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Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3159

  • morpheus83uk
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Hello,

I have been told to use the rain water which is fine and dandy however I was thinking what happens in summer when we have no rain?

Could I use normal tap water and leave it out for 24 hours or more? would this be as good as rain water?

Many Thanks

James

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Re: Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3160

  • leatherback
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The main reason for using rainwater is becaus it contains no minerals such as calcium. The buildup of minerals like calcium cabonate will eventually kill your tree if left untreated.

Putting tapwater outside will not help there. One *could* use demineralized water. Or you could use a rain water collector. Or you could decide to just use tyap water. Then you need to make sure you really put loads of watre on the soil, so that it drains from the drain holes.

If you take tap water, put it in a small bowl, place the smal bowl in a larger bowl and put a lid on the whole thing you'll see water starting to condensate on the inside of the bigger bowl and on the lid. This is evaporated from the smaller bowl and is absolutely mineral-free. You could this way create smaller volumes of clean water if you only have one or two trees (Or use loads of these setups). Natually, you place the setup in the sun for best results.

in any case: A couple of months with tap water should not pose passive problems, except for regions with extremely hard water.

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Last edit: Post by Oscar.

Re: Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3161

  • morpheus83uk
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Thats great thanks for that I will keep it in mind :)

Out of curiosity if I did leave out some tap water what would it do? as I have read on the net that you can leave it out for 24 hours and some of the chemicals will dissapear hence my post you see....

Many Thanks

James

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Re: Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3162

  • leatherback
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If you have chlorified water then some of the chlorine will evaporate out of the water. The practice of adding chlorin to water is very rare nowadays in most western countries afaik.

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Re: Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3163

  • Leslie
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One can buy large (11-18 L) bottles of distilled or reverse osmosis water here in Canada, which is 99% chemical and mineral free. Or one can also purchase portable, electric water distillers and make your own.

Having lived most of my life in the country I know the challenges of mineral-rich, hard well water. In the small city in which I now live, the water is much softer however, it is regularly chlorinated (to kill bacteria)and it has fluoride added to it as well (which I totally disagree with). They seem to think this will make us a Nation with flawless teeth, I guess. :whistle:

Anyway, I too have been wondering what the effects of this chlorinated/fluorinated water might be having on my plants.

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Re: Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3164

  • leatherback
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18l 99% chemical free? That means there is 1% chemicals in it, right? So that would make 180 grammes of chemicals in the water. Yuck!

Hm.. In the Netherlands they stopped chlorinating & fluorizing after adverse health effects became clear in the seventies for fluor, and chlorin in 2005. Guess that has not arrived in Canada!?

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Re: Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3165

  • morpheus83uk
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So if I understand correctly it will just evaporate the chlorine and thats it the floride would still be there and eventually kill my bonsai?

Many Thanks

James

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Re: Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3166

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Fluor will -I think- also evaporate. Not heard of effects of flor on bonsai trees. Dunno what it would do.

But.. Do you use rain water for normal indoor plants? Does the water kill it? Exactly. Calcium carbonates [sclae] buildup are the main worry.

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Re: Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3167

  • morpheus83uk
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Ahhh right as thats what my little spots where apparently mineral deposits which I want to avoid which is what your saying...

I am currently after being told to do so in here I was thinking when we run out and dont have rain what would be the best action then...

So there would still be calcium in the water even when left out?

Many Thanks

James

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Re: Rainwater? 12 years 2 months ago #3168

  • leatherback
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I know [www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/help-me/1194-...mit=10&limitstart=10]

Calcium does not evaporate. This is the whole reason why you get scale in the first place: The water evaporates, and every time you water the plant, more calcium is added and it starts to build up as carbonates: Scale.

Boiling water will also dramatically reduce scale as at temperatures above 70 °C (158 °F) the soluble bicarbonate is converted to poorly-soluble carbonate, leading to deposits in places where water is heated.

see also: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limescale

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