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hard tap water
I live in the central valley in California, and we have really hard
water. It leaves calcium deposits on all the plumbing fixtures. How will this effect plants? Should I mix tap water with bottled water to soften it a bit? I haven't set up the tank yet. Thanks, Chris |
hard tap water
Chris wrote in message ...
I live in the central valley in California, and we have really hard water. It leaves calcium deposits on all the plumbing fixtures. How will this effect plants? Should I mix tap water with bottled water to soften it a bit? I haven't set up the tank yet. Thanks, Chris Hard water is great for plants. So is soft. Plants do not care, fish might(say Discus etc) but plants do great in either soft or hard. I have not found an upper hardness limit on either KH or GH. Some 250-300species grow the same in both. I've had a variety of water types ovber the years. Good CO2 will help the plants grow well. FYI, Both Claus of Tropica(the Amazon) and myself(Florida and California) have been telling folks that some of the best plant growth occurs in hard clear waters. Save your $ for a CO2 system, not RO/DI water etc. Regards, Tom Barr |
hard tap water
Chris wrote:
I live in the central valley in California, and we have really hard water. It leaves calcium deposits on all the plumbing fixtures. How will this effect plants? Should I mix tap water with bottled water to soften it a bit? I haven't set up the tank yet. Most plants do fine in hard water. The big thing to watch out for that I've found is if your complex/house has a water softener on it. My complex does and not all the plants like it very much. I've been fine with java ferns, crypts, aponogeton bulbs and hairgrass. Other plants have just not thrived even with Flourish and CO2 and sufficient lighting. |
hard tap water
Cichlidiot wrote in message ...
Most plants do fine in hard water. The big thing to watch out for that I've found is if your complex/house has a water softener on it. My complex does and not all the plants like it very much. I've been fine with java ferns, crypts, aponogeton bulbs and hairgrass. Other plants have just not thrived even with Flourish and CO2 and sufficient lighting. The problem with water softeners is that they exchange sodium for the magnesium and calcium in the water. Remember that hardness refers only to calcium and magnesium, not total dissolved solids. Thus even though a water softener reduces the levels of Ca and Mg, it actually increases TDS, since you get two Na+ ions for each Ca++ or Mg++ ion removed. It's possible the plants are suffering because the TDS level is too high, or they have sodium poisoning. (You know how very little lives in salty soil? Same idea.) Even more likely is that they're simply starved for Ca and Mg. Adding a fertilizer with these might fix the problem. - Jim |
hard tap water
The problem with water softeners is that they exchange sodium for the
magnesium and calcium in the water. Remember that hardness refers only to calcium and magnesium, not total dissolved solids. Thus even though a water softener reduces the levels of Ca and Mg, it actually increases TDS, since you get two Na+ ions for each Ca++ or Mg++ ion removed. I believe you may be mistaken on this point about a raise in TDS, or for that matter the two for one exchange of Sodium with either Calcium or Magnesium. I see little to no conductivity change in softened water and have read many times that TDS is unaffected using these units. Whats your source for this information? It's possible the plants are suffering because the TDS level is too high, or they have sodium poisoning. (You know how very little lives in salty soil? Same idea.) Even more likely is that they're simply starved for Ca and Mg. Adding a fertilizer with these might fix the problem. - Jim In a properly working water softener, the Chloride is not introduced into the water. One could use Potassium Chloride instead of Sodium Chloride in the water softener and eliminate the Sodium. I no longer need to dose Potassium in my tap water tanks, and for my RO water sourced tanks, I use some pellets from my water softener for the dosing. I had thought that Chloride was also a bad thing for plants. High Sodium levels does seem to not be great for some plants. |
hard tap water
The problem with water softeners is that they exchange sodium for the
magnesium and calcium in the water. Remember that hardness refers only to calcium and magnesium, not total dissolved solids. Thus even though a water softener reduces the levels of Ca and Mg, it actually increases TDS, since you get two Na+ ions for each Ca++ or Mg++ ion removed. I believe you may be mistaken on this point about a raise in TDS, or for that matter the two for one exchange of Sodium with either Calcium or Magnesium. I see little to no conductivity change in softened water and have read many times that TDS is unaffected using these units. Whats your source for this information? It's possible the plants are suffering because the TDS level is too high, or they have sodium poisoning. (You know how very little lives in salty soil? Same idea.) Even more likely is that they're simply starved for Ca and Mg. Adding a fertilizer with these might fix the problem. - Jim In a properly working water softener, the Chloride is not introduced into the water. One could use Potassium Chloride instead of Sodium Chloride in the water softener and eliminate the Sodium. I no longer need to dose Potassium in my tap water tanks, and for my RO water sourced tanks, I use some pellets from my water softener for the dosing. I had thought that Chloride was also a bad thing for plants. High Sodium levels does seem to not be great for some plants. |
hard tap water
"Jim Seidman" wrote in message om... Cichlidiot wrote in message ... Most plants do fine in hard water. The big thing to watch out for that I've found is if your complex/house has a water softener on it. My complex does and not all the plants like it very much. I've been fine with java ferns, crypts, aponogeton bulbs and hairgrass. Other plants have just not thrived even with Flourish and CO2 and sufficient lighting. The problem with water softeners is that they exchange sodium for the magnesium and calcium in the water. Remember that hardness refers only to calcium and magnesium, not total dissolved solids. Thus even though a water softener reduces the levels of Ca and Mg, it actually increases TDS, since you get two Na+ ions for each Ca++ or Mg++ ion removed. It's possible the plants are suffering because the TDS level is too high, or they have sodium poisoning. (You know how very little lives in salty soil? Same idea.) Even more likely is that they're simply starved for Ca and Mg. Adding a fertilizer with these might fix the problem. - Jim Might help with the algae problems too. I cleared a hair algae problem by just upping the potassium..... It appeared that K was the limiting factor in my tank..... The hair algae has almost completely dissapeared in that tank. Unfortunately now it's poped up in another tank I was neglecting..... Oh well Bob |
hard tap water
"Racf" wrote in message .net...
I believe you may be mistaken on this point about a raise in TDS, or for that matter the two for one exchange of Sodium with either Calcium or Magnesium. I see little to no conductivity change in softened water and have read many times that TDS is unaffected using these units. Whats your source for this information? Cation exchange is commonly discussed in college-level chemistry texts. You'll see that the two-for-one exchange is necessary if you think about the charge balance. You can't replace Ca++ or Mg++ with Na+, because then the water would become negatively charged. Two Na+ ions are released, and you're left with CaCl2 or MgCl2 in the water softener. As to TDS, if you measure in mg/L (or equivalently ppm), the effect will be different depending on your ratio of Ca to Mg. Na weighs almost as much as Mg, so replacing Mg with 2 Na will increase TDS. On the other hand, Ca weighs almost twice as much as Na, so replacing Ca with 2 Na will have almost no effect on TDS. So if your hardness is mostly Ca, you're correct, TDS will change only very slightly. When I said TDS, what I really meant was the total number of dissolved ions. This will go up as a result of the cation exchange, even if the weight of the dissolved solids changes only slightly. - Jim |
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