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What part of "no tap water" do people not get?!

Three of my coworkers asked me about my plants, and wondered if I could get them one. So I gave them each an easy-to-care-for Cape Sundew, with specific instructions to water ONLY with distilled or rain water, and a warning that filtered water is not good enough.

Two of the sundews are now dead, because the owners thought water filtered through a Brita pitcher would be OK, despite my specific instructions that it would not. They said they didn't believe me that tap water would be that bad.

grr.
 
My sister out in OR uses her tap water to water her D. Capensis. She has had that plant for two and half years.
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I think the single most important factor in tap water is if it contains high levels of Chlorine...then TDS comes into play.
 
I think D. capensis is quite tough, so tap water wouldn't be as dangerous as to a VFT or sarracenia.
 
Perhaps she has the luxury of very soft water.

What part of "do not fertilize" do people not get? My Dad asked me if I wanted to add Miracle Gro to my VFT's. I said of course not that would kill them thats why I use distilled water. Then he said "Why not just put the Miracle Gro in the distilled water?"
confused.gif


Luckily, he doesn't have the urge to try to take care of my stuff.
 
I think it's the tap part that they don't understand.
When I sold plants I would even offer them free water, whenever they needed it. They still gave the plants tap water.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Travis @ June 17 2005,1:18)]My sister out in OR uses her tap water to water her D. Capensis. She has had that plant for two and half years.
confused.gif
In Portland, at least, the tap water from the Bull Run resovior is clean enough for CPs. Sarracenia NW, based out of Portland, waters all their plants with tap water as I understand it. If only it were that easy everywhere else...
~Joe
 
In Atlanta, tap water is fine for all CP's. I heard that the municipal water system water quality here is second only to that of New York City. When I am anywhere else, I don't drink tap water because it tastes like chemicals.
 
they dont get the 'no' part
 
  • #10
Is there any kind of filtering system I can affix to my kitchen sink water line that would filter the water enough to make it safe for my CPs? I guess I would be looking for a reverse-osmosis system.

It's expensive to buy distilled water. DH put Weed-B-Gone on the lawn last week, so I can't even use the sump water now! Thanks for your help. April
 
  • #11
Yup! An RO system is what your looking at. DH being the "Handyman" he is could even rig up the waste flow from the filter to be used in watering the garden or other noncarnivorous plants.
 
  • #12
Finch & Ozzy, I respectfully disagree with you both. I think it's the "water" part as what comes out of many taps should not be considered water
smile_n_32.gif
!
 
  • #13
I finally broke down and asked a friend here to help me select an RO system. My husband just ordered an RODI for me that has a 100 gallon output. Here's a link to the one I am getting-
http://www.aquaticreefsystems.com/Reverse_Osmosis_4Stage.htm
I believe my husband may have ordered replacment cartridges at the same time.

One comment according to the friend who helped me select this system, we don't need RODI and RO is believed to be more than adequate.  My husband placed the order and I wasn't around when he did it so he went for the DI.

Comments made regarding the added benefits of the DI were as follows-
"you should probably be just fine with a standard RO, unless you are planning a tissue culture lab or surgical center then you should go with DI. I also use the 75 gpd system but will be upgrading soon to 150 gpd. You will definitely need the solid white or opaque cannisters for use outside."

This being said, I'm not planning on any surgical procedures over here other than splinter extraction with a tweezers and I had not planned on doing any more tissue culture and if I did, I could have purchased a gallon of RODI so we should have ordered the 3-stage value line system that was considerably more affordable-
http://www.aquaticreefsystems.com/discount_reverse_osmosis.htm

What do people not understand about "no tap water".  Good question. What do most people not want to understand about the word "no" in general. I have an entire household over here that seems to forget the meaning of the word "no" whenever convenient to do so. It's called laziness or cheap most of the time. I had my tap water tested over here and it would have killed my plants.  Some tap water is ok.  Most is not. Testing water can be very expensive.  My best friend is a mircro biologist. I get all of my testing for free. Does everyone have a friend who can test water for free on a whim? Probably not. That extra element of confusion that gets added to the equation, is that there really is some well water as well as city water out there that is perfectly fine to use on these plants. I have known people who have hauled in water for years only to have had their water tested to find out they could have used their tap water. Best to take that extra step and test the water or don't use tap.
 
  • #14
I love my CPs...I really do...I just wish they weren't so picky about the watta! Dang 'em.
 
  • #15
I share, bring your jugs over baby!
 
  • #16
My jugs go everywhere I do....Oh my goodness...was that a "mind swear"?

The tc you were doing...was that the blender sarr method?
 
  • #17
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Slurm @ June 18 2005,9:47)]In Atlanta, tap water is fine for all CP's. I heard that the municipal water system water quality here is second only to that of New York City. When I am anywhere else, I don't drink tap water because it tastes like chemicals.
The man is correct, I use tap water here and so does ABG. No problems what so ever
smile.gif
 
  • #18
Our water in Fort Collins is fine as well. It has around 40 PPM of disolved solids. I repot every other year anyway just to give the plant fresh media free of minerals.
 
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