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 Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal 
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 On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd.   2
#705435 - 01/08/14 10:07 AM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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I've seen a lot of fear happening over watering your plants with tap water. That fear is unfounded and silly so I wanted to share my thoughts.
The chlorine in tap water from municipalities is generally dosed at a rate to keep water sanitary after a major treatment plant. That means that they dose the Chlorine in at very small quantities to kill a couple tens or hundreds of bacterial cells per mL of water. Compared to the TRILLIONS upon TRILLIONS of cells in your organic tea and soil it will have little to no effect. Chlorine isn't an unstoppable killing machine, after a very small amount of contact with bacteria the ionic gradient is reduced to the point of inactivity.
From the CDC website; Quote:
Other disadvantages of hypochlorites include ...[sic]... inactivation by organic matter....
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Good soil should be at least 30-50% organic matter, which means that the chlorine will be inert literally within seconds after contact.
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phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly)
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. [Re: Harry_Ba11sach]
#705469 - 01/08/14 11:06 AM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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I was on some 25i the other day and I hopped into the shower and could smell the chlorine very strong. It was almost like taking a shower in pool water, but I was trippin and had some enhanced senses. It made me want to at least let it sit for a day or two before using it but because I have a non-recirculating tank it does that naturally.
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
 Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Harry_Ba11sach]
#705471 - 01/08/14 11:11 AM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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 This thread was moved from Soil & Organic Nutrients.
Reason:
For better viewage.
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Hawksresurrection
Registered: 12/04/08
Posts: 13,464
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Harry_Ba11sach]
#705487 - 01/08/14 12:11 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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I've been growing for around 10 years now. I have always used tap water, now my tap does come out at 10 ppm, but have never had issues with it.
The only time I think people really have issues due to their tap water is when it has high starting PPM.
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Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.
-niteowl
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 TribalSeed
SoulJah
Registered: 06/22/13
Posts: 1,699
Loc: Babylon
Last seen: 7 years, 11 months
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Hawksresurrection]
#705497 - 01/08/14 12:41 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Thanks for posting Harry! I was at walmart about 45 minutes ago looking at their RO machine (doesn't really seem like an RO machine) and the zerowater water filters. I was going to get the zero water, but hell after you buy so many filters and the pitcher itself, its really not as efficient as it would seem (i.e. Cost effective).
My tap has 149ppms every time, its high, but I am trying to work with it so I can tweak nutes and stuff like that. I have been looking at RO machines online, but damn they are expensive and there is so much runoff waste that it would cause a spike in my water bill.
I'm gonna stick with tap and make it work someway. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks again Harry for the post and the helpful wisdom!
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Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: TribalSeed]
#705504 - 01/08/14 12:54 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Something to note, if you're getting a reading of 149ppm TDS from your tap, that's not going to be Chlorine, it's going to be dissolved solids such as calcium, iron, magnesium etc which are very important to your plant. If I'm not mistaken, it's a very rare municipality that stocks their water with anything more than 5ppm of Chlorine.
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phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly)
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Harry_Ba11sach]
#705508 - 01/08/14 12:59 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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150 is where I'm at and its about perfect, plenty of cal/mg. It sucks drinking it but the plants seem to like it. An 4 stage RO system cost ~$130 brand new on ebay.
People who use well water might have some concern for their water source, as it can become contaminated with bacteria.
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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BubbaGump
Stranger
Registered: 01/07/12
Posts: 96
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: phychotron]
#705515 - 01/08/14 01:24 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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I usually always let my water sit overnight but ended up using a gallon straight from the tap that didnt sit o
ut a few weeks ago, only difference i noticed was a white spot on a fan leaf the next day.
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TribalSeed
SoulJah
Registered: 06/22/13
Posts: 1,699
Loc: Babylon
Last seen: 7 years, 11 months
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: phychotron]
#705538 - 01/08/14 02:42 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Harry_Ba11sach said:
Something to note, if you're getting a reading of 149ppm TDS from your tap, that's not going to be Chlorine, it's going to be dissolved solids such as calcium, iron, magnesium etc which are very important to your plant. If I'm not mistaken, it's a very rare municipality that stocks their water with anything more than 5ppm of Chlorine.
I have looked at the water company's site and read the water tests that have been done and like you said, not much chlorine at all. One thing tho, it says chlorine and chloramine. Is that from switching over to chloramine or do they put both in the supply now?
Quote:
phychotron said:
150 is where I'm at and its about perfect, plenty of cal/mg. It sucks drinking it but the plants seem to like it. An 4 stage RO system cost ~$130 brand new on ebay.
People who use well water might have some concern for their water source, as it can become contaminated with bacteria.
I have found the ROs on ebay, but I am also including the filter prices as well, and how much water I use each time...etc. The cost doesn't really seem worth it. I think a lot of my problem was having 149ppms and then using CalMag on top of it. Same here about drinking it, tastes horrible.
Quick question, will PH down add too much ppms to the water or is that just a PH thing that doesn't affect the ppms?
Before I spend any money on anything I am going to get my feeding under control and use plain PH'd tap water for a while to see if it messes with them in anyway.
Check out my growlog to see the issues I was having.
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Data
That Guy
Registered: 08/12/08
Posts: 4,035
Loc: Southwestern US
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: TribalSeed]
#705562 - 01/08/14 04:36 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Science triumphs once more   I've always used tap water on my plants and never had any problems (at least from the tap water  )
Nice post Harry!
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“The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you” -NDT
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Magash
The Feminizer
Registered: 04/21/08
Posts: 6,634
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Data] 3
#705566 - 01/08/14 05:02 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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I've grown for over 30 years and only the outdoor gardens in the boonies got spring water everything else has been tap water. Some have had 150ppm some at 5ppm and it all works the same.
In other-words I've yet to hear "gee wiz Magash I'd really like your bud but if it wasn't for that chlorine aftertaste"
I have already more then proven the "organic taste better then chem grow" is nothing but utter bullshit. The tap water thing falls into that category.
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All creatures tremble when faced with violence. All creatures fear death, all love life. If we can only see ourselves in others, then how could we possibly hurt another creature?
 Join us at the Growery!
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TribalSeed
SoulJah
Registered: 06/22/13
Posts: 1,699
Loc: Babylon
Last seen: 7 years, 11 months
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Magash]
#705582 - 01/08/14 05:47 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Magash said:
In other-words I've yet to hear "gee wiz Magash I'd really like your bud but if it wasn't for that chlorine aftertaste"
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fortheloveofnature
noob
Registered: 11/18/13
Posts: 110
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Magash]
#705595 - 01/08/14 06:31 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Magash said:
I've grown for over 30 years and only the outdoor gardens in the boonies got spring water everything else has been tap water. Some have had 150ppm some at 5ppm and it all works the same.
In other-words I've yet to hear "gee wiz Magash I'd really like your bud but if it wasn't for that chlorine aftertaste"
I have already more then proven the "organic taste better then chem grow" is nothing but utter bullshit. The tap water thing falls into that category.
thanks for clearing up the myths out there
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Gymnopilus Luteofolius Gymnopilus Purpuratus G.luteofolius&G.luteoviridis
  
First grow (bagseed)
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Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Magash]
#705663 - 01/08/14 09:14 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
TribalSeed said:
Quote:
Harry_Ba11sach said:
Something to note, if you're getting a reading of 149ppm TDS from your tap, that's not going to be Chlorine, it's going to be dissolved solids such as calcium, iron, magnesium etc which are very important to your plant. If I'm not mistaken, it's a very rare municipality that stocks their water with anything more than 5ppm of Chlorine.
I have looked at the water company's site and read the water tests that have been done and like you said, not much chlorine at all. One thing tho, it says chlorine and chloramine. Is that from switching over to chloramine or do they put both in the supply now?
That's from the switch. They might do both or just one of them, but it's really irrelevant as far as cultivation is concerned.
Quote:
TribalSeed said:
Quote:
phychotron said:
150 is where I'm at and its about perfect, plenty of cal/mg. It sucks drinking it but the plants seem to like it. An 4 stage RO system cost ~$130 brand new on ebay.
People who use well water might have some concern for their water source, as it can become contaminated with bacteria.
I have found the ROs on ebay, but I am also including the filter prices as well, and how much water I use each time...etc. The cost doesn't really seem worth it. I think a lot of my problem was having 149ppms and then using CalMag on top of it. Same here about drinking it, tastes horrible.
Quick question, will PH down add too much ppms to the water or is that just a PH thing that doesn't affect the ppms?
Before I spend any money on anything I am going to get my feeding under control and use plain PH'd tap water for a while to see if it messes with them in anyway.
Check out my growlog to see the issues I was having.
Generally pH adjusters won't have any impact on your TDS, because ppm readings come from total dissolved solids (hence, TDS) and pH adjustment solutions are just ionic adjusters of chelated H+ or OH- ions, which aren't technically considered solids.
Quote:
Magash said:
I've grown for over 30 years and only the outdoor gardens in the boonies got spring water everything else has been tap water. Some have had 150ppm some at 5ppm and it all works the same.
In other-words I've yet to hear "gee wiz Magash I'd really like your bud but if it wasn't for that chlorine aftertaste"
I have already more then proven the "organic taste better then chem grow" is nothing but utter bullshit. The tap water thing falls into that category.
Exactly. It won't have any impact on the microbial life in your soil (which IS important when growing organic), and it sure as shit won't change the flavor of those buds!
I also agree with you on the organic vs not organic debate. Perhaps I'll have to type up a sizeable post showing that Hydro plants and soil plants eat the exact same shit from the exact same source. The only difference between organic and not is how heady your dreads are, brah.
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hamloaf
Biometric Precursor.
Registered: 10/21/13
Posts: 193
Loc: Back in the USSR.
Last seen: 3 months, 14 days
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. [Re: phychotron]
#705729 - 01/09/14 04:43 AM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
I think a lot of my problem was having 149ppms and then using CalMag on top of it.
Quote:
Something to note, if you're getting a reading of 149ppm TDS from your tap, that's not going to be Chlorine, it's going to be dissolved solids such as calcium, iron, magnesium etc which are very important to your plant.
This is why I don't add and calcium and magnesium to plants watered from the tap. I find that calcium and magnesium additives aren't necessary unless plants are being watered with reverse osmosis water.
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TribalSeed
SoulJah
Registered: 06/22/13
Posts: 1,699
Loc: Babylon
Last seen: 7 years, 11 months
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Harry_Ba11sach] 1
#705759 - 01/09/14 09:50 AM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
hamloaf said:
This is why I don't add and calcium and magnesium to plants watered from the tap. I find that calcium and magnesium additives aren't necessary unless plants are being watered with reverse osmosis water.
You know what they say about hindsight.lol. I think I was just so nervous to fuck something up that I missed a lot of obvious issues I was creating.
Quote:
Harry said:
That's from the switch. They might do both or just one of them, but it's really irrelevant as far as cultivation is concerned.
Generally pH adjusters won't have any impact on your TDS, because ppm readings come from total dissolved solids (hence, TDS) and pH adjustment solutions are just ionic adjusters of chelated H+ or OH- ions, which aren't technically considered solids.
.
That's really scientific, but I do understand in the way you explained it. I know what the PH should be, but I don't nessacarily know what its made up of, i.e. the biological part of it. I need to really brush up on my biology.lol. Thank you for the replies Harry!
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Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: TribalSeed]
#706751 - 01/12/14 07:16 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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One last quick bump. Hardly a scientific study here, but it does support my point. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1548.html
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Farmer Joe
Registered: 09/03/09
Posts: 1,707
Loc: USA
Last seen: 2 years, 6 days
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Harry_Ba11sach]
#706844 - 01/13/14 06:52 AM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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what are your thoughts on the impact chlorine has on beneficial bacterias that are added to nutrient solutions?
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"Marijuana may not be addictive, but growing it is" - ED Rosenthal
Maine Caregiver In 100% compliance with Maine state laws.
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Harry_Ba11sach
cannoisseur
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 11,753
Loc: Nepal
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Farmer Joe]
#706846 - 01/13/14 08:08 AM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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You mean something like Mayan Microzyme from Humboldt nutrients?
I think the point still stands. You'll certainly lose a few to chlorine (that's what it's for, after all), but the mechanism of sterilization for chlorine is to bind to the microorganisms (chlorine has a negative charge, so it works in a very similar way to an acid sanitizer). Once it binds to a bacteria and immobilizes it, the chlorine is no longer free to do ANY more sanitization. I just checked and my municipal water is 0.05ppm chlorine. When cultivating soil colonies you're shooting for trillions upon trillions of cells (good soil should be well over 50% bacteria and fungi by weight), so I would think the impact even in nutrient solutions would be very very minimal.
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SacajaGanja
Beer
Registered: 01/31/12
Posts: 89
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Re: On the topic of chlorine in tap water and the effect on the microbial herd. (moved) [Re: Harry_Ba11sach] 1
#706848 - 01/13/14 09:39 AM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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 Cheers fellas, just wanted to stop in and try to catch a few words of wisdom.
~Skunk
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