Distilled water?

Smokymickpot

Smokymickpot

Well-Known Member
Im growing auto flowers in smart pots using Fox Farm Ocean Forest. I’m water about every three days right now usinting distilled water. Should I be adding cal mag every time I water since distilled water has nothing in it?
 
pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
if your plants are fine then i wouldn't add anything. if they start to look cal-mag deficient then sure. there is fertilizer in your soil. how old are your plants and how big are the pots? post pics! do you have a tds meter or hard tap water or why are you using distilled water in the first place?
 
Smokymickpot

Smokymickpot

Well-Known Member
pulpoinspace said:
if your plants are fine then i wouldn't add anything. if they start to look cal-mag deficient then sure. there is fertilizer in your soil. how old are your plants and how big are the pots? post pics! do you have a tds meter or hard tap water or why are you using distilled water in the first place?
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This one is 5weeks old in a 3gal pot. Did some research on the city water where I live a seen that it has chloramine and it doesn’t evaerater like chlorine does. New to growing so if I am able to use my tap water I would like to know.
 
pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
yeah. i would just use your tap water. distilled water probably leeched some nutrients out of your soil. don't worry about chloramine/chlorine that's a myth. they're in such low concentrations. think about it. if tap water is safe for you and your children to drink it's fine for your plants. I would buy a tds meter off amazon ($15) and see how hard your tap water is but my guess is it would be just fine to use to water your plants.

as far as what to do now, your plants does look a little unhealthy. make sure you're not over-watering or underwatering. youre gonna want a full cannabis specific nutrient like house and garden, fox farm, megacrop, jacks, ect. use 1/4 of the dose it recommends on the bottle and see how the plant responds.
 
Smokymickpot

Smokymickpot

Well-Known Member
pulpoinspace said:
yeah. i would just use your tap water. distilled water probably leeched some nutrients out of your soil. don't worry about chloramine/chlorine that's a myth. they're in such low concentrations. think about it. if tap water is safe for you and your children to drink it's fine for your plants. I would buy a tds meter off amazon ($15) and see how hard your tap water is but my guess is it would be just fine to use to water your plants.
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Do I need to let it set out for a day or can I use it right out the tap?
 
pulpoinspace

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
Smokymickpot said:
Do I need to let it set out for a day or can I use it right out the tap?
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i use mine straight from the tap i've never had any problems. this is one of those things where people will swear to you that chloramine is the devil and killing your plants but you just have to try it for yourself. see how the plant responds.
 
Smokymickpot

Smokymickpot

Well-Known Member
Bugeye said:
You always supplement soft water with cal/mag. Always.
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That’s what I have read but since I’m growing autos in FFOF and not coco I wasn’t sure if I should always add or not I know when growing autos you use less nutrients when feeding but I’ve heard you use more cal mag so I’m just confused.
 
Smokymickpot

Smokymickpot

Well-Known Member
pulpoinspace said:
yeah. i would just use your tap water. distilled water probably leeched some nutrients out of your soil. don't worry about chloramine/chlorine that's a myth. they're in such low concentrations. think about it. if tap water is safe for you and your children to drink it's fine for your plants. I would buy a tds meter off amazon ($15) and see how hard your tap water is but my guess is it would be just fine to use to water your plants.

as far as what to do now, your plants does look a little unhealthy. make sure you're not over-watering or underwatering. youre gonna want a full cannabis specific nutrient like house and garden, fox farm, megacrop, jacks, ect. use 1/4 of the dose it recommends on the bottle and see how the plant responds.
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I was just using tiger bloom, cal mag and super thrive. I went and got some floramicro and Florabloom and I’m going to try the Lucas formula.
 
Bugeye

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
Jypsy Dog said:
You NEVER use "Soft" water. The sodium will kill the plant. RO and Distilled should be amended unless your Ferts are stupid high in CA/MG.
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Distilled and RO ARE soft water. You are referring to hard water that has been softened by a salt based ion exchange, yes, never use this water for growing. Eventually the salt ions build up in your medium and then suddenly one day reverse osmosis occurs and your plants are sucked dry and dead.
 
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Bugeye

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
Smokymickpot said:
So is it best to just use tap water or is it more of a growers choice?
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You need to test your water or pull a water quality report and decide if your tap is usable. Not all tap is the same.

Calcium and mangnesium can be provided in different forms. Often tap water has cal/mag in a large molecule form that is difficult for you plant to uptake, whereas supplemental cal/mag sold in grow shops is in a small molecule form that is easy to take up. So you have to really do some research and if you're unsure, go with RO or distilled that is supplemented with cal/mag. Not only are cal/mag important nutrients, they also aid in other nutrients ability to be taken up by your plant.
 
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Smokymickpot

Smokymickpot

Well-Known Member
Bugeye said:
You need to test your water or pull a water quality report and decide if your tap is usable. Not all tap is the same.

Calcium and mangnesium can be provided in different forms. Often tap water has cal/mag in a large molecule form that is difficult for you plant to uptake, whereas supplemental cal/mag sold in grow shops is in a small molecule form that is easy to take up. So you have to really do some research and if you're unsure, go with RO or distilled that is supplemented with cal/mag. Not only are cal/mag important nutrients, they also aid in other nutrients ability to be taken up by your plant.
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Thanks I think I am going to stick with the distilled water.
 
tightpockt

tightpockt

Well-Known Member
Do you think everyone that has a garden in your city is using distilled water? Or are they just spraying down with the hose?
I have a feeling that since this is your first grow that you're fiddling around with your plants too much. Keep it simple. Water, lights, soil, air movement.
You don't need to amend with a million different 'marijuana specific' fertilizers which are all pretty much a scam anyway.
 
A

AllThingsGreen

Member
Any new growers reading this. Check your pH!! Distilled water isn’t neutral is somewhat acidic. If you have a spring water or tap water source that has harder water, mix it into distilled water until you get the ideal pH.
 
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