I need water advice!! - bonsaiTALK Community

29-Jul-2006	#1
malik Bonsai Master in Training Join Date: Jul-2006 Location: Nashville USDA Zone: 6b AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 513	I need water advice!! I live in Nashville, TN and the water is not so good. Has anyone heard of a Nanofiltration system? I have access to water purified by this system, but I'm not sure if it's what I need for my trees. Anybody ever heard of the nanofiltration and if so will it purify the water like my trees need?

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29-Jul-2006	#2
dtree bonsaiTALK Master Join Date: Sep-2004 Location: St. Paul Country: USA USDA Zone: 4 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 272	Malik- you can always get a sample of it and have it tested for purity. Or, you can test it yourself with a meter to check the parts-per-million. I have never heard of nanofiltration. What is the water used for in this system ?

29-Jul-2006	#3
ElGringo tree love Join Date: Jun-2006 Location: Wales/Cymru Country: UK USDA Zone: 8-9 AHS Heat Zone: 1 Posts: 808	When you say the water is not good, what do you mean? Where I live, there is more chlorine than in other places but it's been fine in the past. Do you drink it? I know you don't have branches and leaves growing out of you, but if the water doesn't hurt you then it probably won't hurt your trees either. Iv'e also never heard of this nano system- is it from the states? Probaby uses a membrane like in reverse osmosis, or maybe an adsorbative medium like charcoal or zeolite? hmm Whatever you choose, experiment a bit and do what you think is best __________________ Richard

29-Jul-2006	#4
ElGringo tree love Join Date: Jun-2006 Location: Wales/Cymru Country: UK USDA Zone: 8-9 AHS Heat Zone: 1 Posts: 808	Ok, ive checked it out. Just to clarify for everyone else, I've gathered that its basically an RO system that will not filter monovalent ions i.e. chlorine, pottasium, but will remove divalent ions i.e. manganese, magneisium, which your trees might appreciate in their water. It's used for dairy farming to provide 'purified' water for cattle. (probably something to do with the taste of the milk?). Trees are trees, they don't need purified water. If you sat in a pot of dirt all year, you wouldn't like it much, but to a tree, thats life. By all means, use the water, if you have a good potting soil, then your trees will get their nutrients from that. If you think thats it's hugely benefitial, good on you. __________________ Richard Last edited by ElGringo : 29-Jul-2006 at 08:15 AM.

29-Jul-2006

3069James

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Location: nw oh.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ElGringo

Trees are trees, they don't need purified water. If you sat in a pot of dirt all year, you wouldn't like it much, but to a tree, thats life. By all means, use the water, if you have a good potting soil, then your trees will get their nutrients from that. If you think thats it's hugely benefitial, good on you.

i agree my water has a hint of sulpher in it i drink it as do my trees and we are all thriving

29-Jul-2006	#6
JohnQuinn bonsaiTALK Master Craftsman Join Date: Jan-2005 Location: South Carolina Country: US USDA Zone: 8 AHS Heat Zone: 8-9 Posts: 920	You can check out your local water quality reports online in most areas...here's yours. __________________ A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944) Interplast Sivananda Center

29-Jul-2006	#7
malik Bonsai Master in Training Join Date: Jul-2006 Location: Nashville USDA Zone: 6b AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 513	In Nashville, the water has a hardness of 71. Though I am not sure if that is very high, I think it's above normal and we have hard water. I work for Starbucks and we use a Nano system to filter the water. I was almost positive that it did filter out things like chlorine, but I could be wrong. I simply can't collect rainwater because of the weather always changing so fast around here and regular tap water is not reccomended to drink. Not that it will kill us, but it's known to be better after filtered(ofcourse). So I'm really wondering if this filtered water will reduce calcium biuld up and not have ammonia and any other harmful element.

29-Jul-2006	#8
dtree bonsaiTALK Master Join Date: Sep-2004 Location: St. Paul Country: USA USDA Zone: 4 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 272	Trees may not need purified water, but they certainly do not need bad water.

29-Jul-2006

Joanie

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Join Date: Feb-2005

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Quote:

Originally Posted by malik

In Nashville, the water has a hardness of 71. Though I am not sure if that is very high, I think it's above normal and we have hard water. I work for Starbucks and we use a Nano system to filter the water. I was almost positive that it did filter out things like chlorine, but I could be wrong. I simply can't collect rainwater because of the weather always changing so fast around here and regular tap water is not reccomended to drink. Not that it will kill us, but it's known to be better after filtered(ofcourse). So I'm really wondering if this filtered water will reduce calcium biuld up and not have ammonia and any other harmful element.

It seems pretty easy to collect rain water. Just wait for it to start raining, and take the cover off of a big, clean trash can. Place it where there is good runoff... under the eaves, or under the gutter. Collected rainwater is easy and cheap.

Joanie

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29-Jul-2006	#10
ElGringo tree love Join Date: Jun-2006 Location: Wales/Cymru Country: UK USDA Zone: 8-9 AHS Heat Zone: 1 Posts: 808	Ammonia, when dissolved in water is ammonium. It has one more hydrogen atom than ammonia, so has an overall charge of +1. Therefore it's a monovalent ion and won't be removed by your filter. Calcium is divalent (+2) so will, according to the website. I reckon it's got more to do with atomic radius though. Ah who cares about that. If you think your filter will be benefitial, use it. It certainly sounds like an interesting project! Personally, I think you should half inch everything you can from Starbucks, they make enough money. Nick some cups as well!I'm surprised that your advised not to drink your tapwater. I think that the company who makes those water filters gives backhanders to your water authority! Good luck with your filter idea. __________________ Richard

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