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609ppm water mistake

  • Thread starter Jenn4a
  • Start date
I've posted this on another site, but I made a dumb mistake. I use a filter that is supposed to be replaced after it reaches 6 ppm, and normally I do after 17. Unfortunately, I lost my meter and assumed that the water was ok. I found a different meter and I tested it; it was a whopping 609 ppm! I immediately flushed my plants with pure water (until the runoff was around 20-30 ppm, including my brand new Heli :sorrow:.

I'm assuming that I've been using unacceptable water for a few weeks. Most of my nepenthes are fine so far. I lost 2 of my smallest seedlings in a compot. They appeared to have rotted from the bottom up.. I assume it was from the water?

Some of the new growth points on my new Cephalotus have turned dark, but the pitchers have not dried out. I've been keeping it out of direct sunlight since it is new.

My Heliamphora has small tears in most of the pitchers; when I was filling the pitchers, a lot of the water drained out of the tears. I just received it bare-root, and I used the 600 ppm water to rehydrate dried Sphagnum moss to pot it up in. I have a feeling that even though the run off water was 14-17 ppm, that the Sphagnum is retaining a lot of those solids. I know this plant is stressed out from shipping, potting, and the bad water. I just don't know if I should repot it with fresh Sphagnum moss, or if I should wait to see if the plant declines in health. I have it bagged, but not fully closed so there is some air exchange.
What is the best course of action for my Heliamphora heterodoxa x minor?
My goal is to acclimate it to my conditions without using a terrarium.


My growing conditions:
My CPs are grown by an eastern windowsill..it is opened for now. I have a plant shelving unit that sits in front of the window, and I keep my new and acclimating plants on the shelves lower than the direct sunlight can hit. The humidity is typically 50's to 80's. in the morning it can drop to 40% but it quickly rises to 50%+ after 12pm. At night, it is higher...sometimes 90%.
The days have been 72-90ºF, and the nights have been around 64-68. The thermostat is set to 66ºF.
I just got a warm/cold room humidifier that I plan to use next to the plants. I can set it so that it operates until it hits the range that I want; I think the max is 80% and then it will shut off.

I've learned that I need to check my filter every 2-3 days after the first week of changing it. I'm just hoping that my plants are okay.
 
Your plants will be fine. A short term exposure to high TDS water isn't going to do any harm to your plants, especially if you've flushed the pots. The only kind of water I could see causing immediate health problems would be appreciably salty water. I'd watch your temperatures though, 90 is pushing it for heliamphora.
 
Thank you for the reply. By the time that I fully acclimate my Heliamphora, I don’t think the days will reach the 90’s anymore. The heat doesn’t stay high for long, just with the direct sun in the morning and early afternoon.

I have been contemplating about making a small setup for heat sensitive plants. I’m thinking about a 20 gal, 29, or 30. 40 would be pushing it for space requirements. I already have a 20 high and a 20 long... and a 29 or 30 in storage. I have several 2FT T5’s that aren’t in use right now.
Since I would be using a small setup, I was thinking about using ultrasonic foggers, an aquarium pump that runs the water out of the tank over Peltier coolers, and then back into a tank controlled with an Arduino or raspberry pi. I’ve done a few pi projects before and programming is up my alley. I am a Senior in computer science. I would use a thermostat and a hygrometer sensor as well.
 
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