Rain water and tap water discussion

[Creeperpark]

Hempy is a good reason to use clean water. Bleach has a pH between 11 and 13 and that's why I never use it in rainwater. Don't worry if you have a little natural ppm in the Rainwater. It doesn't hurt anything and is natural ppm. If you run a RO system from your water lines and get 7 ppm water, you can mix it with 40 ppm Rainwater-RO mix 50/50. One has a lot of "ppm room" with water that is in the 30s or 40s ppm. . Don't be concerned too much with natural ppm unless it's chloride, sodium, or hydroxyl content. In rainwater natural Spring ppm is mostly pH neutral and won't affect the soil pH long term.

 

[Ca++]

Most rain water contains levels of forever chemicals that are above our idea of toxic. This had led to soils containing more than some countries would like. Rain must form around a particle, and we can see the particles going up from many polluting activities. We used to believe it was pure distilled water, but that's technically impossible.
Where your rain comes from is a big issue here. The prevailing wind in the UK is off the Atlantic and as such reasonable. The wind in some Nordic countries has come over the UK and physically burns their tree's. This is 30 years ago, but I imagine it's still very detectable. 10 years before that, the leaded petrol was causing grey deposits along walls lining streets, and in playgrounds. It was a terrible idea to use lead in petrol. Like Mercury as medicine. Like burning coal, our locked away carbon from long ago. While fighting to lock it up. This all contributes to the rain that's fell and will fall. It's incineration plants that really chuck up a wide range of dirt. Our doctors know people near these sites get more coughs. They learn this as they move around surgeries throughout their years. There is no provable link to the incinerators though. It's just local knowledge. I bet there is a lot of local knowledge that see's little publication outside of the circles that know.

 

[Creeperpark]

Those are good points Ca++ to consider. Usually I wait for the second or 3rd rain and the water is super clean and the ppm is very low "7 ppm". However, when the water sits for a few weeks or months in the open air with the lid off the big can the ppm rises up to 40 ppm. So the ppm is not from the rain but from setting in the big rain can. That's what I'm talking about when I say it's ok to use rainwater that is 40 ppm. It's mostly algae or moss starting to grow and not harmful.

When I fill large 5-gallon buckets with Spring rainwater and put a LID on them, the ppm stays low 7 ppm for MONTHS.

 

[Three Berries]

I use 1ml bleach per gallon of filtered rain for my humidifiers.

 

[ButterflyEffect]

Hempy is a good reason to use clean water. Bleach has a pH between 11 and 13 and that's why I never use it in rainwater. Don't worry if you have a little natural ppm in the Rainwater. It doesn't hurt anything and is natural ppm. If you run a RO system from your water lines and get 7 ppm water, you can mix it with 40 ppm Rainwater-RO mix 50/50. One has a lot of "ppm room" with water that is in the 30s or 40s ppm. . Don't be concerned too much with natural ppm unless it's chloride, sodium, or hydroxyl content. In rainwater natural Spring ppm is mostly pH neutral and won't affect the soil pH long term.

Thanks! I'm just trying to get things consistent. When they're on, they're really on. I can pull 6oz per plant in a 1G container when I have no issues. I'm still not sold on using the hempys after I fix the water though. I may try turface as a medium and go full DTW.

Cant wait for my new roof and gutter! Rainwater FTW!!

 

[ButterflyEffect]

I use 1ml bleach per gallon of filtered rain for my humidifiers.

Do you ever get a crystal-like deposit on your walls, etc from using the bleach? I've been getting that lately from my misting units.

 

[blondie]

Luckily for me this spring I filled all of my containers with rain and have plenty to carry me through this drought. So far, rain and coast of Maine soil blend has treated my plants well. No nutes.. except last few weeks a teaspoon and half of sea 90. Rain and almost no nutes is amazing. Simple, cost effective. I do reserve final judgement until harvest though.

 

[Three Berries]

Do you ever get a crystal-like deposit on your walls, etc from using the bleach? I've been getting that lately from my misting units.

One is exhausted outside but the veg tent isn't. I haven't seen anything yet. I have been using it like this for a year. 5% bleach I think is what's in the jug. Basically if I can smell it in the water that's enough. I started out with 1/2 mL per gallon and upped it. In my egg mister I still get some growth and it needs cleaned once a week or so, looks like the iron bacteria. The other smaller misters have the filter tubes on them so far nothing has built up in them. They aren't used nearly as much as the bigger one though. I'll go though a gallon a day on it if the air is dry.

 

[ButterflyEffect]

One is exhausted outside but the veg tent isn't. I haven't seen anything yet. I have been using it like this for a year. 5% bleach I think is what's in the jug. Basically if I can smell it in the water that's enough. I started out with 1/2 mL per gallon and upped it. In my egg mister I still get some growth and it needs cleaned once a week or so, looks like the iron bacteria. The other smaller misters have the filter tubes on them so far nothing has built up in them. They aren't used nearly as much as the bigger one though. I'll go though a gallon a day on it if the air is dry.

Hmm. It must be something else then. I've been running solenoid driven misters and I've been bleaching my rainwater tanks at 1-3-1/2 ml for a few years now. I only recently started getting this weird buildup.

 

[Ca++]

My HID reflectors would go white with deposits when running humidifiers. If you sent the stream towards the light, it was something you could wipe off just days later. In room they still did it over a few months. 350ppm hardness. However not on walls or sheeting. Just the shades to my knowledge.

 

[ButterflyEffect]

My HID reflectors would go white with deposits when running humidifiers. If you sent the stream towards the light, it was something you could wipe off just days later. In room they still did it over a few months. 350ppm hardness. However not on walls or sheeting. Just the shades to my knowledge.

It's just odd that it started doing it with the same rainwater I've been using. Because I bleach it occasionally ppm is around 60.

 

[Ca++]

Are the deposits quite dark? almost resin like secretions?

 

[ButterflyEffect]

Are the deposits quite dark? almost resin like secretions?

No. They're like a tan color. Very crystalline in nature.

 

[Three Berries]

Is your bleach all the same? Around here they vary the percentage quite a bit.

 

[Creeperpark]

It happens every time I have to switch to RO water, it rains filling up my rain cans. So I have new rainwater and am back using rainwater again. I watered with RO only 3 times. Here are recent photos
.

 

[goingrey]

Most rain water contains levels of forever chemicals that are above our idea of toxic. This had led to soils containing more than some countries would like. Rain must form around a particle, and we can see the particles going up from many polluting activities. We used to believe it was pure distilled water, but that's technically impossible.
Where your rain comes from is a big issue here. The prevailing wind in the UK is off the Atlantic and as such reasonable. The wind in some Nordic countries has come over the UK and physically burns their tree's. This is 30 years ago, but I imagine it's still very detectable. 10 years before that, the leaded petrol was causing grey deposits along walls lining streets, and in playgrounds. It was a terrible idea to use lead in petrol. Like Mercury as medicine. Like burning coal, our locked away carbon from long ago. While fighting to lock it up. This all contributes to the rain that's fell and will fall. It's incineration plants that really chuck up a wide range of dirt. Our doctors know people near these sites get more coughs. They learn this as they move around surgeries throughout their years. There is no provable link to the incinerators though. It's just local knowledge. I bet there is a lot of local knowledge that see's little publication outside of the circles that know.

All rain water everywhere, it seems.

Bad News for Earth: Rainwater Is No Longer Safe to Drink Thanks to Plastic

Even the most remote locations on Earth have rainfall that contains dangerous human-made plastic chemicals.

www.popularmechanics.com

 

[Creeperpark]

Drinking rainwater and using it for growing are two completely different uses. From the rain clouds to the soil, the soil itself purifies and the soil microbes purify the water as it percolates into the soil and throughout the complete plant during its growing cycle. The good thing about cannabis is its flexibility with it comes to water tolerance. I don't know why people have such a hard time with using rainwater when it's the best water of all waters. I will take Rainwater over RO water any day of the week 365 days a year.

 

[ButterflyEffect]

Is your bleach all the same? Around here they vary the percentage quite a bit.

Yeah. Been using the same gallon for a year now.

 

[Three Berries]

Yeah. Been using the same gallon for a year now.

Do you filter the water first? I use coffee filters, suppose to be 20 micron.

 

[goingrey]

Drinking rainwater and using it for growing are two completely different uses. From the rain clouds to the soil, the soil itself purifies and the soil microbes purify the water as it percolates into the soil and throughout the complete plant during its growing cycle. The good thing about cannabis is its flexibility with it comes to water tolerance. I don't know why people have such a hard time with using rainwater when it's the best water of all waters. I will take Rainwater over RO water any day of the week 365 days a year.

Yea all our food is watered from above. Well a lot of it.

It's still a problem though. As a species we have to smarten up.