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!
The water in my area usually between 100-150 ppm. I've used it to water my plants for the entire time I've grown carnivorous plants. I haven't noticed it having any effect on any of the plants I've grown, nepenthes included. One thing about our water supply is that it does not have flouride added, which would probably have an effect on usability for plants. What's the ppm like in your area?
Tap water is often fine for Nepenthes, but tap water quality varies widely between locations. Do you know what the TDS of your water is? I've been using tap water on all my CPs lately, but it's only 35-40 TDS.
The use of tap water for any carnivores is based on the added chemicals and ppm in your local area. Plenty of people do use tap water, either for the hardier plants like Nepenthes (with a good soil flush every now and then) or if they're lucky for all their plants, but others like myself have tap that is way too hard for any carnivore.
Works fine for the neps I leave outside, I think my tap water is around 50-60 ppm but I haven't checked in a while. Still use RO water for the greenhouse though, I've got sphagnum growing in there.
I am unsure of my tds, but I always de-chlorinate my tap water for changing out my fish tank. Does anyone know of a resource for finding out my ads? I'm in central Ohio if that helps.
You can check this map, though it shows an average for each zip code and your tap water could be significantly different. For instance with my zip code, it shows the average being twice what my TDS meter indicates. Total Dissolved Solids
The ideal thing would be to buy a TDS meter, which you can get on Amazon for <$20.
Don't assume anything! When I say that my tap reads half the average for my zip code - it's just as likely for someone who lives in the area to have double the reading on the map. Water quality can vary depending on the time of year as well. During the dry season, it's more likely your water company is tapping into less pure ground water.
I was going to use the tds meter no matter what. It was just meant as speculation until I get the tds meter and I was never going to use it on my neps until then. By the way, do you know of a good tds meter? Thanks.
There are other models that do automatic temperature adjustment (I believe these are generally calibrated to be accurate at 70F) but I just went for the basic one.
I use tap only on my neps. They actually seem to respond with new growth, especially if I've been using rain water for a while prior to using tap. However, the media (lfs) breaks down much faster with tap than rainwater.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.