Okay .... Let's talk about Rain Water ...

[GrowRebel]

I did a search on the subject and couldn't find any good information.

So tell me kids ... is rain water better than tap?

What are your feelings on this?:stoned: :dance:

[brookerosebud]

as long as your area is not heavily poluted, it should be better than tap as there are no added ingredients in rainwater.

[Garden Knowm]

The most important element is the PH.. then it is the PPM...

Rain water is probably pretty darn low on the PPMs... this is good

: )

[buzzedlady]

I think all plants will look much healthier if they get rain water.
But what to use when there is no rain?

[mistyganjatree]

rain water is second best to distilled or purified water!, it has or should have an extreemly low EC, unless you have alot of bird shit on the roof! PH is always around 7 to 7.2 , as we always adjust the PH this is irrelevant!
whats more important to remember is tap water has on average 150 additives, that allow the water to be processed and stored in the pipes, believe it or not it contains cyanide in trace elements for anti disentery and other mnasty such things, really the chlorine is one of the least harmfull substances added to tap water!and will almost disolve out in 24 hrs if left to sit [air],
rain water like purified and distilled water does lack some elements that will need to be addressed by using the right nutes! ie calcium! you need nutes made for purified water not tap water!

good luck!


welcome to the world of endless possiblities,,,,,hydroponics

[stinkyattic]

Rain water is great because the town doesn't charge you for it :D

[oliwog]

i would have thought it would be better apart from the fact that the higher the pollution levels are the more toxins will be in the rain water
so if you live in the country theoreticly the rain should be ok but the thing is rain clouds travel so the rain water could still be polluted heavily as the cloud mauy have travelled from a polluted area b4 it actually rained
if ya get me peps
stick with purified or distilled
at least u know wots in it

[stinkyattic]

Yeah, the acid rain in the Northeast actually comes from the rust belt. You can tell the approximate source of your local acid rain by the relative levels of nitric and sulfuric acid in it! I'm not kidding!

[kush07]

Rain water is great. For one, its free. It is my second favorite water. I prefer mineral water because my plants seem to love it so I don't plan to stop using it.

Happy Toking :rasta:

[GrowRebel]

Yes, but if we are getting acid rain ....not that we are .... but if we were here in NE Ohio ... the plants outside seems to be doing fine. There is that to consider. If acid rain ... not that we have it ..... is so bad why doesn't it effect the tress and plants?

[stinkyattic]

If acid rain ... not that we have it ..... is so bad why doesn't it effect the tress and plants?
The effects are subtle on land because there is so much organic buffering going on.
Areas that are really susceptible to acid rain have lakes with a substrate that is very low in calcium carbonate, which leaches out of limestone.'
CaCO3 is an effective buffer against acid rain. Lakes lacking it get drops in pH at certain times of year that result in fish dying off, unusual algae blooms, and lack of oxygen as those algal organisms die off and decay.

[TheGreenFog]

StinkyAttic, your intelligence and knowledge never ceases to amaze me...

I mean, you cant even sprout a chia pet!

;)

TGF

[OmegaVermelho]

StinkyAttic, your intelligence and knowledge never ceases to amaze me...

I mean, you cant even sprout a chia pet!

;)

TGF

If i´m not mistaken Mr.Stinky is a Chemical Eng so i guess if he didnt cheat all the way through Uni and didnt smoke HowHigh´s magic pot i´m pretty sure that he knows damm well what he´s talkin about...:D :D :D :stoned: :stoned: ...Peace Stinky u rock...keep them chem lectures commin i love them...:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[UnitedParcelSecrets]

The effects are subtle on land because there is so much organic buffering going on.
Areas that are really susceptible to acid rain have lakes with a substrate that is very low in calcium carbonate, which leaches out of limestone.'
CaCO3 is an effective buffer against acid rain. Lakes lacking it get drops in pH at certain times of year that result in fish dying off, unusual algae blooms, and lack of oxygen as those algal organisms die off and decay.


... is it wrong to love somebody for intelligence? :D

[UnitedParcelSecrets]

If i´m not mistaken Mr.Stinky is a Chemical Eng so i guess if he didnt cheat all the way through Uni and didnt smoke HowHigh´s magic pot i´m pretty sure that he knows damm well what he´s talkin about...:D :D :D :stoned: :stoned: ...Peace Stinky u rock...keep them chem lectures commin i love them...:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


MISS Stinky ... is a chemist. :)

[buzzedlady]

I bought Nestley brand bottled water with ozone added, it said on the bottle.
I had some in a bowl, and when I empty the bowl a day later, there is like a white crusty film at the bottom. What the heck is that? Do not want that to accumulate in my soil! Please tell me exactly what brand of bottle water to buy for my plant, i don't trust Tap water.

[stinkyattic]

Aww you guys!
I'm not a chem eng, otherwise I'd be making more money!!!
I just do environmental chemistry- mostly inorganics in water and sediments, but now I'm getting into organics in tissues. Kind of culture shock.

To reply to buzzedlady, the white crusty stuff is what's left of dissoled minerals that were in the water. It wouldn't be the ozone because that would come out of solution, but it might be calcium carbonate. Many brands of bottled water have minerals added for health or flavor reasons.

Usually there's no reason to distrust tap water for your plants.

[mistyganjatree]

i wouldnt use bottled mineral water in hydro at least,
the EC can be pretty high and the minerals can build up fast!
distilled or purified water is always the best, collect it from airconunits! free, or dehumidifiers, i collect 50 liters a day from my AC just enought to keep me in pure water for ever! for free,,well almost! lol

[Pass That Shit]

I think all plants will look much healthier if they get rain water.
But what to use when there is no rain?


During the summer while room moisture is high, you can use the water from your dehumidifier to water your plants. This distilled water has very few minerals and good for plants. If it's free, it's for mee :D

[buzzedlady]

Thanks Stinky for the info. The crusty film was at the bottom of a small bowl for my cat lol. I can only imagine the accumulation of that stuff in the soil after months of watering plants, that can't be good is my guess, or maybe it doesn't matter?

Misty, or anyone, what brand is the best distilled water for plants?

[Pass That Shit]

Professional experienced growers recommend the water in your dehumidifier for coffee use over tap water. Some even argue that it's distilled water in it's purest form. You can pay for it if you like, I was just pointing out that some of us have a good source of water already available. And those gallons are pretty heavy to carry from the store too.

[upnsmk]

ok so rain water = good? because i live up in alaska and the town i live in it rains 24/7 i could easy collect 5-6 gallons a day here

[stinkyattic]

Yes, it's good; in Alaska it's probably GREAT because you're so far from industrial centers.

[buzzedlady]

Questoin for Stinky or anyone that can answer...

At the pharmacy here they sell "treated Demineralized water" that is equivalent to distilled water it sais on the bottle.
It also states this:
"Atlas brand treated Demineralized water contains less than 10 parts per million of solids (<10ppm). The treatment process has made this water pure and practically free from chlorides, sulfates, carbonates and calcium and is equivalent to distilled water." It then goes on by saying it "prolongs the life of electric kettles, steam irons, humidifiers, radiators etc... because there are no deposits from the water (crusty film) and it is perfect for misting plants."
Ha! sounds good!

So what do you all think of this water? any good to you?
Would like to know your thoughts, maybe I should add calcium to this water?
Note that my plant is going into FLOWER stage this weekend.
Thank you!

[GrowRebel]

Well from the look of the post in this thread I'd say it's save to say rain water is good! :) :thumbsup:

Now when people do a search on rain water folks will have a thread with good info to look at. :cool:

[Pass That Shit]

Questoin for Stinky or anyone that can answer...

At the pharmacy here they sell "treated Demineralized water" that is equivalent to distilled water it sais on the bottle.
It also states this:
"Atlas brand treated Demineralized water contains less than 10 parts per million of solids (<10ppm). The treatment process has made this water pure and practically free from chlorides, sulfates, carbonates and calcium and is equivalent to distilled water." It then goes on by saying it "prolongs the life of electric kettles, steam irons, humidifiers, radiators etc... because there are no deposits from the water (crusty film) and it is perfect for misting plants."
Ha! sounds good!

So what do you all think of this water? any good to you?
Would like to know your thoughts, maybe I should add calcium to this water?
Note that my plant is going into FLOWER stage this weekend.
Thank you!

Just to add about the water from the dehumidifier for those who use it, demineralized water is exactly what you get when you dump the bucket from your dehumidifier. The water that comes out of your machine is just about free of all the minerals that are common in tap water.

[buzzedlady]

That's a good trick to collect water from machines. I don't have a dehumidifier so I got to pay for demineralized water. The brand I talked about is $3 for 4.5 litres. Unless it rains then that's my choice of water.

What about snow? If I melt it is it the same rain water? I'm assuming it is.

[OmegaVermelho]

MISS Stinky ... is a chemist. :)

MISS??????????????????
Oh mamamamamamamama, will u come over and stink my attic????:D :D :D :D :stoned: :stoned: :stoned:

[Garden Knowm]

Buzzed lady.. you probably (99%) don't need distilled water for your plants unless you have realy hard water (high ppm) and are growing hydro or aeroponicaly.. and even in some very hard water conditions.. it is still ok in HYDRO...

iloveyou

[stinkyattic]

Questoin for Stinky or anyone that can answer...
So what do you all think of this water? any good to you?
Would like to know your thoughts, maybe I should add calcium to this water?

Yes! You are correct!!! Ha ha ha!!! (sorry, having a vintage SNL moment)
CalMag Plus to be exact.

[stinkyattic]

MISS??????????????????
Oh mamamamamamamama, will u come over and stink my :
Let me stop at a bad Mexican restaurant first... oh wait, that's not what you meant, is it?
:D