hey, yall dnt knw me but man a is new member ta dis and a beginner ta growin lowryder. so um js curiouse ta knw what pH water is, isit bottled water bought from supermarket and wat not or tap water ? might be dumb ques to many but uma beginner, anybody can help ??
JT, what's shakin'? PH is term used in reference to the acidity and activity within basic water. From the tap, water in my town in 7.6, from the filtered water refilling station outside on my local market the pPH is 6.2 which is more ideal. During a plants life it will need to be nourish/fed with a nutrient mixture that cannot be to high or low in PH. The range for hydro growers is said to be between 5.4 and 6.2 (5.8 is a very ideal PH level in hydro setups).
On another note, and to shed some light about
PH and it's effects; Plants uptake nutrients from the h20(water) solution they are fed. PH of 5.8 allows plants to uptake all of the many particulate of nutrients (metals mostly I think) in the balanced 5.8 solution. If the PH falls much below 5.8 the plant will not be able to uptake certain nutrient particulate (nutrient lockout) and will starve of that required nutrient. That doesn't mean that your plants will fall over dead, it means they will grow missing nourishment they require. If the PH rises far about 5.8 the same will occur, and for every bit your PH is off, the plant will be unable to uptake a balanced supply of nutrients to remain healthy and produce fat fuckin nugs like happy plants do... lol.
PH is only one aspect of the things you'll need to control, but this can be done by purchasing a meter test your water/nutrient solution. I bought a $70
Milwaukee PH meter and it works great, but if I were starting over I'd skip the cheap meater and save my money for a meter that has the 3 main functions you will NEED eventually if you grow.
Be aware, some people have never purchased a meter and have grown successfully, but I don't have a green thumb yet and I don't trust my agricultural skills based on never taking agriculture in school or live or even in dreams. Sounds boring. Unless you grow pot or ... lol.
My buddy bought a
Hanna meter and it feels more solid then the Milwaukee meter I have.