Hello Lucas, Thank you for your input and questions :o) I will now try to answer some of them here : So let me ask by paraphrasing: you say that the only difference between Distilled ad RO-water is no ions at all compared to some ions, right? - Yes effectively this is the most important difference, since the reverse osmosis procedure is not 100% efficient, a lof more ions are left inside the water when compared to distillation. That in fact is more like basic - but is there a difference between RO- and distilled water in terms of susceptibility for drastic PH changes with the add of (as you call it) "a very very slight amount of acid"? And, what about other actual and pragmatical differences between RO-water and distilled water and their affinity for carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere? Is the difference notable, drastic or does it depend on how much and what kind of ions some specific RO-water still has? - Of course, as RO water has some ions it can have some added buffer ability. Depending on the nature of these ions the interaction with carbon dioxide might be very different. For example, if some carbonates are left within the water this will tend to creat a carbonate-bicarbonate buffer with time as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is introduced. However some RO systems include ion-exchange columns that may in fact make the output water acidic. The final ionic composition of your RO water varies depending on the initial water source and the actual purification system. Let's say RO-water has between 15 and 50 ppm, just to have some workable figures handy. Is there a real difference with a highly purified (10-15 ppm) RO-water and distilled water in this context, and will a content of let's say 40-60 ppm of "impurities" change anything? - Yes, of course. distilled water has a conductivity that is for most practical purposes very close to 0 ppm. Just having and additional 1 ppm changes the buffer and pH responses of the water significantly. The more impurities you have, the lower the response will be to atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, this difference is not extremely important when using the water for hydroponics since the amount of salts is in either case small and the actual pH will be set by the hydroponic nutrients. What is the "final" conclusion, do you recommend RO-water for the use with nutrient solutions, either for commercial nutrients or for adequate "self-made" nutrients? - I would recommend RO water because distillation is a much more energy intensive process that yields water quality which is simply "unecessarily pure" for hydroponics. The additional 40-60 ppm of salts dissolved in RO water will most probably not make any noticeable difference while the process to obtain RO water is much less energy intensive. And finally, if using your recommended "Ion-exchange resin pH regulation" what would be the outcome if using them with RO-versus distilled water (without the add of any nutrients) - from a purely theoretical point of view of course, because it's not an actual practice nor procedure? Would there be ions to exchange at all with distilled water, when there are no ions...? I am not rhetorical with anything I am asking, - just interested in conclusion I can put into or transfer to actual practice. ;-) - The outcome with both wouldn't be very different after the solutions are prepared. Certainly if you use an ion exchange resin with RO water before preparing the solutions the water will be further purified to eliminate ions in exchange for acidic protons of the resin but in the end, after the addition of nutrients both RO and distilled water sources will have the same response. I hope this answers your questions :o) Thank you very much for your comment, Best Regards, Daniel

Date palms will indeed live in zone 8, even in a very wet one, as our winters are here. I have had CIDPs and Medjools in the ground here for years. I have seen young CIDPs take 15 degrees with no protection and make it, although they were almost completely defoliated. So I guess while it's not a good idea to say they "thrive" in zone 8, it's not necessarily untrue! Here is some of my personal experiences with a few (established in ground 1+ years) palms and minimum temps in a humid, wet environment: Young medjools 4ft tall good to 20 degrees unprotected with no defoliation; some leaf burn that went away a few weeks later. Young CIDPs 3ft tall good to 18 degrees unprotected with no defolitaion; survived 15 degrees with no protection. Young queen palms 4ft tall good to 24 degrees unprotected with no defoliation; survived 19 degrees with no protection (barely!). Young windmills (2ft) and pindos (2ft) good to 19 degrees unprotected with no damage. Young sabal palm (1ft) good to 20 degrees unprotected with no damage; spear pull at 19 degrees with no protection. Young Owari satsuma orange trees (3ft) good to 26 degrees unprotected with no damage; defoliation at about 22 degrees; survived 19 degrees. Durations on these freezes usually about 12 hours or so; never more than one night without temps getting back to at least slightly above freezing the next day. HTH

Same way as if you buy it at a store. You hook it up yourself, or you hire someone to do it. Look under "appliance parts/repair" or ask your local store who they recommend. Even stores that deliver and hook up an appliance such as a range do not hire plumbers or electricians. They assume that the kitchen is ready, and they merely unpack it, run a flex hose from the gas outlet to the back of the range and plug it in. They might, after removing all the protective tape and plastic, turn it on and check that the burners light. If you're really lucky they might adjust them if it's needed. The proper size flex line can be bought at most hardware stores with the fittings included.

((((HUGS)))) Unfortunately, even on "nice" boards, there are times when claws, or just schadenfreude, come out. :( It's very sad, and I'm so sorry you've felt people being mean to you. I know it doesn't help at all to think "it's about them" when you were looking for a "safe" (or as safe as a public forum can be) place to discuss a delicate subject. ((((HUGS)))) States complain about lost revenue from sales taxes not being recouped, but they don't complain about the amount of commerce in general, even if it's the gas spent by the delivery trucks. When they start discussing this on the Federal level (interstate commerce), and start thinking about levying tax on internet purchase (other than the instate tax that people are used to paying), there's such an uproar, and the constituencies, both sellers and buyers, are so upset, that they drop it. The world is changing, and it's taking some time for people and modalities to catch up. Sometimes it's easier to buy a roll of masking tape online than have to hike around a big box store looking for it. People don't do that to avoid the tax! Still, sales tax is regressive. People with the least money spend the largest portion of their incomes on sales tax. They order out of state, take trips into bordering states that have no sales tax, into bordering countries where they have no tax or give it back, etc., etc. Sales tax is onerous. It's always been the law in most places that collect sales tax that you have to pay it on things brought in from out of state. In my state, it has mostly been enforced on really big items like cars. Unfortunately, a new kitchen is pretty much the equivalent of a car. But if it's in the news about your state collecting on Income Tax filings, and you've received a phone call immediately after, I agree it's probably a scam. And I agree that you would most likely have received a form letter rather than a phone call. In fact, the normal way it should happen is that first you'd receive a form letter from your state's revenue agency telling you that you were obliged to report, and then if you didn't report and they had reason to think you should have, they'd send a reminder of the things you should have reported and an option to pay the back taxes plus interest. Then you'd receive a form letter telling you about a hearing scheduled. And on like that. If your friend received a call, it should have been a recording. Live person calls are too expensive for chasing a pittance (and the amount of tax owed, even if your friend's new kitchen is even nicer than yours, is a pittance to the state coffers). You could check with the department of frauds to see if this is a known scam, and a lawyer to see if it's possibly real.