Well water vs city water
Login
User Name
Password   


Registration is FREE. Click to become a member of OrchidBoard community
(You're NOT logged in)

menu menu

Sponsor
Donate Now
and become
Forum Supporter.

Well water vs city water
Many perks!
<...more...>


Sponsor
 

Google


Fauna Top Sites
Register Well water vs city water Members Well water vs city water Well water vs city water Today's PostsWell water vs city water Well water vs city water Well water vs city water
LOG IN/REGISTER TO CLOSE THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Go Back   Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web ! > >
Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01-09-2012, 06:43 PM
lily99 lily99 is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jan 2008
Zone: 5b
Location: Cleveland, OH
Posts: 246
Default Well water vs city water

I sometimes help my parents with their orchids. The orchids just have not been doing well. They all seem to die slowly, and I am begining to think it is the water. My parents water the orchids with well water. When they first got the house, the well water was so acidic it was leaching copper off the pipes, so they installed an acid neutralizer which adds something basic (sodium bicarb?) to their water. I water my own orchids with city water and they are all doing well. My parents and I have very similar orchids and lighting set-ups. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with well water or acid neutralizers. I also wonder if my parents just need a water filter, or if they should just get a reverse osmosis set-up.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 01-09-2012, 07:30 PM
camille1585's Avatar
camille1585 camille1585 is offline
Administrator
 

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: middle of the Netherlands
Posts: 13,777
Default

I looked up acid neutralizers, and there are 2 types, assuming I'm not wrong: One that adds calcium-magnesium to the water to raise the pH, and another system which adds sodium carbonate, so basically a water softener system. The first one is fine for orchids, the second one is not. Too much sodium literally poisons the orchids. At high level is becomes toxic to most plants.

You need to find out what system your parents use, ad if it's the sodium version, they need to use another water source for the orchids ASAP. Do you know the pH and general quality of the well water before treatment? It may actually be good for the orchids, the ideal pH range is 5.5-6.5
__________________
Camille

Completely orchid obsessed and loving every minute of it....

My Orchid Photos

Last edited by camille1585; 01-09-2012 at 07:34 PM..
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 01-09-2012, 07:33 PM
DavidCampen DavidCampen is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Southern California, Los Angeles
Posts: 965
Default

You should get an analysis of the water for conductivity and total dissolved solids to decide if you need RO.

A water filter will do little or nothing to improve the suitability of the water for orchids. RO is the cure-all but even if you are going to use RO you should still get an analysis of the water for total dissolved solids and pH to decide how to operate the RO system.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 01-09-2012, 11:09 PM
Ray's Avatar
Ray Ray is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2005
Member of:AOS
Location: Oak Island NC
Posts: 15,204
Well water vs city water Male
Default

My well water has a pH of 4.7 (nobody is going to suffer from a copper shortage here!), so we inject potassium carbonate solution to neutralize it.

Orchids watered with it also slowly declined, but those in the greenhouse, receiving RO plus MSU, have no such issues (of course, they are also in GH conditions).

I have recently begun participating in a low-K fertilizer study, with others noting similar effects. A little reading has shown that epiphytes appear to handle potassium differently than do terrestrials, whatever that means.


Posted using Tapatalk
__________________
Ray Barkalow, Orchid Iconoclast
FIRSTRAYS.COM
Try Kelpak - you won't be sorry!
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 01-09-2012, 11:30 PM
Leafmite's Avatar
Leafmite Leafmite is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Sep 2010
Zone: 5b
Location: Ohio
Posts: 10,953
Well water vs city water
Default

We have a water softner and thus I cannot use the water for my plants. I use water fromy dehumidifier, distilled water and rain/snow (at room temp).
Leafmite
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 01-10-2012, 12:19 AM
bballr4567 bballr4567 is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Dec 2011
Zone: 6b
Location: Evansville, IN
Posts: 1,009
Well water vs city water Male
Default

Sort of off topic but not by much, can you use rain water that collects off an asphalt shingle roof?
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 01-10-2012, 07:40 AM
billc's Avatar
billc billc is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2008
Zone: 6b
Location: The beautiful Hudson Valley of NY
Posts: 1,870
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bballr4567 View Post
Sort of off topic but not by much, can you use rain water that collects off an asphalt shingle roof?
That's pretty much all I use except in the dead of winter when everythings frozen(except this year).

Bill
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 01-10-2012, 07:46 PM
lily99 lily99 is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jan 2008
Zone: 5b
Location: Cleveland, OH
Posts: 246
Default

Thanks for all the advice. I think I am going to suggest my parents get a rain barrel and see how collecting rain water goes. We certainly get enough rain here.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 01-14-2012, 03:29 PM
Paphluvr's Avatar
Paphluvr Paphluvr is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Mar 2011
Zone: 5a
Location: Base of the "Thumb", MI, USA
Posts: 1,444
Well water vs city water Male
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bballr4567 View Post
Sort of off topic but not by much, can you use rain water that collects off an asphalt shingle roof?
Yes, but the trick is to wait for the roof to clean off before starting to collect water. I did this for years with a collection of about 300 orchids grown under lights. Collected the rainwater in a large galvinized washtub put under the downspout after removing the lower elbow. When the tub was full I pumped the collected water into several large fiberglass sump tanks that I keep in the garage. In the winter if the water froze I just chipped off chunks and let them thaw overnight indoors. Unless you live in a part of the country with an acid rain problem this is the best free water for orchids.

Good luck!
Paphluvr
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 01-16-2012, 01:31 PM
The Orchid Boy The Orchid Boy is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Dec 2011
Zone: 5a
Member of:AOS, G.O.O.S.
Location: Nebraska, zone 5a
Age: 29
Posts: 953
Well water vs city water Male
Default

I live in the country and I use the hard well water from outside spouts with no problems. I do not ever use the water from inside which is softened. I also try to water with melted snow, rain water, or water from a dehumidifier whenever I can.

I am thinking about getting a rain barrel. All the roofs around my place are metal. Is it all right to collect rain from metal roofs?
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
orchid water, orchid water quality, orchids, parents, water, city


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Can I use distilled water for regular watering? lund0682 Beginner Discussion 9 02-19-2011 04:49 PM
Using Spring Water RJSquirrel Advanced Discussion 4 11-23-2010 12:15 AM
transfering catt. from water culture to s/h BigRed Semi-Hydroponic Culture 23 04-03-2009 11:44 AM
WATER: RO, Rain Water, Misting, Watering HDCochran Greenhouse Gardening 2 01-04-2009 12:27 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:16 AM.

© 2007 OrchidBoard.com
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.37 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Clubs vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.