Chlorine removal without bubbling?

[h.h.]

I use between 3-6 hours of fresh air/sunlight per 5 gallons of water. Chlorine naturally evaporates from water (this is why it needs to be continually added to swimming pools), fill up your buckets and let them sit for half a day before watering the girls, almost all of the chlorine should be gone by then.

I also let the water sit even a little longer before brewing compost tea with it because I don't want any leftover trace chlorine to damage/kill the beneficial bacteria.

Honestly sometimes, that's all I do. In a pinch, not even that. I have a gut feeling that you are about right.
However, not only are there several variables involved, but I also have no way of knowing for sure. Therefore I think a little redundancy may be prudent. I.E. A little organic material, maybe a little dried orange peel for a little citric acid.

 

[soil margin]

Honestly sometimes, that's all I do. In a pinch, not even that. I have a gut feeling that you are about right.
However, not only are there several variables involved, but I also have no way of knowing for sure. Therefore I think a little redundancy may be prudent. I.E. A little organic material, maybe a little dried orange peel for a little citric acid.

Yeah I think you are right in the sense that it's better safe than sorry when talking about soil microbes and bacteria. Once you have killed them off by accidentally overdosing them with chlorine it's much harder to replace them than it was to keep them happy and healthy in the first place. Couldn't hurt to use a little organic material like you said.

 

[supermanlives]

when I aint bubblin I add organic matter from compost pile then let sit a bit after a stir. that will do it

 

[C. Breeze]

I spray warm water into a bucket and then use it the next day. I adjust ph with lemon juice for a little insurance. Yes- I'm new here so I know that doesn't hold much water...



It's nice that there's a forum that is worth digging through for legit information- I like that its a little rough and tumble as well.

 

[Granger2]

What effect do these aquarium products have on the microherd? That's the main concern with chlorine. The Small Boy filter does the job, even on Chloramines if you upgrade to the KDF-85 carbon filter, as Spicy pointed out. If you're not dealing with chloramines a simple Brita or Pur filter will do the job. The reason I bought the Small Boy is that it was cheaper per year than the Pur I was using. More convenient too.

Another point about bubbling is that aerated/oxygenated water is better for roots. Good luck. -granger

 

[C. Breeze]

The aquarium chemical dechlorinator leave the microherd in the aquarium intact- where its every bit as important as in the garden. It's the idea of adding something that I don't need to that bugs me. FYI- I don't typically dechlorinate aquarium water either. It goes straight in from the tap- or sits overnight. No harm done to the herd in the tank or the planters

 

[davidyhan]

If you use aquarium chemical dechlorinator, can you add beneficial bacterias after?

 

[sprinkl]

Brita filters should work, they also remove a bit of the Calcium, my pH goes from 8.6 to 7.8.

BRITA products include water jugs, kettles and tap attachments, all of which use silver-impregnated activated carbon and ion-exchange resin disposable filters as their primary filtering mechanism.[3][4] The activated carbon used in BRITA filters is produced from coconut shells.[5] The company manufactures its pitchers from styrene methyl methacrylate copolymer.

 

[GHGrower]

I use Prime aquarium water conditioner. Works great for my fish & plants too.

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Prime.html

Denver water uses chloramines, so aeration won't do the job.

Seachem on their website specifically states that prime has not been certified to be safe for human consumption.

When it comes to food, potassium metabisulfate is pretty hard to beat when it comes to neutralizing chloramines. It breaks down into trace potassium and sulfur (plant food), and one crushed pill treats 20 gallons of water instantly. Available as 'campden tablets' on amazon or local homebrew stores for pennies on the dollar.

 

[GHGrower]

this is true. OM will break down chlorine... according to the National Restaurant Association's safe food handler's information, OM is the biggest neutralizer of chlorine based food service sanitation solutions... molasses will naturally neutralize chlorine as well.

While organic matter will affect chlorine, the mechanism of the breakdown may still be considered unsuitable for agriculture. The chlorine isn't entirely 'broken down', but rather, bonds with the carbon in the molasses to form Chlorophenol, a compound that in an experiment was found to have a pronounced negative effect on soil microbial life. An easy home test to make sure you're not getting chlorophenols is to taste the treated water. Chlorophenols have a taste that remind some of band-aids.

 

[Betterhaff]

If you are using potassium metabisulfate to get rid of chloramines just make sure you off gas the water of SO2 before using. That stuff is used to disinfect and will kill your microbes probably faster than the chloramines will.

Personally I just rotate buckets or jugs, letting them sit for a couple of days as our water is chlorinated but not with chloramines.

 

[GHGrower]

If you are using potassium metabisulfate to get rid of chloramines just make sure you off gas the water of SO2 before using. That stuff is used to disinfect and will kill your microbes probably faster than the chloramines will.

Personally I just rotate buckets or jugs, letting them sit for a couple of days as our water is chlorinated but not with chloramines.

The dosing for sanitation of wort to be suitable for fermenting is 1-2 tablets per gallon. 1 tablet in 20 gallons is going to affect nothing. I was nervous the first time I tried it, but a microscope confirmed that there is no risk of SO4 toxicity of the microbes at such a mild dilution.

 

[Betterhaff]

You’re probably right, I didn’t realize the dilution was that low. Just thinking back to my beer and wine making days.

 

[GHGrower]

You’re probably right, I didn’t realize the dilution was that low. Just thinking back to my beer and wine making days.

Cheers! I'm a homebrewer going on ten years now. That hobby got me bit by the microbiology bug something fierce.

 

[Betterhaff]

I haven’t made any beer for a while but I did brew up some hard cider last fall. You're right, the bug bites as bad as growing.

 

[EclipseFour20]

Sodium ascorbate here (vitamin C). 63 mg neutralizes 20 gallons of "tap water".

Go here to read: Using Vitamin C To Neutralize Chlorine in Water Systems http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/html/05231301/05231301.html

 

[grouchy]

I just take the water right out of my fish tank. I feed the fish with preservative free fish food and the water comes out loaded with nitrates and aerobic bacteria already in it.

 

[vostok]

Just leave it out to breathe overnite, or like me use the water then immediately re fill for the next day, if you can't do that ...go to your pet store and get tablets for fish aqua

 

[EclipseFour20]

A pound container (454 grams) of sodium ascorbate is available at most health stores for less than $15. At the rate of 63 mg--one pound should dechlorinate over 14,400 gallons almost "instantly".

 

[vostok]

Most peeps who have on demand hot water ...ie, from the hot water tap, has had most of the Cl. evaporate off over night, as by law and common sense, hot water tank must be vented