I may be preaching to the converted here but if it benefits just one reader then it's worth typing it....
I have 2 methods of dechlorination. One far superior to the other.
The least effective is the carbon filter. I slowed the water flow down to 8x slower than the flow rate the manufacturer claimed the purifier could handle.
I tested the water going in for chlorine using a Hanna photometer and their total chlorine reagent.
It measured roughly 0.26 IIRC
I tested the water coming out of the carbon filter. It measured something like 0.22 IIRC (It was certainly more than 0.2 which is unacceptable in a koi pond)
I have a YouTube clip of this if anyone wants to see, i'll post the link. The carbon filter in the test was not the one in my photo but it was of similar capacity.
The other method is sodium thiosulphate. (I'll refer to it as ST from here on)
Any liquid dechlorinator you buy in an aquatic shop will contain sodium thiosulphate (ST)
Buying ST crystals directly is a lot cheaper than buying liquid dechlorinator.
Prices vary but 1kg of ST can easily be found on Amazon/Ebay/Chemical websites for well under £10.00
And ST works ! You need roughly 3 grams to dechlorinate 200 gallons of water with the maximum legal chlorine content in the UK. (So usually less than 3 grams)
One small issue with ST though... The chemists among you will have figured this out already....
If you use ST to dechlorinate tap water containing chlorAMINE then you are left with tap water containing ammonia.
I assume this wouldn't be an issue for plants???? In the pond world the rise in ammonia is not enough to be concerned with as long as your filter is fully cycled.
Your water company SHOULD be able to tell you if your tap water contains chloramine or not. Although they do get it wrong sometimes !
If anyone wants to know a cheap method (you don't need a Hanna photometer) of testing for chlorine in water, give me a nudge and i'll tell you.
@wild edges you said "The residue is probably a build up of minerals in the soil from using
tap water. Try not to use tap water for plants if you have an
alternative. "
Can you say more about this. I have this residue around an indoor palm. Do you mean to water no plants anywhere with tap water - like watering garden plants with a hose? Thanks
@Fire I can't remember the specifics but tap water creates a build up of salts, chemicals and minerals in house plant soil because it never really gets washed through with neutral water. That's why it's good to put (some) house plants out in summer rain to let them have a good wash through. I think indoor plant soil ends up getting increasingly alkaline so you can use vinegar or similar to neutralise it but soil tests would tell you what to do there. Not all tap waters are equal but most have a fair concentration of chemicals that are best avoided for indoor plants. If you're getting residue around the pot it's a good sign that it needs a flush through.
Feeding the plants also adds to the build up of minerals and salts though as the dilution isn't an exact science and plants don't always take up all the fertiliser. I use rain water for my plants but still like to take the plants outside and give the soil a flush through now and then to clear any build up from the additional feed I add. On an average size pot I use an entire large watering can of rain water to flush through and once the soil is dry I feed the plant again to replace the lost nutriants.
Outdoor plants are a different case as they get rained on regularly. I still prefer to use rain water for everything though if I can.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Thanks for that. All new to me. I will try it. I did notice that the old palm I had for 20+ years had a white crust around the top of the pot and the terracotta was eroding and flaking away just at the top. I would imagine that was why.
The least effective is the carbon filter. I slowed the water flow down to 8x slower than the flow rate the manufacturer claimed the purifier could handle.
I tested the water going in for chlorine using a Hanna photometer and their total chlorine reagent.
It measured roughly 0.26 IIRC
I tested the water coming out of the carbon filter. It measured something like 0.22 IIRC (It was certainly more than 0.2 which is unacceptable in a koi pond)
Now that's very interesting. I used to use an HMA filter for water changes in my fish tanks and the water quality never seemed quite right to me. I had no problems in my previous house where I'd always used a water conditioner like Prime and always assumed the water was different at my new house. Now I'm wondering if it was the filter at fault.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Could've been. It makes me cross how they claim these filters can dechlorinate x volume when they can't get even close. When questioned they just say "thats based on the average uk water supply and will vary from area to area".
The purifier i tested was branded "Evolution Aqua (EA)". I say branded rather than made-by because they eventually told me they didn't make the purifiers.
EA are a very well known brand in the koi industry. So people were just putting these carbon filters in-line and not bothering to test the output (because they're EA, so they must wirk ok, right?)
Here's the link to part 3 of the video. You only really need the last 10 seconds.
Ok this explains a lot. The residue is probably a build up of minerals in the soil from using tap water. Try not to use tap water for plants if you have an alternative. The koi pond water will be ideal though and will probably give the plant all the food it needs. I'd still add a few drops of Baby Bio every month during the growing season to make sure. With my peace lilies I wait until they start to wilt a bit and then water them. They don't like to dry out too much but they don't like it too wet either.
What type of Baby Bio do i need to get? The basic? The house plant? Or something else?
Posts
I may be preaching to the converted here but if it benefits just one reader then it's worth typing it....
I have 2 methods of dechlorination. One far superior to the other.
The least effective is the carbon filter. I slowed the water flow down to 8x slower than the flow rate the manufacturer claimed the purifier could handle.
I tested the water going in for chlorine using a Hanna photometer and their total chlorine reagent.
It measured roughly 0.26 IIRC
I tested the water coming out of the carbon filter. It measured something like 0.22 IIRC (It was certainly more than 0.2 which is unacceptable in a koi pond)
I have a YouTube clip of this if anyone wants to see, i'll post the link. The carbon filter in the test was not the one in my photo but it was of similar capacity.
The other method is sodium thiosulphate. (I'll refer to it as ST from here on)
Any liquid dechlorinator you buy in an aquatic shop will contain sodium thiosulphate (ST)
Buying ST crystals directly is a lot cheaper than buying liquid dechlorinator.
Prices vary but 1kg of ST can easily be found on Amazon/Ebay/Chemical websites for well under £10.00
And ST works ! You need roughly 3 grams to dechlorinate 200 gallons of water with the maximum legal chlorine content in the UK. (So usually less than 3 grams)
One small issue with ST though... The chemists among you will have figured this out already....
If you use ST to dechlorinate tap water containing chlorAMINE then you are left with tap water containing ammonia.
I assume this wouldn't be an issue for plants???? In the pond world the rise in ammonia is not enough to be concerned with as long as your filter is fully cycled.
Your water company SHOULD be able to tell you if your tap water contains chloramine or not. Although they do get it wrong sometimes !
If anyone wants to know a cheap method (you don't need a Hanna photometer) of testing for chlorine in water, give me a nudge and i'll tell you.
Can you say more about this. I have this residue around an indoor palm.
Do you mean to water no plants anywhere with tap water - like watering garden plants with a hose?
Thanks
Feeding the plants also adds to the build up of minerals and salts though as the dilution isn't an exact science and plants don't always take up all the fertiliser. I use rain water for my plants but still like to take the plants outside and give the soil a flush through now and then to clear any build up from the additional feed I add. On an average size pot I use an entire large watering can of rain water to flush through and once the soil is dry I feed the plant again to replace the lost nutriants.
Outdoor plants are a different case as they get rained on regularly. I still prefer to use rain water for everything though if I can.
The purifier i tested was branded "Evolution Aqua (EA)". I say branded rather than made-by because they eventually told me they didn't make the purifiers.
EA are a very well known brand in the koi industry. So people were just putting these carbon filters in-line and not bothering to test the output (because they're EA, so they must wirk ok, right?)
Here's the link to part 3 of the video. You only really need the last 10 seconds.
https://youtu.be/6IEnypxk9SM
Part 1 and 2 are in my list but are just me obtaining the sample and continuing awkwardly to video whilst taking the reading.
Cheap Chlorine Test....
http://www.mankysanke.co.uk/html/questions_answered.html