# Another water quality thread



## SFLguy (Apr 28, 2015)

Hi! The water where I'm currently living is at around 280 - 300 ppm so I was wondering if I could just water my phal with my tap water and flush it out once a month. Thanks in advance for your help!
Sincerely,
J


----------



## gonewild (Apr 28, 2015)

Yes you can.


----------



## Justin (Apr 28, 2015)

yep not a problem


----------



## Ray (Apr 28, 2015)

Agreed.

However, over time, you will note that the leaves will have something of a "matte" finish to them. If, on the other hand, you watered using a purer water supply, they will become very glossy and bright.


----------



## SFLguy (Apr 28, 2015)

Ray said:


> Agreed.
> 
> However, over time, you will note that the leaves will have something of a "matte" finish to them. If, on the other hand, you watered using a purer water supply, they will become very glossy and bright.


And which would be preferable in this case?


----------



## gonewild (Apr 28, 2015)

SFLguy said:


> And which would be preferable in this case?



That's a personal choice.... do you like glossy bright leaves or dull matte finished leaves? :wink:


----------



## SFLguy (Apr 29, 2015)

gonewild said:


> That's a personal choice.... do you like glossy bright leaves or dull matte finished leaves? :wink:


Whichever one helps it be healthy


----------



## Ray (Apr 30, 2015)

In nature, orchids get water with a very low solids content, and they have the bright, shiny leaves. While I can't truthfully say that such exposure causes harm, it just seems logical that the "purer" way is preferred.


----------



## SFLguy (May 1, 2015)

Thanks, sounds like I'll be using pure water more often then


----------



## Russ1992 (Aug 2, 2022)

SFLguy said:


> Thanks, sounds like I'll be using pure water more often then


Hey SF, Did you eventually find that this helped? Are your leaves directly more glossy because of watering with better water? 

Best,
Russ


----------



## Ray (Aug 3, 2022)

Russ, you’re responding to a 7+ year old post, but I guarantee that using pure water will lead to plants with glossier leaves.


----------



## Russ1992 (Aug 3, 2022)

Ray said:


> Russ, you’re responding to a 7+ year old post, but I guarantee that using pure water will lead to plants with glossier leaves.


Sure Ray but you never know that person could still be on ST. Of course I trust your insight as well.

I would buy your RO in a hot minute IF my State (CA) wasn't in a severe drought. 

I have rain water barrels which I use but I suspect the water has considerable sodium and isn't the best overall as Los Angeles isn't known for clean rain. I know you take issue with TDS but as the roughest of measurements it tells me it probably isn't pure at 80. Additionally, my plants love to be repotted, even seems like they need to be, after 1 year. After a year there are significant hard deposits in the container trays.


----------



## Ray (Aug 4, 2022)

In your shoes these day, the only way I’d even consider an RO system (and it wouldn’t have to be purchased from me - I’m happy to give advice to folks who don’t), would be if I employed the “zero-waste” add-on that pumps the flush water into your residential hot water supply.

I’m even hesitant here, not due to drought, but to the fact that the sewer charge here is more than the cost of water, and they calculate that on water consumption.


----------



## SFLguy (Aug 8, 2022)

Grungemanbaby92 said:


> Hey SF, Did you eventually find that this helped? Are your leaves directly more glossy because of watering with better water?
> 
> Best,
> Russ


Luckily, I am occasionally still on ST, but unfortunately I don’t remember too much about whether the leaves got glossier from using rainwater/distilled water

Now I work at a nursery, and there should be about 200 ppm in the water without fertilizer etc.

Bellina and other Polychilos / novelty types tend to have glossy leaves regardless, but standard types definitely have more of a matte finish.
It may very well be that with purer water, the leaves would become glossier over time


----------



## Russ1992 (Aug 8, 2022)

Ray said:


> In your shoes these day, the only way I’d even consider an RO system (and it wouldn’t have to be purchased from me - I’m happy to give advice to folks who don’t), would be if I employed the “zero-waste” add-on that pumps the flush water into your residential hot water supply.
> 
> I’m even hesitant here, not due to drought, but to the fact that the sewer charge here is more than the cost of water, and they calculate that on water consumption.


I agree 100%. Moral dilemma and cost are barriers. Thanks for the offer on the RO system from others man. Will need to pass on that for now.


----------



## Russ1992 (Aug 8, 2022)

SFLguy said:


> Luckily, I am occasionally still on ST, but unfortunately I don’t remember too much about whether the leaves got glossier from using rainwater/distilled water
> 
> Now I work at a nursery, and there should be about 200 ppm in the water without fertilizer etc.
> 
> ...


This makes me feel a bit better about my water thank you.  That's cool that you work in a nursery, I'm sure that feels rewarding.


----------



## Linus_Cello (Aug 8, 2022)

Grungemanbaby92 said:


> I agree 100%. Moral dilemma and cost are barriers. Thanks for the offer on the RO system from others man. Will need to pass on that for now.



I'm wondering, if you have a neighbor who keeps and breeds soft water freshwater fish (e.g., discus, angelfish, L46 hypancistrus plecos, etc), they probably use an R/O system. So could you use the waste water from the fish tank (not R/O) unit, or would the ppm be too high?


----------



## Russ1992 (Aug 10, 2022)

Linus_Cello said:


> I'm wondering, if you have a neighbor who keeps and breeds soft water freshwater fish (e.g., discus, angelfish, L46 hypancistrus plecos, etc), they probably use an R/O system. So could you use the waste water from the fish tank (not R/O) unit, or would the ppm be too high?


What a fascinating question. I don't know if I have a neighbor who has fish but you think the waste water could benefit the plants? I have no clue if the ppm would be too high.


----------



## Linus_Cello (Aug 10, 2022)

Grungemanbaby92 said:


> What a fascinating question. I don't know if I have a neighbor who has fish but you think the waste water could benefit the plants? I have no clue if the ppm would be too high.



Terry Root used to breed discus fish (a freshwater softwater fish), and would water his orchids with the discus waste water. He mentioned that the slime the discus fish produced to feed their fry could provide helpful nutrients/hormones for the orchids.


----------



## eds (Aug 11, 2022)

I use the water from my Amazon tank (filled with pure RO) for the small plants around that tank and they do well with it. The only issue is some cyanobacteria that enjoys the bottom of the pots that are semi-hydro but it doesn't harm the plants at all.


----------



## Russ1992 (Aug 11, 2022)

This Terry Root is a fascinating, mysterious figure, a legend in the orchid world. Man I wish I knew his thoughts on orchid culture.


----------

