can anyone tell me if rainwater good or bad for the plants ? its PH 0 by natures right !!
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can anyone tell me if rainwater good or bad for the plants ? its PH 0 by natures right !!
unless you got acid rain your area, which can happen
We have acid rain everynight where I live. I just stick my tongue out and catch as many as I can.
rainwater is normally neutral which means it has a pH of 7
It is good, but since it is entirely pure, it will have no mineral contents. If your plants only get rainwater you'll have to add fertilizer.
Really you shouldn't worry if it's rainwater or tapwater. They're about the same. Just make sure it isn't overwatered or underwatered.
This is what any plant in nature needs:
1. Water (doesn't matter what water as long as it isn't poisined)
2. minerals (fertilizers are almost pure minerals)
3. carbon-dioxide (atmosphere usually has enough)
4. light (sunlight is the best, but good artificial lighting will do)
Yeah, despite what the bottled water companies are trying to convince us, there's nothing wrong with tap water. The government invests a LOT of time and effort into making sure our drinking water is pure and has the right pH. If you don't believe me, just take a visit to your local water treatment center. I'm sure they'd be happy to explain to you everything about the process (the general public usually shows very little interest in this vital service for our communities). Be thankful that you live in an industrialized nation that has the kind of resources to ensure that the drinking water is pure and safe, and don't be afraid to take advantage of that.
didnt you hear on the news not too long ago that major bottled water companies were using tap water
Yeah, that's not news to me. I learned that years ago by watching this hilarious episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit!, and I've been pointing it out to people ever since. It usually says right on the bottle what municipal water supply the bottled water comes from.
[YOUTUBE]XfPAjUvvnIc[/YOUTUBE]
5 gallons of rainwater + 1 tsp lime + 1 multivitamin = good for your plants.
some bad info in this thread so far ... first, 'the government' does NOT adjust pH in tapwater ... I worked for a City Water Works for 3 years, we did NOT adjust pH, nor did it even concern us, our job was to prevent bacteria and contaminants ... my present city tapwater pH's at 4.5, VERY acidic ... and, it is made even MORE acidic, after passing thru my Reverse-Osmosis filters ... (RO removes the lime/calcium, further acidifying the water) ...
rainwater is basically distilled water, but picks up some pollutants, minerals etc on the way down ... rainwater will keep the plants alive, obviously, but there are better sources ... well-water tends to be the best, IF the pH is OK ... I found a natural spring a few miles away, pHs at 6.7, so I'm all set, finally ... if no other sources, just set your tapwater out for a couple days, so the chlorine will evaporate, and use that (chlorine doesn't hurt the plant, but it kills beneficial organisms in the soil) good growing :thumbsup: ... :jointsmile:
they add chlorine in tap water from what i know and other things to keeps city water bacteria free i just collect rainwater or let tapwater sit out for a few days kuz i hear it naturally removes chlorine idk
What I do with my tap water to get get rid of chlorine is hook up an aquarium air pump to push air through the water making it easier for the chlorine to evaporate:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by CJP123THC
Tap water is entirely dependant on where you live, so is rain water and well water. Water is not just water!! most companies like poland spring RO there water to get that good taste. Tap isnt bad, however u need to let the chlorine evaporate like noted above. I use well water, and its got loads of minerals in it i need to account for when adding my nutes. Also a lot of place now filter there waste water and in my area they have been finding chemicals from digested pharmaceuticals, it's very low but its there, mad loot to clean up. Check your areas water content before using it. I use distilled water until my seedlings turn into plants, because they have stored enough nutes until that stage nothing is needed. My well water is far to strong for them.
If you collect rain water just wait about 5 to ten minutes before collecting from a down spout so it can clean any dirt off of the roof and gutters. then what I would do is put a pond filter its like cotton you get it at the pet shop for like 6 dollars and then get a small container of activated carbon make a filter to fit in the downspout. You will want to do this at the top of the downspout in the gutter if possible so it will not clog the spout and you can manually clear anything stuck to the filter. Now your water should be clear if it is not you did not allow enough rain to clean the roof.
Now with a tds meter check the ppm of the collected water it will probably be about 10 to 30 ppm then check with a pH meter or drops the water should be 7.0 on the money if it is you can use it for your plants you will have to add cal-meg or magic-cal.I was tiered of haling water so I just bought a hydro-logic ro 100 my water is about 200 ppm from the tape when it comes out from the ro its 0 ppm good luck.
Google rain ph. You'll immediatelly see in the responses you get, the problem with using rainwatwer or creekwater. (generally acidic)
"5 gallons of rainwater + 1 tsp lime + 1 multivitamin" (for a plant...?)
"Any water will do"...?
Although bottled water companies use tapwater, it is filtered. Major liabilities if not.
Image Reaper is right. Loads of bad info here, and it's so easily Googled. Seems to me the blind shouldn't be offering advise to the blind.
"Wellwater is far too strong"...? Perhaps diluting with bottled water would help? <kidding>
I collected about 20 gallons of rain water in our most recent storm. Should I simply put some Cal Mag and some PH Down in it? Sounds like I'd be good to go if I did (and I have both of those). Thx.
I would pick rain water over tap water any day. All I know is after it rains my other grass grows like a weed. Just be sure to strain out the chunks.
FROM EXPERIENCE actually trying that......DONT do it. Damn near lost my garden doing that.
After 30 plus years growing indoors and sometimes outdoors, having used distilled water, rain water, reverse osmosis water, and just plain ole city tap water, I get my best results with tap water. Do as you wish, but don't be so set in your ways that you can't open your eyes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stellybutton
Not only that, tap water costs the least. :jointsmile:
Same here ... been there, done that, and the best results I have gotten have come from plain, old tap water. And the price is right compared to buying distilled or purified at the store.Quote:
Originally Posted by WashougalWonder
:eek: Shhh, don't tell anybody but there have even been a few times I forgot to let it sit out for a couple of days and there were no noted adverse reactions from using it without evap'ing the chlorine.
*whispers back* ya me too
Haha.....well, I'm glad I never bought into the RO hype. I even have a grower who swears by oxygenated water. I've used tap exclusively, after leaving it out 12 hrs. Great results, no problems. No extra expenses, too.
Although, rainwater is cheaper than tap. Not much, though.
I am a firm believer in airstones when growing hydro. Those roots eat up the oxygenated nutes like little rootin' monsters! :upsidedowQuote:
Originally Posted by calicollectives
I agree about no adverse effects for not off gassing the chlorine. I just add my nutes and have at it. And, I use rain water occasionally too. But with the pollutants in the air, I don't use if as much as tap.!! :D :twocents:Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynhal
Right out of the tap for me as long as the PH is good, and I've never seen anything but neutral. If you are worried about your water source then you are probably making mistakes in other areas of the grow. I doubt any plant has ever died from tap water. My favorite nursery uses tap water right from the hose I see them watering all the time. Their plants are flawless.
On the other hand bottled water is evil. If every truck that ships water parked for good tomorrow it would save billions of barrels of oil a year. You pay more for bottled water than gas, and you pay more for gas because of bottled water.
Water is shipped from your state to states far away, and from states far away water is shipped to yours all for the sake of providing people with their favorite label. It's the equivalent of a 5 year old deciding what Disney character to like. There are a lot of stupid people in the world. There is no better evidence of this than bottled water.
There have been plants that have died from tap water but only because the grower didn't check the ph levels before watering/nut'ing their plants and took for granted that the ph was just fine and dandy without a simple test. Big mistake IMHO.Quote:
Originally Posted by scrumby