oxygenate (aerate) plant water before feeding?

[OldMedUser]

Water being left out for 24 hours is more forum bro science. The link posted above has several tests done with water being left out for different lengths of time. The results of the tests for the water and soil are at the bottom of the page.

As for chloride and chlorine being apples to oranges, chloride is a compound of chlorine. Look at any periodic table of elements you'll find chlorine listed not chloride because it's a compound element. Another place you can find chlorine listed is on the labels of fertilizers, often times with concentrations higher than or equal to boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, sodium, and zinc.

If you look at what's in fertilizers it is chlorine but in the form of chloride. There is a difference. Table salt is sodium chloride. A combination of sodium and chlorine either of which will kill you if consumed on it's own but combined we all eat too much of it because it's tasty and our bodies need salts of all kind to function as do plants.

I'm not seeing that link you mentioned Krypto but you can tell by the smell of chlorinated water put fresh into a bucket compared to one that has sat out for a day. The chlorine odor is greatly reduced. I bubble all my water and it's RO so has no chlorine to start with. When chlorine reacts with organic matter chloramines are the result. That's what makes your eyes so red in public swimming pools not the chlorine itself.

It's just nasty stuff and I'm glad I don't have to deal with it.

 

[Odin*]

Both will have their own cycles of breakdown but neither types of tap water will affect soil or hydro grows due to the miniscule amounts. Tap water despite its chlorine is very much alive with microbes.

Which is why it's perfectly fine for my garden, house plants, and grows. Not arguing anything there. Post was in response, but really intended for those who "wait for the chlorine to dissipate". Most likely it's chloramine in their water and it isn't going anywhere any time soon.

 

[Bareback]

whats sorta funny is the new fad of people spending tons of money on "oxygenated" water...
which is a perfect example of a sucker born every second...

What's up gmm, how's everything in your neck of the woods bro. Thanks for keeping me straight, I hate it when I repeat bad info. So surface agitation is the key, and could be done with a water fall, is this true?


hmmmm
check it out...
http://www.2daydeliver.com/product_detail.php?id=SKUB00SLULCCG&search_param=&item_name=Formula+Four+OXiGEN+water+(24+pack)&r=
24 bottles for like 60 bucks...
not bad eh..
2.50 a bottle..
annnnnd it costs them how much to make????
nice profit margin

 

[Bugeye]

Increasing the DO in water you are going to use with potted plants does help. I make sure to have a cheap airpump running in my water jug at least a couple hours before watering time to charge it up. RO or distilled water is fairly low in DO so aerating boosts O2 levels in those.

As the pots dry they pull in air and that replenishes O2 in the root zone. Overwatering prevents that so anaerobic bacteria, the bad guys, go to work and root rot sets in. The aerobic bacteria, the good guys, need O2 to stay healthy as does the plant itself so the more O2 in the water used the better for both.

Often people water when they stick a finger in and it's dry in the top couple of inches where if they picked up the pot and it is still heavy that means there is lots of water lower down. Adding more water before that gets used up deprives the roots lower down of O2 and they can rot. This can spread but it often just kills the lower roots and slows plant growth as it has less roots to grow with.

The pots should feel light before watering then they should be watered fully to soak the whole root zone. 3 days between waterings seems to be optimal so if you have to water daily it's time for a bigger pot. Smaller plants in a big pot may take a week or more to need watering but that's normal and more frequent waterings will be needed as the plant grows.

The way I like to water is to pour the water in when the soil is dry and much of it goes right thru into the tray as it will run down the sides. I let it sit in the water for a half hour to suck up all it can hold. If it's all gone I add some more until there is water left over after another half hour then suck that out with a turkey baster or a shop vac. Then I know the whole root zone is saturated with no dry areas that will kill the roots in those spots.

Hmmm, you want me to lift a 60 gallon smart pot? Even bone dry I don't think I could. I can water to the point of run off every single day and not ever get an over-watered look, so in my opinion, over-watered equals bad soil mix.

I do not see increased growth rates when using aerated water vs non-aerated water. YMMV

 

[Bareback]

Something weird happened to my last reply select the click to expand. My reply is in the middle.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

@Bareback yea, one of the BEST aquarium pumps s essentially just a fabric wheel that spins.
like this one
Essentially a waterfall..


If you ever feel like doing the aquarium thing, it's REALLY good for your plants.
i had some fat Oscars, a 3 foot tiretrack eel, and they shat a LOT, so the water was basilcy a reaaal light nitriogen tea, and i watered with that whenever i did water changes, and the plants LOVE that stuff

 

[b4ds33d]

lmao, so much bro science in this thread. why don't you use h2o2 if your plants need more oxygen in the water?? it's really easy to get.

the purpose of an airstone is to break the surface tension of water, allowing some ambient o2 to dissolve in the water. to this end, airstones kinda suck. waterfalls work exponentially better, but take up more space. instead of putting a bunch or airstones into your res, you'd be much better served by doing something to cool your water, as more o2 can dissolve in cooler water.

 

[OldMedUser]

lmao, so much bro science in this thread. why don't you use h2o2 if your plants need more oxygen in the water?? it's really easy to get.

the purpose of an airstone is to break the surface tension of water, allowing some ambient o2 to dissolve in the water. to this end, airstones kinda suck. waterfalls work exponentially better, but take up more space. instead of putting a bunch or airstones into your res, you'd be much better served by doing something to cool your water, as more o2 can dissolve in cooler water.

Lot more expensive and doesn't supply that much O2. H2O2 breaks down to H2O + O+. That single molecule of O is very reactive and gloms onto the first thing it finds that attracts it. Usually an organic molecule which it oxidizes/burns but if it meets another O+ they repel each other like similar poles of a magnet. Us and plants need O2.

Bad bacteria lack oxygen so are the first thing attacked by peroxide. Works like chemotherapy that way. Some healthy cells/bacteria become collateral damage but the bulk of the damage is done to the unhealthy ones.

 

[OldMedUser]

Hmmm, you want me to lift a 60 gallon smart pot? Even bone dry I don't think I could. I can water to the point of run off every single day and not ever get an over-watered look, so in my opinion, over-watered equals bad soil mix.

I do not see increased growth rates when using aerated water vs non-aerated water. YMMV

Can't lift a lousy 60 gallons? Of course that won't work but that's not the audience that advice was aimed at. A heavy soil does keep more water and doesn't ventilate well so is much more prone to be overwatered than a nice loose soil with lots of porosity. You're probably right that isn't that much difference with the right soil/soilless mix but it's one of those things that certainly can't hurt and could likely help those with denser soil mixes.

 

[KryptoBud]

If you look at what's in fertilizers it is chlorine but in the form of chloride. There is a difference. Table salt is sodium chloride. A combination of sodium and chlorine either of which will kill you if consumed on it's own but combined we all eat too much of it because it's tasty and our bodies need salts of all kind to function as do plants.

I'm not seeing that link you mentioned Krypto but you can tell by the smell of chlorinated water put fresh into a bucket compared to one that has sat out for a day. The chlorine odor is greatly reduced. I bubble all my water and it's RO so has no chlorine to start with. When chlorine reacts with organic matter chloramines are the result. That's what makes your eyes so red in public swimming pools not the chlorine itself.

It's just nasty stuff and I'm glad I don't have to deal with it.

It's post #22
Does the Chlorine in Tap Water Harm Beneficial Bacteria? | Alb

 

[Bugeye]

It's post #22
Does the Chlorine in Tap Water Harm Beneficial Bacteria? | Alb

It's going to kill some bacteria, so not ideal. But it gets neutralized by the soil very quickly.

 

[b4ds33d]

Lot more expensive and doesn't supply that much O2./QUOTE]

it supplies a hell of a lot more dissolved o2 than an air stone. and the h2o2 was a joke.

 

[Bugeye]

The reason I think aerated water holds little benefit for the plant, besides personal tests, is that you already get all the O2 you need in the root zone from the act of watering. Water pushes out the old air and pulls in all the new O2 needed. DO levels drop fast so you are essentially going from 100% of needed to more than needed. Sure won't hurt but it won't increase yield.

Get you base soil mixed up at 25% topsoil, 25% perlite,25% coir, and 25% castings and you'll have a soil structure that eliminates over watering, except for the nutes you may be wasting. Then just add your micro nute amendments. Nothing to it!

 

[b4ds33d]

The reason I think aerated water holds little benefit for the plant, besides personal tests, is that you already get all the O2 you need in the root zone from the act of watering. Water pushes out the old air and pulls in all the new O2 needed. DO levels drop fast so you are essentially going from 100% of needed to more than needed. Sure won't hurt but it won't increase yield.

Get you base soil mixed up at 25% topsoil, 25% perlite,25% coir, and 25% castings and you'll have a soil structure that eliminates over watering, except for the nutes you may be wasting. Then just add your micro nute amendments. Nothing to it!

agreed. soluble o2 is more a hydro thing. hold little benefit to soil growers.