water temperature

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groot

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I am wondering if I can get some advice/opinions regarding the temperature of the water for feeding, etc. I use a purification system in which currently the water comes out around 55 degrees. I usually put the water I need for the next day in a reservoir and it heats to 65 just by room air. I have had a couple times where I unexpectedly needed more h20 than I planned for. I was wondering...in a pinch could I microwave a bit of the purified water in a glass and add it to the rest to warm it up? TIA
 
no need for heating. Ive used water that was almost at freeze if anything it will cause some color late in flower
 
My understanding was that ideal h20 temp was 70 but never below 60 or you could put roots in shock...
 
No--they are not quite that tender. They live perfectly fine outdoors where they probably usually get water colder than that.

Do you have such bad water that you NEED to use a purification system? Unless you are growing hydro and have bad water, this may be a waste. Have you had your water tested? In addition to taking out any potential bad stuff, it also removes good stuff lithat you actually have to add back in, like calcium and magnesium.
 
I grow in soil, and I have not had my water tested. I had someone more experienced than me help set up my room and they told me it was a good idea for the purification system.
 
If they did not test your water they really had no idea whether it was a good idea or not. More experience does not always translate into more knowledge. Purification should not be done just as a matter of course--the majority of time it is not needed and RO systems waste a whole bunch of water...nad I am big time into water conversation.

Like I said, purifying water (how exactly are you purifying it?) takes away desirable things in addition to unwanted things. I have water in the 50 ppm range and use that (after it has sat out) for everything with no problems. Soil is not as critical as hydro. Really, few soil grows need to be done with purified water. And if you are using an RO, you are wasting huge amounts of water.

And, always keep in mind someone having more experience (how much more?) does not necessarily make them more knowledgeable. This is one of the wonderful things about forums. You can get the advantage of lots of different opinions and the reasons for those opinions and then weigh them and do what YOU believe is best given YOUR individual circumstances.

But back to the water. While water temp is important, it is not important to the degree you are making it. You could always just add a little hot tap water. Hot water tends to have less minerals than cold water as some of them break free and settle on the anode tube or in the bottom of the tank as a result of heating. Water that has been chlorinated though should be allow to set out at least several hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate. Bubbling the water can hasten this process.
 
Not using RO...a carbon filter...my friend actually wanted to set me up for hydro...long story but that is not what I ended up doing! I agree with more experience does not always equate to more knowledge or being right, and that is why I decided to go on this forum to get a wider circle of opinions. I have a tendency to worry and overthink and try to be perfect. Thanks for responding!
 
Carbon filters are not meant for the purpose that you are using them. You do not necessarily want to purify your water, but remove the dissolved solids--2 very different things. Carbon filters are generally meant to filter out solids in precip form, not dissolved solids. It is probably doing very little, if anything to remove dissolved solids. Carbon filters are used a lot for drinking water because it will filter out some things bad for humans, like arsenic and also various odors and tastes that water with high levels of minerals may have, although most of these are not harmful, they just don't taste good. While it does filter out a lot of things bad for humans, there are other things it does not filter out, like lead and flouride (which is harmful in large doses) that it does not filter out and must be removed with an RO. A carbon filter is not the type of filter to use for growing.

And like I said in the last post, even if you are running hydro, you may not need "special" water. And if you do, you are going to need something different than a carbon filter.
 
THC isn't the golden number for water temp in hydro 68F, it holds the most DO and it is below a comfortable level for pythium to survive ?
 
Yes right around there is good, Kraven. I try to keep mine around 70. But soil is a bit different, you do have a lot more leeway when watering plants with water as you are not worrying about things like DO. Soil plants do just fine with water temps that are higher or lower. However if someone is terribly concerned, it would be fine to add a bit of hot water from the tap. Just the act of heating water causes some of the dissolved minerals to break free.
 
Microwaved water will kill house plants in a side by side with plain tap.
 
Why and how does microwaved water affect plants? If it is bad for plants, I would believe that it is bad for humans and I microwave water all the time for tea.....
 
Why and how does microwaved water affect plants? If it is bad for plants, I would believe that it is bad for humans and I microwave water all the time for tea.....
Someone did a video of a side by side on the net.

This makes it true.
 
Well I saw that on the internet too (the side by side comparison) and thought then it must be true! However, I had a twinge of doubt and I am stubborn as hell and wanted to use the microwaved water so I did more research and started this thread. I found a chemist online, and others, that stated that the composition of the water does not change when microwaved and cooled...the only way it could kill the plant is to put the hot water on the plants! So being the true Taurus that I am, tried it. Happy to report that all are thriving wonderfully :)
 
Of course i dont understand why ya would want to Microwave that much water to feed your plants. Have to have a big Microwave or allot of time on yur hands. Lol
 
I dont microwave the whole amount needed, lol. If I am short 4 gallons for example, I heat up a 4 cup measuring cup and add it to the water...I do that 3-4 times and it has worked well. I took the advice of others and got a little water heater and I am getting better at figuring out how much I will need the next day. Also, now that it isnt 25 below outside, near-freezing water isnt as much an issue!
 
Soil plants do just fine with water temps that are higher or lower. However if someone is terribly concerned, it would be fine to add a bit of hot water from the tap. Just the act of heating water causes some of the dissolved minerals to break free.

I fill a 20L bucket from my garden hose for watering the plants and it tends to sit in the unheated shed where temps can go down to about 4C. The water feels cold to the hand but not freezing. It's probably around 5C. Should I be keeping a small aquarium heater in the bucket to keep the water at a higher temp for watering the soil? Or does using cold water to water the plants OK?
Would using an aquarium heater and keeping the water around 15C cause the minerals to break free? And is it a good thing or not for the minerals to break free?
 
Ohhhhh, your trying to heat the water. Lol. Im a little buzzzed.
 

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