How do I know if my tap water is safe to use on my venus flytraps/pitchers?
If not, is there an easy and cheap way to make distilled water? It's summer here so there is not much rainwater I can use.
2006-06-27 17:05:05 · 6 answers · asked by Rocky 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Botany
u want an EASY solution, yeah. so get a little bit of oxalic acid crystals. i believe it is used for removing stains. make a stock solution of this. put a few drops in a bottle of your tap water. white precipitate will occur so let it sit overnight. then add more of the acid and see if some more precipitate occurs. if not u should have used less, if yes, u should have used more. you can also experiment with several bottles with different ammounts of it. this way you will find the just right amount of the acid to remove the undesirable ionts (it is not good if there is surplus oxalic acid left in the watering water so u just have to try it out). and you can use this way to prepare water for watering - u just let it sit to remove the precipitate. far more efficient than boiling - u can try the oxalic acid for boiled water and u will see that there is still something left in the water. if u dont have that large water consumption to go into this hassle i suggest u rather buy some distilled water that is put in cars for cooling. but when i had some 17 tanks stuffed by carnivorous plants it would ruin my budget. but when i was lazy to do it, i ruined my plants over one years time- so the people who say that it is safe if u drink it probably dont know much about carnivorous plants. .. AND it is not just about the chlorine, as u probably know
2006-06-27 19:49:42 · answer #1 · answered by iva 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Marcus R is right. To speed up the process, boil water, let it cool. The chlorine will be gone. All carnivorous plants need lots of water, preferably to be water-logged. Keep the pot in a saucer filled with water.
2006-06-27 21:33:31 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fill bottles with tap water and leave uncapped in a dark place for two days is the best way to declorinize your water. Distilled water is a little harder, you have to boil it and catch the steam.
2006-06-27 17:11:19 · answer #3 · answered by Marcus R. 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do you have a basement? If so, you probably need a dehumidifier, if you don't already have one. That's where I get all the distilled water I need, out of the dehumidifier.
2006-06-28 10:03:52 · answer #4 · answered by Moon Maiden 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
go to your local plant nursery or place that sales plants, they would know
2006-06-27 17:12:55 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You drink it, don't you?
2006-06-27 17:09:04 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋