How can I collect and use Rain water?

@woodi2 I would imagine I'll be the last person you were wanting to be leaving rain collecting tips here 🤣 

I cut the top off a 50 Gallon barrel, and collect water off an old dirty as fuck asbestos sheet roof, no filtering or any fancy stuff, the barrel doesnt have a lid on it, it just sits there overflowing most of the time so all the shit washes out over the top.

But Climate and things will likely make a big difference as to what sort of crawly things and bacteria that might grow in the barrels though 🙂 

@woodi2 Great question and looking forward to see what everyone thinks about this

Thanks @Macky and @Stootie. Stootie that's exactly what we've always done and that fine. Plus when you use rainwater on plants in soil, they have that micro something around their roots (please, smarter people than me, fill in the missing parts please! lol) that buffers and protect the roots. But of course I'm only interested in using it in hydro. Is it even possible? If twisted looked at rainwater and RO water under his new microscope, would he see swimmy things in both? And like you said Stootie, it's a nasty ass rain barrel. It's just a barrel of life happening! lol So not sure if I can use it. How can Coco get away with it? 

@woodi2  I use a proper rain barrel, reason being the top is child, critter proof, screened so no mosquitos/bugs/debris and bottom has a tap. It also has an overflow punch out so you can link to another barrel. Of course you can make your own rain barrel to the above specs but I keep an eye on the used adds and can get one for 20 bucks. I have used ordinary food grade barrels until I found a dead rat once, chipmunk another time. Just basic  eaves trough and downspout into the barrel from the roof. Before freeze up I run a hose from the rain barrel to the basement and fill a 45 gallon food grade barrel with rain water, gets me through the winter. I have also filled 5 gallon pails with fresh snow packed and bring it in to melt. I filter the skywater but not often, but for sure if I use it in my humidifier. No algae problems... yet 🤠 

My process is as basic as it gets. I have three 17-gallon buckets placed to catch in the roof valleys. I cover the buckets with 1/4 inch hardware cloth to keep out leaves, bugs, frogs, and debris. The water is filtered through regular paper towels to remove anything that might interfere with the auto watering system. I keep 25 gallons in covered 5-gallon buckets inside so that the water is at a good temp and is ready to use whenever I need it. In the summertime the outside buckets can grow algae if they aren't covered but the algae won't ruin the water, I just filter it out if needed and the plants love it.

Thanks @Monkeydo and @Hart for your info. I don't know if I can use rainwater for hydro yet, but I know I can use it for soil and coco. Plus now I know how to collect it properly, thanks. I go through about 25 gallons a week in my hydro so that's a bit to collect for my region. But if I get going on a set-up now, I'll be ready when it's time for coco and soil grows. 

I'll be back with more question. 😉 If anyone has any questions or comments, please post.