Is it okay to water seedling with just pure RO?

[Hydrochronic]

Hey guys just wanted to know if it is okay to water my seedling in rockwool with just pure RO water un ph'd. I mean it makes sense to me not to ph it cause their aint nothin in it right? I have a seedling in a 4 rockwool cube, but i notice that my leaves are wrinkling slightly so im just going to let the cube dry up a bit than switch it up between waterings with RO water and nutrient water here is some pics if someone can figure out my wrinkling leaves.

 

[racer3456]

Hey guys just wanted to know if it is okay to water my seedling in rockwool with just pure RO water un ph'd. I mean it makes sense to me not to ph it cause their aint nothin in it right?...

There's unfortunately more to it than just dissolved solutes in solution. You want the pH to be correct 5.5-6.0, (some say 5.8 on the dot!, but I say your fine if ur close to 5.5) Anyways, you always want that pH correct because that water is getting absorbed by the roots into the plant, not just regulating the nutrients that are available at certain pH's. So yeah, always adjust your pH and try to get it as close to 5.8 as possible, but if ur a little under, that's ok too (that's how i set mine and i have no problems whatsoever).

 

[Hydrochronic]

even for Pure RO water with no nutes in it? its like .35 ppm.?

 

[racer3456]

Again, there's more to it than ppm, or in chemistry terms, dissolved solutes. The only reason that's important is because of nutrient lock-out. In other words, at certain pH's, the nutrients precipitate out of solution, thus making that particular element/nutrient unavailable to the plant. But the pH (free H+ ions) also is getting absorbed by the plant via the water, obviously and it must be correct, otherwise the plant will not respond positively to the water. It's not that difficult to do, so why not just do it??? Trust me on this one.

 

[Hydrochronic]

It makes sense and i have confidence in your statement, I will ph adjust my plain water now. Its just such a pain in the ass cause RO is so finicky by itself. i usually just dip my finger in the ph up or down and stir with my finger cause adding it by the drop is just to much. I am only dunking it in a bucket with my plain water or ro water right now as i only have the one seedling right now i guess that is why it is so hard to get it bang on cause its only like a gallon of water. Theirs no point in getting my 50 liter res set up it would just be a waste of nutes. At least until i get her big enough to clone then i will get it set up again. Can't wait till it is bigger! right now i just have to water once a day cause i have a 4 inch cube for the seedling and those big cubes hold enough for one to 2 days.

 

[racer3456]

It makes sense and i have confidence in your statement, I will ph adjust my plain water now. Its just such a pain in the ass cause RO is so finicky by itself. i usually just dip my finger in the ph up or down and stir with my finger cause adding it by the drop is just to much. I am only dunking it in a bucket with my plain water or ro water right now as i only have the one seedling right now i guess that is why it is so hard to get it bang on cause its only like a gallon of water. Theirs no point in getting my 50 liter res set up it would just be a waste of nutes. At least until i get her big enough to clone then i will get it set up again. Can't wait till it is bigger! right now i just have to water once a day cause i have a 4 inch cube for the seedling and those big cubes hold enough for one to 2 days.

I know what your saying because I use distilled water and REALLY concentrated pH up and down. One or two drops will usually move it from 7ish to 5.5. I know it can be a pain, especially when you overshoot the pH you are aiming for, but once its set, its pretty much set and you barely have to mess with it anymore. It's definitely worth it to just get it right and know that it won't cause any problems.

 

[Hydrochronic]

ya and i find if i pour the ro water or nute water into a container than dip it and discard the excess i dont have to adjust as much. She seems to be doing well the third set popped up in two days and i just looked at it now and its already got new growth coming up. i think the root system is well established now and i did what you said about letting it dry then water so i will look at it in the morning and post a reply.Thanks bud.