What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

What are the signs of hard water damage?

More than a little perturbed at the high mortality rate of my plants recently, I took a sample of the water I was getting from the RO vending machine near my house and got it tested. I took it to 3 different locations and one said that the water was soft but the other two said it was HARD. I saw the little testing stick on one and it was indeed reading hard.

I'm glad to possibly have arrived at the cause for such crappy plants while everyone else posts such gorgeous pics with plants under the same kinds of lights, but I more than a bit pissed to 1.) have been duped by the poorly maintained machine and 2.) have just tossed the final sarracenia seedling from this past fall-the one that I was drawn to very early on and had survived until suddenly taking a turn for the worst and 3.)wasted so freakin' much money on plants that are dead or near it. It is largely affecting the sarrs, VFTs and baby plants (either seedlings or tiny pings) although bladderworts are hit or miss. Some are sort of alive but not really doing anything and others are just pots of soil and dead plant mush.

I don't know if this water supply has been bad for a while (it was fine at first-I had it tested before trusting it) or if this is the cause for the CP massacre at all so I'm wondering what would happen to a sarr in hard water? What sort of death would occur and about how long would it have before kicking it?
 
Soft and hard are words. You're water doesn't have to me hard to be full of minerals, since hardness is mostly a measure of GH (calcium and magnesium). What PPM did it test out as?

Sarracenia are very hardy. It would take a long time and it would be slow. I'm not sure it the hard water alone would actually kill it, but it could weaken the plant to a point where other factors could kill the weakened plant.

Does anyone know exactly what impure water does at a cellular level that makes it bad?
 
Don't be swayed by all the glorious photos. If someone has a collection of sickly plants and one show-stopper, which photo gets posted? By the way, why do you trust the test results? Beyond that, hardness is a measure of Ca & Mg, as JLAP mentioned. Dissolve a bunch of salt in some RO and you'll have water that's lethal to CPs but perfectly soft. TDS is a better measure because it's a measure of everything that's dissolved in the water.
 
This is a great topic that I'll be keeping my eye on. I get my water from dispensers outside my grocery store, and it's supposedly RO.... I have never tested its TDS level.
 
How does one get it tested correctly? Where to take it?
 
ilbasso, if you want, you can send me a sample of your water in a sterile container. I'll do a PPM reading on it for you if you cant find anything local.
 
Contact the company you get your water from, or the city water quality board. I get a results sheet sent to my house every year. 1031 PPM. Lubbock ftw!
 
Do you pour that Lubbock water into a glass or slice it and serve it on a plate?
 
  • #10
It may be wise just to invest in a little tds meter. A plumbing company in the LA area gave me one for free.

This is the one I got:
TDS Meter
 
Back
Top