- Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:53 pm
#87655
it seems you have been given some good advice here all ready , mite add your seller did not !! please dont use tap water on any CP's at all ever , even tap water that has been standing for several days will still holds mineral solids high levels of slats and chemicals even filtered tap water will not do , Rain water or RO water that you do your self is the only way to go , hear some people buy RO water only to find its just filtered water ,ripped off !! so best to test it ,then you know its ok , you can buy at tester off ebay very cheaply TDS meter !!and may be a ph meter too is helpful off ebay as well .
using sphag moss is ok for sarras but not the best strata for them and if any salts or chems are in that water shpag will hold it in , best to use sphag peat moss and sand , I use Canadian sphag peat called TE-EM the best to use by far !! and silica sand washed, size 8/16 inch ,we find the best suited to our sarra mix,, proportion approx 60% peat and 40% sand but not over important more sand is probably better than less ,I have even use up to 50 / 50 mix with no change in the growth of my sarras !!
please get your sarra out of that mix ASAP wash off the whole plant get rid of any all ready rotted rhizome or roots and ,get a bucket of rain water and risen the whole plant in it several times change the water and do it again till the rain water in the bucket is clear then re-pot the plant ,is the way I would attempt this , Grey has a good method as well , if any rhizome rot is there get rid of it,cut it off, as it will continue to move along the rhizome and kill the plant stone dead!! find where its got rot, and keep cutting till the rhizome is totally white flesh on the inside no brown or dark spots in it , the outer skin is all ways brown, but a darkish when it got rot and soft easy to crush in you fingers, where live or good rhizome is solid very firm will not crush or crumble when squeezed .
hope this helps a bit if you need any more info just post again what you need to know
J