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Bog Bowls and Watering

I recently got a little bog bowl started as a means of trying to overwinter sarrs, since having them in pots just does not work for me. I've had 0% success that way. So anyways.. it hasn't rained in a while and I noticed that there is a bit of space between the peat and the sides of the bowl now, meaning that the peat is drying. When I poke the peat it's still FEELS moist and I see water squish out of it, but I'm not sure if this is considered to be enough water for the sarrs and the VFT in the bog bowl. I periodically give it some water and hope for rain but I have to give it a TON to even make a difference and a gallon of distilled water a day is just way too much. So is what I have alright? I assume that it is but I rarely ever trust my own instinct.
 
Chrono,

I would say that it all depends, are the plants well established with a good root system?
is the peat deep enough to provide a decent moisture buffer... etc etc

if mine pulls away from the sides I water it, mine is also an old mini bog and well established with a good top layer of live moss to help me judge by

If I was you... id start catching rain water and try to keep it nice and damp this first season, then you may be able to relax a little more, now I don't worry about mine unless it hasnt rained in several days to a week

but let the plants be your guide

If you cant catch rainwater then its time to start looking at RO units, figure about 125-150 after shipping.... if you are having issues now what will it be like in mid july/august?

Sounds to me like your mini bog could stand to be deeper compared to surface area.... more buffer/less evaporation

HTH's
Av
 
Not really sure how deep or wide it is.. I think it's like 20 inches wide and 8 inches deep? I do need to find a way to save rainwater too.. supposedly it's going to rain on Friday and Saturday so I should have a way by then.. I'll probably just get a bunch of big containers and let em fill up then transfer them to gallons to keep it clean. I added a half gallon of water to the bowl for reassurance . When I put the bog together it was just like a big puddle of mud so all I had to do was take the plants right out of the pot, soil and all and just sorta massage it into place so there was little to no disturbance to the roots, they were pretty well established from the start as well. The weird thing about my bowl is that it's not very deep but it's really wide, so some parts are really deep and some aren't.

I've thought about getting an R/O unit and I was looking around eBay for one today but I really don't feel like spending 140 dollars right now, lol.

Edit: This is the cheapest one I've found.. http://cgi.ebay.com/MWS-5-STAGE-REV...6QQihZ017QQcategoryZ20684QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
Here in Oregon we have really dry summers, so my solution is a 50 gal. plastic garbage can that I store rain water in or when it's dry tap water. I treat my tap water with conditioner sold for fish. I do have some mineral build up by the time dormancey starts, but that gets all washed away with our winter rains. Ten years plus and no problems. Jack
 
FWIW, this is the one I have

Aqua Safe on Ebay

Ive had it about 2 yrs, no problems

my tapwater = 100ppm TDS, after the RO/DI = 0.00ppm TDS

Av
 
Hmmm... I think I will consider getting one of these this week.. It'll save me a lot of time and money.. no more running to the store all the time for distilled water.. Thanks for that link.

Oh and.. how big are they? In pictures it's hard to tell.
 
big?
hmmm the main filter assembly is about 18"x24", and then you have to have room for the accumulator tank which is 4 or 5 gallons if I remember correctly

after having one, you will wonder how you survived LOL


chorno,

if at all possible, go ahead and get their big package deal with the TDS meter and pressure Gauge, you will need those and they had a good package deal when I bought mine

hmmm I dont see that option on their list anymore, maybe you can ask..
 
You could be ghetto like me and use a 5 gallon bucket lmao
 
5 gallon buckets work great, nice and deep with small surface area

:)

yeah I know, that aint what he meant :)
 
  • #10
For the system, the TDS meter and the pressure gauge, it's like 235 dollars. x_x I REALLY don't want to spend that much.. maybe I'll wait a bit and see how my rainwater collecting thing goes. I DO want one of those R/O units eventually though...
 
  • #11
I think that price is with a case of filters and 4 bags or mixed bed media,

heck if you get the base kit, ill loan ya the gauges to troubleshoot with if you have probs

but up to you mate

Av
 
  • #12
That price has like.. EVERYTHING in it, new filters, the base kit, and the TDS and pressure gauge.

I'm thinking if I get one, I at least need a TDS meter to make sure that it's working right. I could order that separate from the same person.

The pressure gauge is just for troubleshooting though, right?
 
  • #13
yep, and you can get a much cheaper pressure gauge from northern tool or someone like that..

you really need at least 50psi of water pressure, if you dont have that then you will have a terrible brine rate (proper nomenclature?) for every one gallon of RO water you dump about 5-10 gallons of "brine", this ratio is inversely proportional to your system pressure

(I capture and use the "brine" to water my non-carnivorous plants (it has gone through 3 stages of filtration))

in other words more system pressure equals better performance (to a point) ideally would be about 60psi... and this is a dynamic pressure not static, it should be measured at the RO input with the RO operating

I also use the pressure gauge to check the pressure drop of my prefilters, as they clog the pressure drop will increase, they should be replaced when the pressure drop is greater then 5 psi IIRC

etc etc etc, so yes and no chrono... but get your unit and go from there, heck I can probably find an el cheapo gauge around the house I can donate to the cause

wal mart has them for about 10 bucks as well (automotive oil pressure gauge)

so while technically not required, IMHO they are definitely required to maintain best performance and lowest operating cost



prefilters, valving and Membrane:
rounitmain.jpg


Accumulator tank:
rounittank.jpg


DI beads and carbon post filter:
rounitdi.jpg


I mounted the beads vertically instead of the original horizontal mount to prevent "channeling", per bead mfg

(a no-brainer, as the beads age they shrink)

Av
 
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  • #14
Wow, I can tell that when I actually do get one of those.. it's going to be sooo fun to put together. I know little to nothing about it. I hope it comes with directions. x_x

10 dollars from wal-mart definately beats 25 dollars plus shipping! (Free + shipping is nice too. Lol.) A TDS meter would be a little harder to find at wal-mart though.. on the ebay auction for the TDS meter it says it is $25 if ordered with the R/O unit itself. How do you order things together? Do you just.. win the auction and then when you go to pay for one, both of them are there on the "bill" so you can just pay for em both together and possibly get them shipped together too?
 
  • #15
They usuallly will come pretty much pre assembled. I am new to this hobby but my other hobby is reefkeeping and i use RO/DI for my tanks. I get alot of stuff from www.airwaterice.com and also www.buckeyefieldsupply.com Buckeye has great prices on replacement filters and bulk DI resin
 
  • #16
assembly is pretty straightforward, as miller stated they arrive mostly together, I have all the various colored lines to color code mine, but just haven't gotten around to it LOL

but if it will help ya, I can do that and then take some pics, it really makes sense once you understand what is going on

and yep, they will ship together if you ask... they were easy to work with when I got mine



the theory works the same way your intestines do, Einstein first published a paper on the theory around 1908 or so I think

How RO works

one caveat, I suggest you check your water pressure before you buy one, if it isn't at least 45-50psi then the RO unit wont ever perform like it should... so get your gauge first, if you only have 30 psi then forget RO or plan on using a booster pump (owie...)

as the old hillbilly sayin goes "its hard to turn doo doo into ice cream, and even if you could no one would eat it" LOL

Av

el cheapo gauge that should work = $3.99
 
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  • #17
The PSI gauge link = bookmarked.

It's good to hear that it'll be pre-assembled.. since It'd take me hours to do it myself probably.

Also, I like that saying. xD
 
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