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Hello,

I have a small creek that runs in the woods. Water comes from a headwater lake and there are no urban development around that lake/creek.

Rain water is better than tap water, but I never heard people saying they were using creek water ... is there a reason ?

Is it a good idea to use that water for my cacti ?

Also, the ph of that water is 6,5

Thanks !

Sounds perfect should be fine. You might want to just test with one less desired plant just in case before using it on your entire collection. Also it might be worth taking a small sample like a shot glass and letting it evaporate to see what kind of hardness it has as you will not be sure of salt contents it will be easy to see in a glass.

Most people don't have a creek, probably the biggest reason you never hear of that

Well it is not ''my'' creek haha, it is on public land.

Thanks ade, what you suggest sounds good I will try that.

You can usually get cheap PH test strips off your national EBAY, or more expensive ones off aquarium suppliers that will indicate if the water is soft or hard and what's in it etc.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... s&_sacat=0

If it does not kill fish it usually does not kill plants.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... s&_sacat=0

The creek is originally rain water, it simply depends if it is acid rain if you are in a heavily polluted industrial area and then what effect the land it flows through has on it's PH. Also whether any chemicals are leaching into it from industry, or these days farms surrounding it.

Generally speaking such natural water is better than tap water that is intended for human consumption, having chemicals put in to kill bacteria, stop your teeth rotting and also stop it corroding the pipes. Water from a water softener is also not ideal for plants since it introduces other chemicals to soften it.

Thanks DaveW,

I know the area and the only ''civilization'' close to that creek is a sugar shack.

I also know brook trouts thrive in that lake and in the creek.

I will try it on a small scale for the first months and let you know !

In my experience growing up around bedding plant greenhouses, plants did much better off brook water than they did on well water. But our well water has a ton of calcium, so that's probably why.

Yes with both well's and streams it depends the area they are sunk in or run through. I believe the water they use in Scotland for whisky is on the acid side as it runs through highland peat, yet the trout streams the fishermen love in the UK are chalk streams therefore alkaline. The easy way is to just use a litmus test strip or similar to those on EBAY and check the PH.

http://www.cactusnursery.co.uk/ph.htm

http://www.desertplantsofavalon.com/the ... nt-plants/

http://succulent-plant.com/soil_ph.html

http://ralph.cs.cf.ac.uk/Cacti/Cactus%2 ... linity.pdf

Ok so I just ordered a bunch a litmus test strips. Coming from China I expect to receive them in + than 1 month, but we still have 2 feet of snow on the ground here so I will continue to use thawed snow for the watering.

Thanks everyone

I suppose it's a little too late, but your local pet store will have test strips as well in the aquarium supplies.