sorry about the waterboy reference but it makes sense kinda. after 30 some odd seedlings and mountains of reading and tearing my hair out i might have actually figured this out.. maybe.
every seedling i have started and yeah it is really around 30 or so since early november has developed yellowing and rapid chlorotic/necrotic leaves within 2 - 3 weeks ultimately killing them all.
No matter what i try the perk up and then get worse and die off. always showing signs of some kind of lockout..every one of them. its been driving me crazy. im religious about the ph so i fix that in every gallon of water i use since it comes in at 9.2. no matter what soil, how i mix it. same result every time. i read a thread about someones ph constantly changing after they had adjusted it and didnt add anything and the ph changed/reverted. i hadnt really considered it but i checked the batch i had made 4 or 5 days ago and ill be damned if it hadnt started climbing back up from the 6.5 i adjusted it to anywhere from 7.4 to 8+!!! i knew it wasnt the soil well at least not the ocean forest as long as the water going in is in the 6's it will run off in the 6's, miracle grow on the other hand is all over the place...cuz its crap. the one constant was the water so i checked the state and local water reports and found out that they started using chloramine instead of chlorine about 8 years ago. id heard about chloramine but didnt give it much thought....

the problem with chloramine is its really hard to get rid of, its ammonia and chlorine mixed so it lasts much longer.....anybody else remember that mixing those 2 was bad juju from 7th grade chem class? it doesnt evaporate like chlorine, you cant boil it out, it wont distill out. the ammonia has to be separated from the chlorine to convert the chorine into whats called "free chlorine" as opposed to "combined chlorine" so it can be filtered. that requires charcoal block filters and a chem filter that will also remove the ammonia byproduct. i dont know much about ro yet i couldnt get past the 2 or 3 to 1 waste ratio but i guess as long as it has charcoal filters and i think i read a membrane between 1 and 5 microns it should take it all out.

chloramine as far i can tell has no direct effect on the plants but i am pretty sure it has been the cause of the ph problems. and that makes sense really. its purpose is not only as a disinfectant but a ph adjuster as well.
its going to be very difficult to beat something thats intended to keep LARGE volumes of water exposed to rain that meters in at about 4.4( Weezard our volcano is always spewing, unlike yours which is terrifying and awe-inspiring ours is hideous, man made and ghastly) at a constant ph level with much of anything...it works so well i could calibrate my meter with my tap water..9.2 every time +/- one point.
i have to guess it builds up in the soil, im sure it must, thats going to wreak havoc on the plants since the soil ph is going change with every watering or feeding.

right now im skating by with my latest crop by waiting until the soil is almost desert like before i give them water, but i think its only prolonging the build up. the plants are teetering on the verge of yellowing after watering and greening up once the soil starts to dry out.
so now i guess i need to look into filters, not gonna do ro i just cant get around the waste. buying water is out of the question at least for the foreseeable future. anyone using filters that can gimme an idea of whats a decent one?
Mal420xl Reviewed by Mal420xl on . chloramine is the devil bobby boucher!!!!! sorry about the waterboy reference but it makes sense kinda. after 30 some odd seedlings and mountains of reading and tearing my hair out i might have actually figured this out.. maybe. every seedling i have started and yeah it is really around 30 or so since early november has developed yellowing and rapid chlorotic/necrotic leaves within 2 - 3 weeks ultimately killing them all. No matter what i try the perk up and then get worse and die off. always showing signs of some kind of Rating: 5