Quote:
Originally Posted by GpsFrontier
That is a good question. As I understand it, there are some trace elements that are found in water that are necessary for plant growth and health that are not in the hydroponic nutrients because they are already found in the water, so even though distilled is the most pure I don't think it is the best choice. |
Actually you should have a analyses of your Tap Water to exactly know its content. I do not know about the US or other countries, but in many EU countries, you can ask a water analyses of your Tapp water for free from the Government (office in charge).There may be trace elements but in most cases they are of no concern except Chloride. Most important to consider is the content of Mg, Ca and Iron of your tap water.
In Germany there are some mono-mixes and dry nutrients that come without any calcium, others have low Mg-content, simply assuming that most Tap water in the country is soft and contains high calcium and Magnesium - hence the product explicitly says SOFT. As the Us is a huge country with multiple geological conditions, I doubt such a manufacturers strategy. Though, - dry and mono-mixes may come without or very little calcium due to some manufacturing issues. In case you have got hard water or use rain water, be aware of the possibility of a lack of calcium in case you use calcium-free nutrients, and perhaps lack Mg or in some cases even Fe as well, if Fe EDTA is added to sparingly! Especially when growing tomatoes and other night shade with big crop size or heavy yield.
Other trace elements, like Mn, Cu, B, Mo etc - may as well be part of any tap, or other water source (except rain or distilled and/or treated water), but normally not sufficiently. They should always be part of (covered by) the
nutrient. Well, in some rare cases the general role doesn't apply and Boron may reach nearly toxic levels, or other elements may be contained in unusual amounts. Minor trace elements, like Si, Ni even Cobalt are not always, but sometimes supposed to be contained (as contaminants) in raw materials used to manufacture nutrients - but not supposed to be part of Tap water. Newer research tells that they are not vital for growth, but may have an impact of health and various immunitary functions.
In this domain there is actually not much room for guessing and speculation (no offense though, for any previous guess or suggestion). In fact it's a topic that is often underestimated in normal cases but in untypical cases even more vital and can be cause of serious imbalance!
Using distilled water is best if you have good knowledge of plant needs and know the exact content of your nutrient (respectively know how to add missing elements). In that case all single element should be provided by your nutrient. For instance it would be the best choice for people who make their own nutrients, but only if there is reasonable consumption or for testing purposes. In my case, total consumption of around 10 setups reaches up to 150-200 Liter a day in hot season. I don't see how I could provide that amount in distilled water. From a industrial level, it's obviously a no go.