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Ask questions about how to grow and care for Venus Flytraps

Moderator: Matt

By Hayden
#60460
I dont quite know what it is, but it looks like grains of sand, forming just about all over the soil. Ive recently been watering them with stream water, im not sure if this would be an effect to it?
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By Matt
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Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#60463
It sounds like mineral build up on the soil. The stream water almost certainly has a lot of minerals in it and you're most likely seeing it build up on top of the peat moss.

I'd highly recommend getting some rain water, distilled water or deionized water and flushing the soil out thoroughly.
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By afh928
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Posts:  981
Joined:  Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:13 am
#60464
yup, thats a quick way to get dead plants man, lol...you'll want to do ALOT of flushing to clear that out, especially if its forming deposits on top of the soil. Hurry up and get some proper water!!! :mrgreen:
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By Hayden
#60477
Its not my fault, my parents are forcing me to use the wrong water. We havent had rain in weeks, and im not allowed to have any good water.
By kittyklaws
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Joined:  Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:13 am
#60479
You can find distilled water for less than $1 a gallon in most grocery stores. Good luck! :D
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By Matt
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Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#60487
You might be better off using tap water than creek water. Once it rains, be sure to save up as much as you can and flush the soil out thoroughly. You could probably set your plant out in the rain to allow water to run through the soil.

Why did you parents agree to get you the plant and then not help you take care of it properly? They know it will die without proper care, right?
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By Hayden
#60493
They know it dies without proper care, and they didnt just get me one. They bought me 5. Ok, ill stick with the tap for now if they live til then. Ill show them this post and hopefully they will understand that I was actually right. I just feel really annoyed as I said to them from the beginning its not good water.

Oh well, they better go shopping for a new set! Lol!
By jht-union
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Posts:  3205
Joined:  Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:43 pm
#60530
Hello Fish30,
you can actually make your own distillted water at home, read this article, you can skip the part with the ice on top of the lid if you want, but make sure your parents are there with you to help you make your own distillted water, since it uses the stove, and it really gets hot, i have burned before doing this method, i really really suggest that your parents should be there with you for safety.
Then wait for about an 1hour or 2hours until it gets at room temperature and there you go, you will have distillted water, or evaporized water(which would be the same as rain water i guess)
Good luck!!!!=D
http://www.ehow.com/how_4728943_own-dis ... water.html


Tips & Warnings
Be sure the cover sits securely enough to let out as little steam as possible..Carefully lift the inverted lid from time to time to check that the steam water is going into the bowl..Make sure the bowl is large enough to catch as much of the steam water as possible..The above experiment on how to make your own distilled water is based on the premise that solid matter such as organisms and minerals are heavier than water molecules are, and will "settle" to the bottom(except condensation nuclei in nature)..Don't let pot boil dry !.This is a time consuming process. A home distiller would be a prudent investment if you choose to make distilled water in quantity.
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By Steve_D
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Posts:  3913
Joined:  Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:06 pm
#60543
Maybe if you use lots of electricity or gas to make your own distilled water, as jht-union suggested (good idea! there are also easy plans for solar water distillers on the Internet)-- Anyway, if you use a lot of electricity or gas heating water to evaporate and distill it, maybe your parents will think that it would really be more practical and cheaper to buy distilled water.

And if your parents read this-- Hello, parents of fish30! Thank you for supporting your son's interest in Venus Flytraps! Unfortunately, tap and stream water is probably not good for the plant (too many dissolved solids), so please consider collecting rainwater from the roof in a barrel, or buying distilled water, which is usually very cheap. Alternatively, you could purchase a cheap TDS (total dissolved solids) meter online and measure the water from your tap, to see if it would be safe to use on the plants. Thank you. :)
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By jht-union
Location: 
Posts:  3205
Joined:  Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:43 pm
#60569
Steve_D wrote:Maybe if you use lots of electricity or gas to make your own distilled water, as jht-union suggested (good idea! there are also easy plans for solar water distillers on the Internet)-- Anyway, if you use a lot of electricity or gas heating water to evaporate and distill it, maybe your parents will think that it would really be more practical and cheaper to buy distilled water.

And if your parents read this-- Hello, parents of fish30! Thank you for supporting your son's interest in Venus Flytraps! Unfortunately, tap and stream water is probably not good for the plant (too many dissolved solids), so please consider collecting rainwater from the roof in a barrel, or buying distilled water, which is usually very cheap. Alternatively, you could purchase a cheap TDS (total dissolved solids) meter online and measure the water from your tap, to see if it would be safe to use on the plants. Thank you. :)
I agree with you Steve_D!, the electricity or gas that it takes to make distilled water at home is actually represented by an increase in electricity (depending on the kind of stove you have) an electric stove uses about 23 and 48 kilowatt hours per month in 1 hour, which is the same as $2/$5 dollars increase in your parents account bill in electricity >Parents of Fish30!<, while distilled water from a store is less than $1 dollar. Fish30 is your turn to ask them whether they prefer to pay an increase in their bills of $2/$5 dollars to make distilled water at home, or pay less than $1 dollar to buy distilled water at a grocery store.
Please put your parents to read this, i bet they wouldn't like the increase in their bills of 2/5 dollars right?

For the ones reading about this, only use this method in case you run out of water, to wash out the soil(if things got in such as chlorine) , if you choose to use it for your whole life then i guess you will be willing to pay 2/5 dollars in your bills.

other than that this is actually a great method to make distilled water for carnivorous plants!!!!!=D


Bye and good luck with your VFT's!!=D
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By Hayden
#60596
Thanks so much to both of you! Today I have got the right water, and can hopefully get my plants healthy and back to their usual state!

Thanks again :)
By jht-union
Location: 
Posts:  3205
Joined:  Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:43 pm
#60598
fish30 wrote:Thanks so much to both of you! Today I have got the right water, and can hopefully get my plants healthy and back to their usual state!

Thanks again :)
Good luck then!!!!, they will be happy with their new source of water!!=D. Now it might happen to you when they're adapting to their new environment, some traps might get dark and die, and that's nothing to worry about, they will put out new traps again!!!!

Wish you good luck with you VFT's!!=D

bye!
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By kittyklaws
Location: 
Posts:  1644
Joined:  Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:13 am
#60612
Congrats dude! :D Good luck with your plants!

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