After I pot my clones, I definitely pH my water/feed. I use a $14 meter that I've dropped off of my 15 foot balcony onto concrete, and after two years, it's only been off by 0.1 of a point when I calibrate it. In soil, I pH to 6.3-7.0, and in my small hydro setups, 5.6-6.2.
I'm also fortunate enough to live in the mountains, where I have access to 0 PPM glacier water whenever I want
I was just proving a point that you don't need to buy shit to clone. You can absolutely trust me when I say that.
-spek