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RobbinTheHood
L'Étranger


Registered: 06/09/09
Posts: 51
Loc: Massachusetts
Last seen: 5 years, 7 months
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Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad?
#10485433 - 06/10/09 10:21 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Once I get the cakes inside my terrarium, should I spray them down with tap water? (I live in the woods and have a spring, so my tap is great in nutrients).
I ask this because distilled water contains no iron or nutrients, and it sucks out nutrients and iron from whatever consumes it.
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BlimeyGrimey
Collector of Spores




Registered: 08/24/05
Posts: 3,790
Loc: Puget Sound
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: RobbinTheHood]
#10485594 - 06/10/09 10:56 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Adding nutrients to the outside of your cake will invite contams.
The nutrients your mushrooms need come from the substrate. Tap or distilled will work fine for misting.
Got a source for your accusation that distilled water sucks nutrients out of anything that consumes it? I do not think that is correct.
-------------------- Message me for free microscopy services on Psilocybe, Panaeolus, and Gymnopilus species. Looking for wild Panaeolus cinctulus and Panaeolus olivaceus prints.
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RobbinTheHood
L'Étranger


Registered: 06/09/09
Posts: 51
Loc: Massachusetts
Last seen: 5 years, 7 months
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: BlimeyGrimey]
#10485618 - 06/10/09 11:04 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Well I've always heard you never should drink it because it sucks a lot of iron out of your body along with nutrients when you digest it. So I'm not sure if it would do the same on mushrooms, I'm not even sure if it is true, it just seems logical to me. Could be an old wive's tale though.
I will use distilled though, since it seems other people use it, and the contamination in tap is probably not too good.
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tazz
the spazz



Registered: 04/21/09
Posts: 162
Loc: The Great White North
Last seen: 12 years, 8 months
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: RobbinTheHood]
#10485666 - 06/10/09 11:16 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
RobbinTheHood said: Well I've always heard you never should drink it because it sucks a lot of iron out of your body along with nutrients when you digest it.
Utter nonsense! Don't take health advice from whoever sold you that snake oil.
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Mykologist
Often too lazy to post...



Registered: 10/06/08
Posts: 1,586
Loc: I'm still here...
Last seen: 4 days, 14 hours
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: tazz]
#10485686 - 06/10/09 11:22 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Distilled water isn't particularly benificial to humans because it contains no minerals to replenish what's been flushed from your system by drinking it. That's why Life Water is so stupid. They distilled water, then added minerals. Well, I'll be damned...that's tap water!!  Since distilled water isn't "cycling" through the mushroom, you're fine. The water only serves to prevent more water from evaporating off the mushroom. There are already plenty of nutes int he substrate, so I don't think feeding your palls distilled h2o would make much difference. Good Luck! Myk
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BlimeyGrimey
Collector of Spores




Registered: 08/24/05
Posts: 3,790
Loc: Puget Sound
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: Mykologist]
#10485818 - 06/10/09 11:52 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Mykologist said: That's why Life Water is so stupid. They distilled water, then added minerals. Well, I'll be damned...that's tap water!! 
They distill the water to remove the unwanted things like lead, chlorine, fluoride, nitrates and dioxins to name a few. This also removes the good things like calcium and magnesium. That's why they add the nutrients back to the water after distilling.
Tap water commonly has things like nitrates and other nasty shit but they are kept at a level that the govt agencies consider "safe".
-------------------- Message me for free microscopy services on Psilocybe, Panaeolus, and Gymnopilus species. Looking for wild Panaeolus cinctulus and Panaeolus olivaceus prints.
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gubi
Shroomaholic


Registered: 05/06/08
Posts: 191
Loc: Middle Earth
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: BlimeyGrimey]
#10485964 - 06/11/09 12:33 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Tap water is fine for spraying on a fully colonized cake. You have holes in your terrarium right? You fan your cakes correct? Contams are getting inside there as I type. You only need to be sterile while you're colonizing.
...And your tap water doesn't have "contamination in it", it has some bacteria, which can be beneficial for mushroom mycelium.
-------------------- I haven't failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. ~ Thomas Edison
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veda_sticks
Cultivator




Registered: 07/29/07
Posts: 14,191
Loc: UK
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: gubi]
#10486614 - 06/11/09 05:47 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Tap water is bad to drink, well to regularly drink it. Distilled is pure h20. No minerals no anything just water. Distilled water is slightly acidic, thats why its good for toping up batteries.
Tissue doesnt like being dipped in acid and it will give up minerals to nuetralis it.
It is fine though to drink distilled water for a short period as part of a detox.
Regular tap water is fine for misting, sounds like your tap water is even better. Misting doesnt stop your mushrooms from drying out. Its to replace moisture that has evaporated, from perlite and from your substrate.
I doubt misting with distilled water would cause any problems. But tap water wont. Tap water is readily availible, distilled you have to buy.
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Tomandjerry58
Stranger
Registered: 01/27/03
Posts: 5,212
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: veda_sticks]
#10486791 - 06/11/09 07:00 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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I think it depends on where you live. Most tap water in my 100 mile radius is 180 ppm dissolved solids. Which could be anything from rust in the pipes. To limestone to arsenic. If you do an experiment with an indicator and a potassium hydroxide solution. The dissolved solids will fall right out of the solution. In my experiments i was finding about 50-100mg unknown solids every 50ml of tap water.
Neutral water is the best solvent on earth. An can dissolve just about anything. Also remember that your tap water travels anywhere from 10 to 100 miles in old ass pipes to your faucet unless you a reverse osmosis system installed under your sink. Most water heaters have alot of calcium, rust, different shit in the bottom too. So that goes in it as well
One more thing 180 ppm tap water, 30 ppm spring water, 0 ppm distilled water.
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure



Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: Tomandjerry58]
#10486837 - 06/11/09 07:16 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Use tap or spring water, not distilled.
Drinking distilled water DOES leach minerals from your body, which are then flushed out when you pee. This is well documented, and can and does lead to osteoporosis and other diseases caused by mineral deficiency. A quick search on google will return pages and pages of hits. Some from whackos but many from reputable medical sources. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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Tomandjerry58
Stranger
Registered: 01/27/03
Posts: 5,212
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: RogerRabbit]
#10486913 - 06/11/09 07:57 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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When water gets evaporated and then rains down on the plants and fungi of the earth. This is the earths natural form of distillation.As you can see from walking outside... it is great for all forms of life including plants, animals, and other.
vs tap water which can start from recycled water that has been oxidised by chlorine to remove solids. Then ran through miles of pipes that are never cleaned and through you water heater. Which is never cleaned and could have an assortment of molds too. I think i will go with the natural source of distilled water. And let the nutes come from the medium that they are growing on.
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Mykologist
Often too lazy to post...



Registered: 10/06/08
Posts: 1,586
Loc: I'm still here...
Last seen: 4 days, 14 hours
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: Tomandjerry58]
#10487491 - 06/11/09 10:53 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Rain water is VERY impure. Rain drops generally condense around tiny specks of dust as crystallization points. Then when it hits the ground, it is instantly filled with minerals from the soil. Not many organisms absorb water from above the ground, so they're taking in water with minerals. I've been using tap water for all my mycology (except agar, because it calls for distilled water). The mushies certainly don't seem to mind. I suppose if you live somewhere like Boston, New York, or other large cities, it wouldn't be a bad idea to spray mineral or filtered water on your mushrooms (or to drink it for that matter...there are a lot of pollutants in urban water...). However, distilled water is a bit overboard; it doesn't truly exist in nature. Only very clean water (rainwater). The only place I could think distilled water is truly helpful is in the lab.
Otherwise, depending on where you live, the water is FINE to both drink and give to your mushies. They generally basify water to precipitate out any heavy-metal toxins like lead. If you're really concerned, request a pamphlet from your local water treatment plant. Myk
Oh and the 180 ppm dissolved minerals in water doesn't mean anything until you show the ppm dissolved toxins. Animals do absorb minerals from their water. Do animals drink rain? no, they drink from rivers and lakes. Most of what you find in your water are calcium and magnesium salts. The radioactive and toxic minerals are in very VERY small concentration, but then again, you can request a report from the water treatment plant in your area.
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Edited by Mykologist (06/11/09 10:57 AM)
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RobbinTheHood
L'Étranger


Registered: 06/09/09
Posts: 51
Loc: Massachusetts
Last seen: 5 years, 7 months
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Re: Is using distilled water on post birthed cakes bad? [Re: Mykologist]
#10488037 - 06/11/09 12:52 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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I haven't even gotten my spores yet... I'm pretty much just making a small note book on all gathered advice from forums, videos, tutorials, etc.
I want to make it so when I do actually start my project, I can just whip open my handy notebook and go from that .
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