(to me atleast). the grow im sure will be over before I know it and I want to do everything right so i can have the best WW bud.:jointsmile:

[WWZEUS]

I collected my rain water in two giant bowls. just left them out in the rain all day with a little run off from the roof in one of them.

[cigarettes42]

i got this quote from the green Queen herself


Indoors, you need to use water that has minerals in it.
Rain water has NO calcium carbonate in it whatsoever, and your plants NEED that to grow. Also, rain picks up contamination in the atmosphere, such as Nitrogen and Sulfur from smog and other fossil fuel combustion byproducts. When that interacts with moisture in the atmosphere, it goes into solution as nitric and sulfuric acid- not good! It will quickly use up the buffering capacity of your soil, which is guess what, calcium carbonate added at the packaging plant, and the pH will suddenly drop.
So if you use rain water, you must add CalMag Plus to it, and then adjust the pH before each watering.
Tap water is almost always better.

maybe why i had bad experience was the absence of calcium but my plants drooped too fast for that to be a problem. it prolly was just the region i was in where i collected the water. i did adjust ph but didnt add any calmag but my plant wouldnt respond that quickly to just an absence of cal.

[Weezard]

No worries man its actually what I wanted people to talk it out and defend why which water source is better. I know very little about what water is good for plants and the only thing i know about PH is i had to test it all summer long(lifeguard) and I had to add chemicals when ever up or down. this is perfect thank you both. I've been told by people on numerous boards that distilled is the best and others that have told me rain one cause its free and two it goes through earths natural processes. This is my first grow and I used tap water so far and its been great I wanted to try it with rain water and today was the only day it rained so when i water it next I was thinking of usuing the rain water. But I just wanted to see valid points on why i should not use it or use it. Some people just say use it or dont use it and don't give any reason to why they would say so i really appreciate the input.


tomorrow will be 7days since i started my first grow and 5days since they have sprouted out of the soil. they're on their second set of leaves. so far there are no complaints and they are growing wicked fast(to me atleast). the grow im sure will be over before I know it and I want to do everything right so i can have the best WW bud.:jointsmile:

You are quite welcome, and, you are off to a good start.
Curiosity is key.

I love to:weedpoke: and see what happens.
Get as much good information as I can, then blaze, :stoned:and think about it for a while.

Conventional wisdom is not always wise, but is usually based in fact.
So, I read here for a long, long time to get the basics, tried to filter opinions from facts, then took a critical look at the assumptions drawn from the basic facts.
Re-thinking some of the popular assumptions has taken me to a very un-conventional grow, it's true.

That just proves that there is more than ONE right way to grow,ya?

Shows how resilient and forgiving Cannabis can be.
I'll be following your grow, sir, I think it's going to be exceptional.

Anything I can help you with, don't be shy.:jointsmile:

Aloha,
Weezard

[WWZEUS]

Thanks Weez and Cig. I will keep you updated with my grow as it begins to unravel. I think aand hope that it will be a good one. I will put some pictures up this weekend I want to start a grow log its amazing how this plant changes in one day. Yesterday it had about half in long leaves and today its starting its second set of leaves.

[WWZEUS]

There is absolutely more than one way to grow. I mean in away it is good that this drug is illegal it brings out the genius in some people that need to grow stealth or work on a low budget. If it wasn't illegal there would probably be just the Hydro way and soil route. I saw on one post that some guy was using cd's to help reflect the light so it would get underneath the plant the light. Im telling you man this plant has many positive thing to come from it.

[stinkyattic]

If you like the idea of rain water, you GOTTA run calmag in it, then adjust the pH.
Most city water is fine for soil grows, or even hydro grows if the nute system is forgiving (canna for example- in MA and the Northeast you can get it only at the Liquid Sun shops or online). I run Canna in both my soil and hydro grows, both on city water.
Rain water, remember it has Sulfuric and Nitric acid in it from atmospheric gases. Check the EC before you decide to run it. If it has an ionic strength that even registers on a cheap probe/meter, you might want to look elsewhere, since you don't know WHERE the EC is coming from. Unknowns=problematic.

[Weezard]

If you like the idea of rain water, you GOTTA run calmag in it, then adjust the pH.
Most city water is fine for soil grows, or even hydro grows if the nute system is forgiving (canna for example- in MA and the Northeast you can get it only at the Liquid Sun shops or online). I run Canna in both my soil and hydro grows, both on city water.
Rain water, remember it has Sulfuric and Nitric acid in it from atmospheric gases. Check the EC before you decide to run it. If it has an ionic strength that even registers on a cheap probe/meter, you might want to look elsewhere, since you don't know WHERE the EC is coming from. Unknowns=problematic.

Aloha Ms. Attic

Thanks for that.

Got a question or two.
I'm using General Hydroponics grow and bloom formulas.
Figured they would supply the Ca. & Mg., no?
Label says 2.0% Calcium and .5% Magnesium.

My tap water runs 128 ppm on a TDS3 meter with a PH of 7.2
My rainwater is 26 ppm and can have very low PH. 3.9!
(Depends on the volcano and the wind.)
We get lots of sulphurous H2SO3 and Nitrous H2NO3 acid
in the rain. You can taste it
Probably Nitric and Sulphuric as well. And plenty of mineral ash.

The county water , (from wells), appears to be "over-amended" and leaves a black slimey residue when it sits for a while.
It often smells like sulphur. They claim it's clean and safe but I won't drink it. The Chloromine content has killed the guppies in my koi ponds.


Had a healthy girl on the lanai in a pot of Hydrotron.
She loved the rainwater. Was doing quite well.
We had a dry spell, I got lazy and watered her with the garden hose just twice in a row.

It got way ugly way fast. In 2/3 days she lost most her fan leaf, went yellow, then brown, then crispy/necrotic.
Flushed her with rainwater and she recovered enough to finish blooming, but lost a lot of weight. and most of her fans

So, I had just the opposite experience from Cigarettes42.
That's why I need to figure out what's going on here.
Not looking to argue, or measure dicks, :) just want to get better minds thinking about it.

Right now, I'm stuck with rainwater. It seems to work well, but you've got me a little worried about it.

The other question?
Is Sodium Bicorbonate unsuitable for PH up?
I test for nute strength before and after I add the Bicarb and the sodium shows up as a higher reading. About 90 ppm per 1/8 tsp per gallon.

Any advice is appreciated
Mahalo nui.
Weezard

[stinkyattic]

Hi Weezard!
No sodium bicarb! The sodium is toxic to plants at a very low concentration compared to how much you will end up with if you rais pH with it consistently. Get yourself a nice bottle of pH up.
Your rain water should still get some CalMag added. Read the chemistry link in my siggy. There's some important concepts of ionic strength and pH measurements in there.
GH will supply some, but not all, of the minerals your plants would like. I would start with your rain water and then add calmag to ~200 ppm and then your GH. Monitor to see if the low leaves get yellow Ca def blotches.
Also, you can play with STYLES of growing, and nutrient systems, until you find one that gets on well with your local water sources. I keep telling people this, that when you have weird water or a problem from past use of chemmy salty ferts or soil, that a fertilizer that contains humic acid can be quite a rewarding change!
I have to get going, but I hope that is a step in the right direction!

[Weezard]

Hi Weezard!
No sodium bicarb! The sodium is toxic to plants at a very low concentration compared to how much you will end up with if you rais pH with it consistently. Get yourself a nice bottle of pH up.
Your rain water should still get some CalMag added. Read the chemistry link in my siggy. There's some important concepts of ionic strength and pH measurements in there.
GH will supply some, but not all, of the minerals your plants would like. I would start with your rain water and then add calmag to ~200 ppm and then your GH. Monitor to see if the low leaves get yellow Ca def blotches.
Also, you can play with STYLES of growing, and nutrient systems, until you find one that gets on well with your local water sources. I keep telling people this, that when you have weird water or a problem from past use of chemmy salty ferts or soil, that a fertilizer that contains humic acid can be quite a rewarding change!
I have to get going, but I hope that is a step in the right direction!

Done!

Stepping in the right direction right away.:)

Bicarb? History.
I'll use it to bake cookies.
Got no signs of Ca deficiency, yet.
Probably due to the volume of my DWC.
5 Gal, bubbling water per plant.

But, just 'cause I don't have visible symptoms yet, don't mean the girls are growing to their full potential.
So, after I pack your Chem link into my head, I'm off to the Hydro store for some PH-up and cal-mag.
I owe you a couple:jointsmile::jointsmile::D

Regards,
Weezard

[Weezard]

Wow!

This;
http://boards.cannabis.com/plant-problems/153522-soil-runoff-ph-flushing-correct-lockouts-why-how-do.html (http://boards.cannabis.com/plant-problems/153522-soil-runoff-ph-flushing-correct-lockouts-why-how-do.html)

Is exactly what I needed.
Dunno how I missed it the first time around.

Aloha Cigs,
Thanks for the drinking rainwater link.
It was edifying and, hence, furthured my "edjumacation":D

Thanks' Stinky, Thanks Weedy.
And Thanks, Zeus, for raising the question.

Hey, Zeus, turns water into weed.:)

I wouldn't try walking on it though.
Leastways not in the summertime.:D

Aloha WWZ,
Every now and den, I do one of dose.
Can't seem to help it.:D
I blame good meds.:rasta:

Gotta run,
Got some PPPs, (Potential Plant health Problems), to
"head off at the past"

Bye Bye.
Buy Bonds.
Save chicken fat
and join the WACs.

Weezard

[justdirt]

weezard not to be a smart ass but i believe the expression is "head them off at the pass" as in what the greeks did to the persians or like the cowboys would do to the indians.

[Weezard]

weezard not to be a smart ass but i believe the expression is "head them off at the pass" as in what the greeks did to the persians or like the cowboys would do to the indians.


Quite correct. :)
Which is why I used quotes.

"Head 'em off at the past" is a Firesign Theater reference.
Means go back and fix what I screwed-up earilier
It's From a late '60s vinyl recording " Waiting for the electrician, or somebody like him".

Don't feel like a dumbass either.;)
Unless you are over 40, it's a very obscure reference.
I was just fishing about for other F. T. fans.

Now I'm off to "take off my shoes, climb a tree, and learn to play the flute".
That's from "I think we're ALL Bozos on this bus"


Aloha,

No shoes!
Gypsy Doctor!

Weeze

[justdirt]

dude i'm 26 and i used to listen to we're all bozos all the time. omg i almost jumped through my skin! back from the shadows again out where an indians your friend where the vegetables are green and you can pee right in the stream. back in the shadows again.holy shit dude.

[Weezard]

dude i'm 26 and i used to listen to we're all bozos all the time. omg i almost jumped through my skin! back from the shadows again out where an indians your friend where the vegetables are green and you can pee right in the stream. back in the shadows again.holy shit dude.

"Don't be afraid, little people, we're only holy grams":D

[WWZEUS]

I found something very interesting this weekend and might be helpful to others he have a low budget. So I got a PH tester kit and tested the rain water I was around 5.4 and I tested the tap water in my House and it was 7.2-4 what normal drinking water should be. I didn't want to freak my plants out with rain water on day then tap another I don't know what would happen if i did that because of the two ph levels. So I got to thinking and I mixed the two for shits and giggles and mixed it up real nice and got a PH of 6.0 something that I was looking for. So I gave it to the little babies on sunday and boy that must of been a shot of life to the cause they started getting a lot bigger. One of my plants primary leaves is just a little wider than my thumb(I have very very big hands) and its second set of leave are almost the same size as my thumb. My other two plants one is on its third set of leave and the other has these really long leaves. I took pics yesterday morning and No joke the plants I have now look nothing like what I had yesterday morning. I'll put pics up later in the day.

So for some one in my posistion and they want to use rain water and the PH is to low I would say add some tap water to it, but first test the two to see what their readings are. I used a mixture of about 60% rain 40% tap. If anyone thinks what I did wrong could be harmful also let me know.

[Weezard]

I found something very interesting this weekend and might be helpful to others he have a low budget. So I got a PH tester kit and tested the rain water I was around 5.4 and I tested the tap water in my House and it was 7.2-4 what normal drinking water should be. I didn't want to freak my plants out with rain water on day then tap another I don't know what would happen if i did that because of the two ph levels. So I got to thinking and I mixed the two for shits and giggles and mixed it up real nice and got a PH of 6.0 something that I was looking for. So I gave it to the little babies on sunday and boy that must of been a shot of life to the cause they started getting a lot bigger. One of my plants primary leaves is just a little wider than my thumb(I have very very big hands) and its second set of leave are almost the same size as my thumb. My other two plants one is on its third set of leave and the other has these really long leaves. I took pics yesterday morning and No joke the plants I have now look nothing like what I had yesterday morning. I'll put pics up later in the day.

So for some one in my posistion and they want to use rain water and the PH is to low I would say add some tap water to it, but first test the two to see what their readings are. I used a mixture of about 60% rain 40% tap. If anyone thinks what I did wrong could be harmful also let me know.

Brilliant, brah!
Why didn't I think of that?
Love a good idea.
Think I'll shake me up a cocktail and see how the "black slime" situation fares.

I'll start with rainwater, add nutes and titrate with tap to PH 6.0 or so.
Run a test bucket for a week and look for slime.

From looking at the Hydro lockout range, I'm also thinking about some hi/low PH manipulation.
It looks from the charts like a rock-steady happy medium will always lockout one nutrient or another.
I'm planning to , water alternately with 5.8 and 6.4 or so to cover a range.
Unless it's going to creep up or down on it's own.
In which case I'll amend with an overshoot and that should give me a wide enough PH range to cover all the elements.
Whataya think?
Sound reasonable to you?

Always:weedpoke:,
Weeze

[WWZEUS]

dude sounds like a very good idea that black slime sounds pretty gross. Do the test bucket like you said and go from there. Everything sounds pretty reasonable your grow must be doing pretty good how far along are you in it?

[Weezard]

dude sounds like a very good idea that black slime sounds pretty gross. Do the test bucket like you said and go from there. Everything sounds pretty reasonable your grow must be doing pretty good how far along are you in it?

Which one?:)

I'm kinda ADD so I've got many irons in the fire.

Started with WW in soil in pots, under HPS
Then started some AK47 seeds under CFLs .
Took some clones and stuck 'em in Rockwool.
Switched to LEDs as I built arrays.
Now have 4 home built lights and a 14W HGL kit.
Liked that, so put the Rockwool cubes in netpots and Bubba-ed up a hydro grow in watebaskets.
Liked that, harvest, but the waterpumps and timers were a hassle.

Wasted some time and money on Hydrotron in between, ugh!
(Anybody want to buy a huge bag of hydrotron?)


So stuck some clones in 6 gallon bucket DWC w/double airstones. Added a wicking systen and some coco to hold water.
Eliminated the waterpumps and timers. SCROGed one of the AK clones and SOGed the WW. Presently have 2 girls in bloom and 5 clones & 2 mothers in veg.
I start a new pair of girls in flower every month, so, have a harvest every month.

Oh, that's not to mention the 3 outdoor girls in dirt (another experiment)
All of which came from the brilliant folks here on Cancom.
When I read about something cool,:cool: I just have to try it.:weedpoke:
So, I ask again, which one?:D

But, thanks for asking.
Regards,
Weezard