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Tried growing them after this post made it to the HN last time. Killed about two months on this and nothing good came out of it. Got some crystals, sure, but d

Tried growing them after this post made it to the HN last time. Killed about two months on this and nothing good came out of it. Got some crystals, sure, but definitely nothing that is even in the same ballpark as in the post. It all sounds simple, in principle, but requires skills and experience. Like making a good carbonara or decent croissants. It's all in the technique.

amelius 2y ago
> It's all in the technique. Sounds like the technique was not fully documented then.
aredox 2y ago
This post didn't dwelve on the fact your water needs to be pure - if you've got hard water, it's not going to work. Try again but with demineralized water - often sold in supermarkets to avoid scaling in clothing irons.
- amelius 2y ago
  You might also want to look into the effect of vibrations in the room where your experiment takes place.
- fallingsquirrel 2y ago
  Would distilled water work or does it need to specifically be "demineralized"?
  - marcosdumay 2y ago
    Distilled water is fine. Demineralized is normally cheaper and also fine.
  - ldoughty 2y ago
    Distilled water is effectively demineralized... Not perfect... technically it's collected steam from boiling water, so it kills most bacteria and leaves most other material or minerals that can't be carried by steam.
    - fallingsquirrel 2y ago
      I hadn't considered that steam could carry tiny particles of minerals, but it's obvious now that you point it out. So demineralized water would probably be closer to pure H2O. I've never noticed demineralized water at my grocery store, but maybe that's just because I've never looked. But I will next week!
      - autoexec 2y ago
        microplastics and forever chemicals both show up in clouds and rainwater, so I'm guessing they're both in distilled water, but I wonder if at least the microplastics are removed from demineralized water
      - ldoughty 2y ago
        In the USA it is almost always labeled distilled water.. I've never seen "demineralized water" advertised as the alternate methods are relatively new (at a competing price point).. but they would likely just be called purified, and you'd have to look at the label. Purified water may or may not be demineralized, depending on the method used to purify. Basically any other form of bottled water is about as regulated as homeopathic remedies... Short of killing people, nobody really watches them. This is part of the reason why distilled water is recommended for home medical use like CPAP machines or Neti pots, with purified as second best (though it COULD be equal or better, the term is too generic)
- huhtenberg 2y ago
  I did use demineralized water!
  - cess11 2y ago
    Then I'd guess they grew too fast, or the salt was unsuitable somehow, maybe iodised, maybe an anti-caking agent. Growing crystals like in the article requires low enough ambient temperature that they can grow for a month or more without running out of water.
hex4def6 2y ago
I wonder if it's a container cleanliness issue. I can imagine dishwasher detergent residue might leave trace chemicals that mess up the formation. I also wonder if the smoothness of the container has an effect. A rough surface might encourage lots of seed sites.
- kjs3 2y ago
  Yes, this is an issue, with more than just soap residue.
  - SAI_Peregrinus 2y ago
    At the very least, all containers used for growing crystals should pass the water break test. That requires substantially better cleaning than a casual wipe down with an old sponge & some dish soap.
andrewla 2y ago
Did you document your failure? I'm honestly curious -- the author of the post mentions some of their false starts, but I think a description of what you tried and what didn't work could be valuable (even if you didn't do an extensive root cause analysis). There are a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacks here trying to suggest what you did wrong, but unless someone has tried and failed themselves I don't think there's a lot of value in the feedback.
Levitating 2y ago
I've had really good results using this guide. Grew some proper crystals. Getting the evaporation right is important. It can't be too fast or too slow. I grew my crystals in a closet.

amelius 2y ago

> It's all in the technique. Sounds like the technique was not fully documented then.

aredox 2y ago

This post didn't dwelve on the fact your water needs to be pure - if you've got hard water, it's not going to work. Try again but with demineralized water - often sold in supermarkets to avoid scaling in clothing irons.

amelius 2y ago
You might also want to look into the effect of vibrations in the room where your experiment takes place.
fallingsquirrel 2y ago
Would distilled water work or does it need to specifically be "demineralized"?
- marcosdumay 2y ago
  Distilled water is fine. Demineralized is normally cheaper and also fine.
- ldoughty 2y ago
  Distilled water is effectively demineralized... Not perfect... technically it's collected steam from boiling water, so it kills most bacteria and leaves most other material or minerals that can't be carried by steam.
  - fallingsquirrel 2y ago
    I hadn't considered that steam could carry tiny particles of minerals, but it's obvious now that you point it out. So demineralized water would probably be closer to pure H2O. I've never noticed demineralized water at my grocery store, but maybe that's just because I've never looked. But I will next week!
    - autoexec 2y ago
      microplastics and forever chemicals both show up in clouds and rainwater, so I'm guessing they're both in distilled water, but I wonder if at least the microplastics are removed from demineralized water
    - ldoughty 2y ago
      In the USA it is almost always labeled distilled water.. I've never seen "demineralized water" advertised as the alternate methods are relatively new (at a competing price point).. but they would likely just be called purified, and you'd have to look at the label. Purified water may or may not be demineralized, depending on the method used to purify. Basically any other form of bottled water is about as regulated as homeopathic remedies... Short of killing people, nobody really watches them. This is part of the reason why distilled water is recommended for home medical use like CPAP machines or Neti pots, with purified as second best (though it COULD be equal or better, the term is too generic)
huhtenberg 2y ago
I did use demineralized water!
- cess11 2y ago
  Then I'd guess they grew too fast, or the salt was unsuitable somehow, maybe iodised, maybe an anti-caking agent. Growing crystals like in the article requires low enough ambient temperature that they can grow for a month or more without running out of water.

hex4def6 2y ago

I wonder if it's a container cleanliness issue. I can imagine dishwasher detergent residue might leave trace chemicals that mess up the formation. I also wonder if the smoothness of the container has an effect. A rough surface might encourage lots of seed sites.

kjs3 2y ago
Yes, this is an issue, with more than just soap residue.
- SAI_Peregrinus 2y ago
  At the very least, all containers used for growing crystals should pass the water break test. That requires substantially better cleaning than a casual wipe down with an old sponge & some dish soap.

andrewla 2y ago

Did you document your failure? I'm honestly curious -- the author of the post mentions some of their false starts, but I think a description of what you tried and what didn't work could be valuable (even if you didn't do an extensive root cause analysis). There are a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacks here trying to suggest what you did wrong, but unless someone has tried and failed themselves I don't think there's a lot of value in the feedback.

Levitating 2y ago

I've had really good results using this guide. Grew some proper crystals. Getting the evaporation right is important. It can't be too fast or too slow. I grew my crystals in a closet.