Alan wrote:You should check the bag to see if it mentions anything that might allow minerals to flow in to the substrate. If it seems fine, then you should just observe the condition of the plants regularly. If the bag mentions there are any added minerals, you can just flush the substrate by just flooding the pot and then draining the water a couple times.
good luck
manzano167 wrote:Isnt eco earth for Reptiles? so my guess no additives but you should buy a TDS meter to check
Thanks for the replies guys.
It is indeed for reptiles, it is additive free according to the info: "free from chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers". The pots have been sat in a large tub of distilled water for about 2-3 days now or more - the water has turned slightly tanned from the tannins in the eco
earth.
So, I had a brain wave: I don't have a TDS meter but I
do have access to a refractometer. 1.001 SG on a refractometer is 1.3 ppt (parts per
thousand), so 1300ppm. If I need the water at 50ppm or less (according to Steve_D's post), that's an unmeasurable SG. But, if I concentrated the water before measuring, it should come up.
Well, I did that. I concentrated 26mls of my tanin-coloured distilled water from around the tubs the plants are in, to 1mls (by evaporation). This means if I get a reading of 1300ppm (1.001 SG) on the refractometer, it is equivalent to 1300/26 = 50ppm, agreed? I did that and just measured it now, and got a value of just under 1.002 on the concentrated sample. So equivalent of around <100ppm, agreed? So, hopefully that's accurate.
Anyways, as Alan says I'll keep an eye on things. I have two pots to play with should I need to change something - one with 43 seedlings and one with 33 seedlings in.