Bob Bitchen's buds

Michael Huntherz

Michael Huntherz

Well-Known Member
My local water has less than 1.3 ppm chlorine, average about 1ppm at the tap. That small amount evaporates while it sits in the reservoir, but I also have had 0 problems dumping it straight on the plants occasionally. I check pH out of the tap about once a month, 6.8-7.2 year round. I'm very lucky that I can keep it simple in that regard; Tap water and chill. If I could justify a proper hydro setup with chillers and whatnot I'd go that route, but doing manual pH of water by the gallon is too much fuss for my mini-grow. Loving stupid-simple organic soil and tap water right now. I use a tap water DIY aero-cloner, too.

Oh, is that conversation over?
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Michael Huntherz said:
My local water has less than 1.3 ppm chlorine, average about 1ppm at the tap. That small amount evaporates while it sits in the reservoir, but I also have had 0 problems dumping it straight on the plants occasionally. I check pH out of the tap about once a month, 6.8-7.2 year round. I'm very lucky that I can keep it simple in that regard; Tap water and chill. If I could justify a proper hydro setup with chillers and whatnot I'd go that route, but doing manual pH of water by the gallon is too much fuss for my mini-grow. Loving stupid-simple organic soil and tap water right now. I use a tap water DIY aero-cloner, too.

Oh, is that conversation over?
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Stupid simple suddenly sounds pretty attractive, right about now.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
BobBitchen said:
Im sure you can find studies leaning both ways...

Impact of Watering Lawns and Gardens with Chlorinated Water
Many water providers add chlorine to drinking water to keep it clean for human consumption. Chlorine prevents bacterial growth in water distribution systems. Many residents use chlorinated water to irrigate their lawn and garden. If chlorine is added to drinking water to kill bacteria, what impact does it have on beneficial soil microorganisms? Does it kill beneficial organisms in compost piles, too? Researchers have found that chlorinated drinking water may kill a number of microorganisms in soil or a compost pile. However, their reproduction rate is so rapid that populations rebound in a short time. Under normal conditions, chlorinated water will not threaten microorganism populations. Microorganisms reproduce rapidly. In one study, researchers continuously applied highly chlorinated water to soil for 126 days. Two days after they stopped, the soil microorganism populations reached pre-treatment levels at all depths of soil.

One reason chlorinate water has little impact is that chlorine binds to soil particle surfaces. This immobilizes chlorine and reduces its ability to kill microorganisms. The organisms in the topmost surface of soil or a compost pile may be affected after irrigation but as the water moves downward little chlorine remains. In one study, researchers found that water chlorinated at 5 parts per million killed organisms only in the top half inch of soil. Organisms deeper than one half inch were thriving.

The amount of chlorine in drinking water is quite low. In order to kill soil microorganisms to 6 inch soil depth, water containing 65 parts per million of chlorine was required in one study. Drinking water usually contains much lower chlorine levels. For example, Colorado Springs Utilities water contains between 0.05 to 0.90 parts per million of chlorine, 70 times below the threshold level.

source: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1548.html
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Hey, that's Colorado State University's Agricultural Extension Services office, part of my alma mater! That's my school, peeps! 'We know our cannabis, we just don't tell anyone how we know', lol
 
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