FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

im trying to find out what the TDS of my tap water is. during the summer we can go without any rain for a month and in the winter its gets so cold that everything freezes (tried to get some water from my water barrel but it was solid ice). so i was wondering if my tap water would be safe to use, but i do not own a TDS measurer. but i suppose that there must also be some way to calculate it right? i do know that my tap water is 8,3ºdH and 7,72PH.

http://www.cactus2000.de/uk/unit/masswas.shtml

Found the above,
If you enter 8.3DH, the equivalent is 148 PPM , too high for VFTs.

thanks thats what i was looking for, i know its too high for fly traps, but is it also too high for a sarracenia? or maybe drosera?

Aozora wrote:thanks thats what i was looking for, i know its too high for fly traps, but is it also too high for a sarracenia? or maybe drosera?

It's too high for any CP.

tommyr wrote:

Aozora wrote:thanks thats what i was looking for, i know its too high for fly traps, but is it also too high for a sarracenia? or maybe drosera?

It's too high for any CP.

oh i see, thats a shame. though i read somewhere on this forum that nepenthes can take around 300ppm.

Aozora wrote:

tommyr wrote:

Aozora wrote:thanks thats what i was looking for, i know its too high for fly traps, but is it also too high for a sarracenia? or maybe drosera?

It's too high for any CP.

oh i see, thats a shame. though i read somewhere on this forum that nepenthes can take around 300ppm.

People like the general rule of thumb of less than 50 ppm. It's not worth the life of your plants to risk it either way.

People like the general rule of thumb of less than 50 ppm. It's not worth the life of your plants to risk it either way.

totally true, i just hope that i'll manage to collect enough rainwater in the spring to last for the entire summer :p

Aozora wrote:

People like the general rule of thumb of less than 50 ppm. It's not worth the life of your plants to risk it either way.

totally true, i just hope that i'll manage to collect enough rainwater in the spring to last for the entire summer :p

Distilled water works well also. Also reverse osmosis water.

tommyr wrote:

Aozora wrote:

People like the general rule of thumb of less than 50 ppm. It's not worth the life of your plants to risk it either way.

totally true, i just hope that i'll manage to collect enough rainwater in the spring to last for the entire summer :p

Distilled water works well also. Also reverse osmosis water.

i know but that would end up being quite expensive, those bottles are sold for €0,50 at 1L, and my outside container is 50L.

Reverse Osmosis water should be cheap from an aquatic pet shop, it is in UK.

i have a full barrel of water at the moment (thanks to lots of rain the last few days), but i was wondering if its possible for rain water to gain more TDS over time.

i collect the rainwater in a kiddy pool which i bought for my dog, but she doesnt use it, she rather jumps in my fish pond ...
but the water i collect in the kiddy pool often stays in there for a couple of days, as i only put it in the barrels if there is a decent amount of rain in it.

Aozora wrote:i have a full barrel of water at the moment (thanks to lots of rain the last few days), but i was wondering if its possible for rain water to gain more TDS over time.

i collect the rainwater in a kiddy pool which i bought for my dog, but she doesnt use it, she rather jumps in my fish pond ...
but the water i collect in the kiddy pool often stays in there for a couple of days, as i only put it in the barrels if there is a decent amount of rain in it.

As long as not a lot of crap falls in it it should be fine. Buy a TDS meter, they're only about $15. Then you can test it.