hey all...quick '?'... at my buddies house where i am growing, he has really bad water so i have been bringing bottled water up for my girls. is bottled water Ph neutral and everything? cause i dont even have my Ph test kit any more.
Most bottled water is ~7 PH, since that's the proper level for humans. Since most nutes have a PH buffer in them, it is probably bringing it down to an acceptable level.
However, it may not be. If your PH is just a little bit off, the effects can be subtle, and unnoticeable until after the damage is done. Just a slight variation of PH can lock out Calcium and Magnesium, which inhibits growth both in the root zone and the exposed plant. Problem is, if the PH is just a little out of whack, you don't see indicators until after your plant has already been experiencing defs for a week or more!
A digital PH tester can be had for about $20 including shipping from E-Bay. You don't have to invest $70+ dollars in a meter, especially if you're using treated water. But you do NEED something to tell you the PH.
Growing without any PH monitoring is a recipe for disaster. 90% of the problems you see in the Infirmary can be traced back to bad PH.
Of all the things you can let slide in our hobby, PH is not one of them.
Get a meter! If you can't do anything else, use the PH drops liquid testers, but do SOMETHING!