Water?

[cannon]

I know most of you all use distilled water and I also do. I wonder if you could use lake water from a fresh water lake. Or is there a way to get the colrie out of tap water. The reason I ask about lake water is that I am at the lake 4 to 5 times a week due to I was a pro wakeboarder and still teach and give lessons. Any ideas would be helpful. My wife is tired of going to the store for water:)

[KL4D4]

If you just let the chlorine evaporate from the tap water by letting it sit out for at least a day I think you'd be fine... I went so far as to collect rain water however the other day for my seedling.

[cannon]

Is there a way to test for chlorine?

[KL4D4]

you can get a ph test I'm sure, just like a strip or maybe there are digital ones to.

[cannon]

I have a ph tester but I am not sure that will tell me if chlorine is in that water and it will harm the plants.

[KL4D4]

Well you want a P.H of about 7.0 isn't it? The neutral level.

[cannon]

just did a little test right out of the tap yikes came with a 8.5 I am going to let water from the tap sit a few days and then test it.

[spiked666killer]

I use tap water. All plants seam to grow just fine o.0

[tripsalot]

i dont think the chlorine is a problem with tap water just the high ph

[stinkyattic]

All right party people, here's the deal:

You can't determine presence/absence of chlorine by testing pH.

MArijuana likes a pH that is slightly acid, approximately 6.3 to 6.8.

Did you know that distilled water, when allowed to air-equilibrate, actually has a weakly-acid pH as a result of atmospheric CO2 going into solution and going into equilibrium with Carbonic acid?

Lake and rain water will 99% of the time be slightly acid as well.

LAke water does contain low levels of dissolved nutrients; the amount varies depending on the region, the watershed, the substrate, biological activity, time of year, etc.

If you use tap water and really worry about chlorine, you can let it sit with an airstone in it overnight to air-equilibrate. At room temperature, pure Chlorine exists as a gas. In natural lake water, it will be found as an part of a molecular substance such as sodium chloride (NaCl) which is table salt, or CaCl, which is road salt, or any of an innumerable array of substances.

The amount of chlorine left in tap water after leaving it out all night should NOT harm you plants.

If you want to test for chlorine, pool supply stores should have chlorine test kits in stock, but the sensitivity is low because of the very high levels of Cl expected in swimming pools.

[Pothead4204life]

look out for bacteria...you could boil the water to get rid of.....

..why would you want to use lake water...too much trouble...just use the distilled...I wouldnt give the plant any water that i wouldn't drink.....

[cannon]

Thanks for all the help. I will continue to use dustilled water on this grow. Than on the next one I will try tap and let it sit a day or two.

[redman71]

check into stuff for aquariums tons of that stuff removes chlorine, amonia, acids, etc. You also can get PH up and down in the aquarium stuff to...testers and what have you

[Opie Yutts]

I wonder if you could use lake water from a fresh water lake.
Yes, but I would boil it first, just to be safe. Probably not necessary. You could experiment. Maby even there is some benificial nutrients in there.

Or is there a way to get the colrie out of tap water.
Yes. Buy chlorine neutralizer at a pet store or hydro shop, or give your water as much surface area as possible and the chlorine will eventually evaporate. Not sure how long this takes.

I have a ph tester but I am not sure that will tell me if chlorine is in that water
A PH tester will not check for chlorine. A chlorine test kit will.

Any ideas would be helpful.
Expensive and it works: Reverse Osmosis (search)
Cheap and it works: Boil
I gather you are not using well water. If your water company cannot supply you with specifics about your water then they are not doing their job properly. Call them and ask (cheapest way of all to find out).

Well you want a P.H of about 7.0 isn't it?
Yes, that's a great PH level.... for your plants to die. You want 5.2 to 5.4. Some people say a little higher, but I spent a lot of time with various resources to come up with this number. Also since PH usually rises, it allows a little room for it to go up and not kill your plants.

just did a little test right out of the tap yikes came with a 8.5 I am going to let water from the tap sit a few days and then test it.
The PH in my water and my nutrients increases as it sits out. Sounds like you need: Chlorine test kit, chlorine nuetralizer (or possibly not), and PH down.

[stinkyattic]

Well you want a P.H of about 7.0 isn't it?
Yes, that's a great PH level.... for your plants to die. You want 5.2 to 5.4. Some people say a little higher, but I spent a lot of time with various resources to come up with this number. Also since PH usually rises, it allows a little room for it to go up and not kill your plants.

.

This is true of hydro.
If you are growing in soil, you are going to want 6.3-6.8.
And in my soil experience, the pH drops over time.

[Opie Yutts]

Oh, my bad. I don't know why, maybe I didn't read well, but I assumed we were talking about hydro.

[OmegaVermelho]

Dont know about hydro but for soil the ph should be between 6.3 and 6.8....not all destiled water has a neutral 7.0 ph (the one i buy has 5.8)..so just by a 5$ ph test kit and some ph+ and ph- solutions (u can get them real cheap)....although i´ve read a thread recently by Garden Knowm in wich some seeds were grown with 8.0ph water, but in this particular case Miracle Grow was also used....so test the water and make sure the ph readings are within the mentioned levels...happy gowing dude...:D

[Opie Yutts]

Sure PH test kits are $5, but if you are going to do this much, you had better spring for the $25 for a meter. Much, much more convenient.

[stinkyattic]

....not all destiled water has a neutral 7.0 ph (the one i buy has 5.8)..

Yeah, there's probably dissolved atmospheric CO2 in it. Goes to an equilibrium with carbonic acid. Drops pH.

[bongerstonerd00d]

Buy a R.O. and some pH Down. Then you are all set. Buying distilled water over a year long period would probably pay for a R.O. setup. You can get one for 200 and change.


b0nger

[deftdrummer]

you can get really good reverse osmosis kits on ebay for about $100 that come with the attachments you need for any type of setup usually. Make sure you check how expensive replacement filters are though, some can be as much as the RO system itself!

[madeline]

You guys don't need all of that stuff. Brita water filters remove chlorine along with other contaminants and particulates AND fix PH. You can let high PH water sit out for the next year and it will still not fix itself so it will still need fixing before it should be used. Your best bet for PH is get yourself a cheap water test kit (under 10 bucks, I have pics here somewhere of it) as already mentioned and check your water regularly. Outdoors it's not so important but indoors it is critical for healthy plants and good yields.

[bongerstonerd00d]

This all in one super filter uses what process? What filter medium is used ? This filter knows wether to pH up or down ? This things sounds like a miracle product. Where does one obtain info on it ?

Does this thing produce gallon for gallon? If I run 10 gallons through it, does it make 10 gallons of this perfect water with no rejection?

Anyway why do I need a pH test kit ? I thought this Brita contraption knew what I needed and fixed it ?

Oh, and how is it on Nitrate removal ?



I eagerly await your reply,
b0nger

[bongerstonerd00d]

Still waiting patiently for the info on this Brita All-In-One system.




b0nger