Distilled water?

[Elbling0]

Whaddup my dudes.
Wasnt sure what category this question fit into so Misc' it was  

What do you guys think about using Distilled water? I want to start using it for an outdoor grow but have only been able to find some very conflicting advice.

Does Distilled water have a naturally low PH because of the lack there of CalMag?

Will I end up experiencing deficiencies even with regular Seasol powerfeed nutes?

Will I be better off using tap water after aged for 48 hours to evaporate Chlorine/Chloramines and such like im currently using?

One hand they say you dont know what they are putting into tap water and it can fluctuate at any given time and also leave you with the build up of salts in your soil overtime? And the other they say Distilled water doesnt occur naturally and the lack of mineral can put you in trouble etc etc.

Distilled is more or less pure h20 I think, so if I were to use it what would I supplement the lack of Calmag if my nutes werent making up for it. Epsolm salts?
Or would I just end up running into more Deficiencies.

Thanks guys!   
 

[slicker1]

i've always used water from the tap. i do leave it in a container to evaporate the chlorine.

if your outdoors i cant see the point of distilled water. there going to get rained on and rain water isnt distilled.

 

i think people are too precious with these plants.

i dont give them any more care than i do my tomatoes. no one would fuss so much about PH or EC or Calmag for their vegies.

they give them good rich organic soil, a good sunny spot to grow in, give them the right amount of water, then bingo tomatoes.

[Serrated edge]

Fuck, how much would that cost ,tap water is cheap

[merl1n]

Don't do it

I know this 'cos I did.

There are 2 reasons I say this and one has been mentioned above, unless you have a still it's bloody costly. Now there is a 'Macgyver' method, using a sheet of plastic suspended over a pond or water source(a bit like a hammock, with a hand full of stones in the middle of the sheet. As the water evaporates from the pond it condenses back to water on the under side of the sheet. The stones drops the centre of gravity to the middle of the 'hammock', the condensed water runs down to the bottom and underneath the centre I placed a 3 litre bottle with the head of the bottle cut off, making a funnel. Place the funnel upside down in the cut off bottle and it prevents the collected condensed water from easily being contaminated. Which is way cheaper but I still recommend you don't use distilled water anyways.

The reason being that tap water contains other salts or base salts. Nutrient manufacturers take these base salts into consideration in their formulations, so they don't add them 'cos 90% of us use treated water (tapwater) anyways. I proved something, I'd consider, similar by using pure rainwater and commercial nute mix. I had a marked decline in the health of 2 separate crops I grew using rainwater. Now I admit that the rain water came from a tin roof and the salts from the galv iron would have altered the salt levels. But by reverting back to tapwater the improvement was very noticeable. In saying that I have also heard that there is an additive you can get to add to the water to balance the required salts that are missing from rainwater and they may possibly be able to be added to distilled water too to boost the desired levels of required salts, but that's just another additional cost again. IMO it'd be much easier (if you have access) just to simply use tapwater.

 

Hope it helps

Merl1n

[Elbling0]

i've always used water from the tap. i do leave it in a container to evaporate the chlorine.

if your outdoors i cant see the point of distilled water. there going to get rained on and rain water isnt distilled.

 

i think people are too precious with these plants.

i dont give them any more care than i do my tomatoes. no one would fuss so much about PH or EC or Calmag for their vegies.

they give them good rich organic soil, a good sunny spot to grow in, give them the right amount of water, then bingo tomatoes.

Yeah I probably should be keeping it simple.

Simplicity is key. 

But still just trying to educate myself as much as possible 

 

Fuck, how much would that cost ,tap water is cheap

Not as much as youd think man. $2 for 2L at woolies or something. 

 

 

Don't do it

I know this 'cos I did.

There are 2 reasons I say this and one has been mentioned above, unless you have a still it's bloody costly. Now there is a 'Macgyver' method, using a sheet of plastic suspended over a pond or water source(a bit like a hammock, with a hand full of stones in the middle of the sheet. As the water evaporates from the pond it condenses back to water on the under side of the sheet. The stones drops the centre of gravity to the middle of the 'hammock', the condensed water runs down to the bottom and underneath the centre I placed a 3 litre bottle with the head of the bottle cut off, making a funnel. Place the funnel upside down in the cut off bottle and it prevents the collected condensed water from easily being contaminated. Which is way cheaper but I still recommend you don't use distilled water anyways.

The reason being that tap water contains other salts or base salts. Nutrient manufacturers take these base salts into consideration in their formulations, so they don't add them 'cos 90% of us use treated water (tapwater) anyways. I proved something, I'd consider, similar by using pure rainwater and commercial nute mix. I had a marked decline in the health of 2 separate crops I grew using rainwater. Now I admit that the rain water came from a tin roof and the salts from the galv iron would have altered the salt levels. But by reverting back to tapwater the improvement was very noticeable. In saying that I have also heard that there is an additive you can get to add to the water to balance the required salts that are missing from rainwater and they may possibly be able to be added to distilled water too to boost the desired levels of required salts, but that's just another additional cost again. IMO it'd be much easier (if you have access) just to simply use tapwater.

 

Hope it helps

Merl1n

I didnt know a lot of Nute manufacturers took into account minerals in tap water, very cool on their behalf! 

The Macgyver method, love it haha! Not a bad idea though. Could you get harmful pathogens or sorts if it was a fish or turtle pond though? 

Fighting a bit of fungus atm, last thing I want   

Its only a couple $$ instore for 2L of distilled, cant justify spending for regular feeding but do you think the Distilled would be good for flushing and what not?

As it has nothing it would leave behind? 

I heard its fantastic for the transport of nutrients to the roots. Would it be worth me using it for my fortnightly nutrient dose?

 

Thanks Merlin, great info 

Edited October 17, 2016 by Elbling0

[Indycar]

Now I admit that the rain water came from a tin roof and the salts from the galv iron would have altered the salt levels.

 

Hope it helps

Merl1n

 

I've heard of this one a few years back, Merl1n. Just wondering though, could you expand a little more on this? Like is it only the older style of Tin/Gal roof sheeting or is Zincalume and Colorbond sheeting included that can alter the water?

[The Stoned Jester]

I keep it super simple the only thing I do is and would recommend doing is to PH balance the tap water, as I think it's the most important aspect due to nutrient lockout.

[Serrated edge]

I think you might have underestimated how much a grown plant can drink if you were considering a dollar a litre. Edited October 18, 2016 by Serrated edge

[Elbling0]

I keep it super simple the only thing I do is and would recommend doing is to PH balance the tap water, as I think it's the most important aspect due to nutrient lockout.

Yeah I think ill stick with the game plan of tap. Still a newbie, just learning.

Thanks man. 

 

I think you might have underestimated how much a grown plant can drink if you were considering a dollar a litre.

Yeah dude did the math (Never been my strongest value haha) 

Too much $$ even if it could be sourced in bulk.  

Just want to know if anyones had any experience using it to flush or for nutes.

Theoretically should be A1 for flushing as itd leave nothing behind.

[Ford Fairlane]

keep it simple.. There are more important things to think about