Will the chlorinein tap kill all the beneficial organisms

[Laura Kush]

I ran out of RO filtered water for a few days and my plants(2 weeks into flowering) started to get really dry and droop. I was going toget a new shipment of water the next day but I felt it couldn't wait and I watered with tap.

Will the chlorine and flouride in the water kill all that organic goodness?
I grow with Ocean forest, Earth Juice fertilizers and Mexican / Philipino bat guano. Oh yeah and molasses! Thanks for that one birdies.

Thanx in advance.

 

[CT Guy]

You should be fine. Most chlorine will dissapate when it comes in contact with air (if in a spray), or organic matter. If you're worried about it, just leave some water sitting for 24 hours, or aerate with some sort of bubbler for a period of 4 hours. Make sure you're dealing with chlorine only though, and not chloramines. RO water is the best, but I wouldn't sweat it for watering, it's a much bigger issue when making tea.

 

[Guest]

Saying "Tap" water is a lot like saying Beer


There are vast differences and some are definatly better than others. I'm pretty sure the plants are better off geting tap water than dying of thirst - and you should see what happens and if there is a noticable difference.

That said, sounds like a good time to make a back up plan for water, at least something so you don't run out again.



Sometime stuff like this strsses me as bad as the garden!! lol Sometime Worse!!!

 

[Dignan]

Per Elaine Ingham, you will absolutely not kill all, nor even most of the microorganisms present. You will kill a small portion.

The problem is that the small portion killed are usually the most fragile, and the most fragile happen to be some of the most beneficial for soil biology (again, per Dr. Ingham).

 

[rckymtnthuglife]

Sounds like it time to brew some tea.

 

[Guest]

With just chlorine leave it with top off for 24 hours to degas and it's dechlorinated.

If you have chloramine you need to remove it using some type of agent to do this, this type product found in garden and aquarium stores.

 

[Suby]

I really doesn`t take long to evap chlorine if you use an airstone and an aquarium pump.
Letting it sit for 24hrs works perfectly but in a pinch try aerating your water for 2-3 hours, it will be very close to completely eliminated,

Great Post Dignan

Suby

 

[Storm Crow]

Tropical fish owners....

Tropical fish owners....

Never use straight from the tap water! It can kill their fish. If you have chlorinated water, let it sit overnight, preferably with aeration. The "micro herd" will recover, but you might want to speed it along by adding a bit of a commercial mycorhyzia (or however it is spelled) product and continue with the mollases. - Granny

 

[Dignan]

Thanks, Suby.

Random comments:

The agent used to remove chloramine is carbon. Activated carbon filtration works perfectly, but simple exposure to carbon (i.e. organic) substances will also do the trick. Just be aware that when you expose your compost to chloramines to convert it to chlorine and rid the water of it completely, that short-term exposure to the chloramine is killing a small but important portion of the microbes present.

Whether that bothers you or not will depend on how determined you are to grow in 100% pristine/perfect organic conditions. I'm not that concerned about it, personally. But I don't fault the scholars among us, like Suby and Von, who are out there pushing the limits of perfection. I thank them!

Also be aware that releasing chloramines requires that they are converted to chlorine and then offgassed... which leaves behind ammonia. I'm not hip to the implications of that (nor the quantities of ammonia left behind) but maybe someone else here can elaborate or at least speculate.

Believe it or not, fish confined to an aquarium are quite a bit more vulnerable to tap water than any plant is. I regularly refresh 30% of the water in my aquarium (fresh water aquarium) with water straight from my tap and I have a couple fish that have lived so long that I find myself wishing they'd knock off already!

Note that chlorine kills fish because it is an oxidizer and reduces the function of their gills, so they suffocate and also because fish, unlike humans, will take the chlorine from water directly into their blood system. If you injected chlorinated water directly into the bloodstream of a human, it could kill them, too. Kidney dialysis machines must remove chloramines first for that reason.

Keep in mind that tap water isn't one kind of water... the qualities, properties, and constituents vary widely depending on whose tap you're sourcing it from. So, many times, generalizing about using tap water isn't helpful. Everyone should keep tabs on their water quality report locally and, if there's any doubt about the water, just take a sample to be tested now and then.

I'm lucky to have great tap water where I live, with about 90-100 ppm and no chloramines.

"Know thine tap water." -Socrates

 

[Suby]

I agree, I hear alot about what peeps used in their soil, what ferts they bought, the equipment but SOOOO many don`t even know their tap water`s specs like ppm`s, source, and ph.

Friends water is as essential to healthy plants as soil mixes, ferts, and all the rest combined.

I found myself having problems this winter and I measured my tap which used to 200ppms (useable ) to 400+ (pretty bad IMHO), I`ve been filtering it through a Briata with very good results, it`s not RO pure but maybe 40ppms, still excellent for watering and feeding.

Peace and great discussion all

Suby

 

[Dignan]

Those Brita filters- from what I gather online, that is- are SO underrated. I know many growers who are able to take care of all their tap water woes by using a simple, $25 Brita. Right on Suby.

 

[Suby]

Well for my health and that of my wife and young daughter I am interested in an RO unit, they are affordable and are better at eliminating very small harmfull particles.

I drink like 2L of water a day, no cola, juice, coffee, maybe the odd tea and of course beer.

I think Brita`s are a good sub though, 40 ppm down from 400 is pretty good for a unit that`s 20$ with 1 filter.
More soil growers should use them, they really help make nutrients more available, plus foliar feeding with fulvics recommend RO water, this is close enough.

Tea makers should also look into it, it makes dissolving things like kelp and neem oil ALOT easier as well as molasses.



S

 

[Guest]

Wee tip for the young'n's health, and yours... Suby.

If you go with RO water you'll miss out on a lot of calcium and you may have bone/teeth problems with the rapid growth of children..... Store a bag of oyster or similar shells in your water tank. This will leach calcium out very slowly for your benefit.

Practised by a scientist friend on soft bore water who raised a family - filling free.

 

[Dignan]

Great tip, BongSong. I've never heard that.

 

[Suby]

That makes perfect sense BS, for now she puts away more milk than a fat kid eating cake but I'll be sure to look into that.

There was a test done with distilled water on humans and the results suggested that it's need to dissolve is so strong that is would thin the arteries and veins of the body from the blood stream...creeped my out.

Suby

PS thanks for looking out for my favorite sprout, she's my world

S

 

[Guest]

Hey, glad to help I love it when my mate tells me things, they're always gold, and DIY.

 

[Suby]

Just to follow up (and my apologies to LK for jacking her thread...) on what I've turned up looking for info about bones and cacium and water.
This is not related to water directly but it somehow felt like something the organic growers here would like to know.

1. Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis
Excerpt: While patients tend to assume that boosting their calcium intake will ensure strong bones, research clearly shows that calcium intake is only part of the issue and that simply increasing calcium intake is an inadequate strategy. No less important is reducing calcium losses. The loss of bone mineral probably results from a combination of genetics and dietary and lifestyle factors, particularly the intake of animal protein, salt, and possibly caffeine, along with tobacco use, physical inactivity, and lack of sun exposure. Would it surprise you that huge, multi-billion-dollar companies who profit from the sale of dairy products and calcium supplements think you need more calcium?


Animal protein tends to leach calcium from the bones, leading to its excretion in the urine. Animal proteins are high in sulfur-containing amino acids, especially cystine and methionine. Sulfur is converted to sulfate, which tends to acidify the blood. During the process of neutralizing this acid, bone dissolves into the bloodstream and filters through the kidneys into the urine. Meats and eggs contain two to five times more of these sulfur-containing amino acids than are found in plant foods. More

But is milk really effective in helping adults prevent osteoporosis? The segment then turned to Harvard Professor Walter Willett, one of the top health researchers in the country. According to Willett, "There's really no good evidence that increasing milk consumption by adults will reduce their risk of fractures." More

Two studies have revealed that soy may play an important role in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, a disease that can affect 24 million Americans. [...] A study by the Division of Nutritional Science, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana found that post-menopausal women with high concentrations of soy in their diet had stronger bone health. More

2. What's Wrong With Dairy Products?
Excerpt: Insulin-dependent diabetes (Type I or childhood-onset) is linked to consumption of dairy products. Epidemiological studies of various countries show a strong correlation between the use of dairy products and the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes. Researchers in 1992 found that a specific dairy protein sparks an auto-immune reaction, which is believed to be what destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. More

3. Protecting Your Bones
Contrary to popular belief, calcium does not protect bones. Not by itself, anyway. But since the body compensates for a calcium deficiency by leaching calcium from bones, it is important to get anough. So what are the best sources? Surprisingly -- at least for people who get their nutritional guidance from dairy council advertising -- milk is not a very good source. Sure, it's loaded with calcium, but it's not as easy for the body to absorb it as the calcium in kale or swiss chard, and the presence of protein, fats, and other products can cause the body to lose calcium from bones.

That's why the largest study of its kind found that eating dairy products provided no protection at all against bone fractures!

The most healthful calcium sources are green leafy vegetables and legumes, or "greens and beans" for short. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, mustard greens, Swiss chard, and other greens are loaded with highly absorbable calcium and a host of other healthful nutrients. More

http://www.makingpages.org/health/calcium.osteoporosis.html

Babies drink alot of milk and eat ALOT so it's good to know what kinds of veggies can be better for them.
Obviously the same greens and veggies that are high in calcium can be composted to enrich the soil in the same nutrients.

S

 

[Dignan]

Thanks, Suby. I have another little one on the way come June this year, so back into the milk (rice) and diapers we go!

Thanks for the info, fellow cannadaddy.