Does anyone use small amounts of physan to treat rainwater? Muncipal water rates are getting higher and the RO water reduction lever needs replaced.. . therefore I switched to rainwater. How much physan can you treat 32 gallons of water? I don't need junglerot . . . junglejim
treating rainwater
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Rick
Well-Known Member
I use stored RO water with a dash of well water (neither of which are disinfected prior to use), and don't have plagues of "jungle rot".
Ed M had a bad time with his collection after adding physan as a prophylactic to his irrigation water.
Many including Ed M have had very good results since they started removing the chemical disinfectants (chlorine products) from their water supplies prior to use.
If you want to replicate the "disinfection" of your tap water with chlorine then add 2-3 ppm of plain old bleach to your rain water, and then run it through a carbon filter on the way out to your plants. This would be a lot cheaper and safer than physan.
Alternatively you could put an aquarium UV system on a closed loop recirculation of your vat of rainwater, and not deal with chemicals at all.
Ed M had a bad time with his collection after adding physan as a prophylactic to his irrigation water.
Many including Ed M have had very good results since they started removing the chemical disinfectants (chlorine products) from their water supplies prior to use.
If you want to replicate the "disinfection" of your tap water with chlorine then add 2-3 ppm of plain old bleach to your rain water, and then run it through a carbon filter on the way out to your plants. This would be a lot cheaper and safer than physan.
Alternatively you could put an aquarium UV system on a closed loop recirculation of your vat of rainwater, and not deal with chemicals at all.
in areas like ours where the rain can be fairly acidic at times, I wonder if the acidity prevents the usual bacteria and fungi from getting going... and prevent the need for treating? I'm wondering also if you use a screen to keep floating leaves and bugs out of the water, there isn't as much chance to have fungal spores
I never use physan or anything to kill bacterias in my rain water or RO barrels. However, I will once or twice in summer pour some hydrogen peroxyde in the barrels to control the growth of algea. And the oxygen in the peroxyde is good for orchid roots.
G
goldenrose
Guest
hmmm .... the only time it's been recommended to treat rainwater with physan is when storing over the winter months. I don't know what your rainwater is like but why use it if you don't have to? One can definitely use a screen over the top of the barrel to keep leaves/debris out!
Wendy
Just me!
I store my rain water all winter in the basement. It is in black barrels with fitted lids....no light exposure at all. I never have to add anything and the water stays just fine. Down to my last barrel now.....good thing spring is here.
I've used RO for years, but some of this rain water has settlings in it. Some rains are dirty. I see dirt at the bottom of trays I dipped over into trashbarrels. I melted snow and stayed away from the street salt- even dodged the yellow snow. I'm surprised from your responses that the water is not filtered. It seems the water would have pigeon piles, robin runs, grackle gunk, cardinal castings, etc. in it. I feel like I'm going from pure water with RO to burgeoning bacterial blooms. JJ
By the way . . . I bought these diverters from Gardner's Edge (mother company is Leonard's) . . .and my nephew installed both of them in less than 40 minutes. He thought it was a neat little device. You just bore a 2 in. circular hole into a downspot and insert the unit. Must see it .. . . Come on rain !!!! and overflow to the ponds.
That's the way Nature works. How do you think plants get fertilized in the jungle? Nobody is going around the branches watering with a MSU formula. There's always stuff in the air, man made or otherwise. In fact dust is essential to condense vapour in the atmosphere as rain. 
Rick
Well-Known Member
Don't worry Jim
The world around us is teaming in life. Your guts are full of E.coli and a host of other bacteria, fungi, and protozoans that actually are the reason you stay alive. Similarly the soil that are plants grow in is teaming with beneficial micro flora.
I work with waste water technology for a living, and the biggest sources of pathogenic species (to fish) is in the impoverished systems that chemical sterilants are used (like cooling towers). One of my best "treatments" for eliminating fish pathogenic bacteria from cooling tower water was to inoculate it with activated sludge from a waste treatment plant. The micro organisms in the sludge would gobble up and out compete the pathogenic species.
The world around us is teaming in life. Your guts are full of E.coli and a host of other bacteria, fungi, and protozoans that actually are the reason you stay alive. Similarly the soil that are plants grow in is teaming with beneficial micro flora.
I work with waste water technology for a living, and the biggest sources of pathogenic species (to fish) is in the impoverished systems that chemical sterilants are used (like cooling towers). One of my best "treatments" for eliminating fish pathogenic bacteria from cooling tower water was to inoculate it with activated sludge from a waste treatment plant. The micro organisms in the sludge would gobble up and out compete the pathogenic species.
OK . . . that convinces me . . . because of springing forward . . . I have an extra hour for a longer rain dance . . . and I'll shake cinnamon too. . . Jungle Rot . . "It does happen," said Darth Vadarensis . .:fight:
SlipperFan
Addicted
For years, I used rainwater collected in barrels. In the winter, the water was cold enough that there was no problem with algae, etc. If it looked dirty when i brought it inside, I just strained it though good quality paper towels, but that was rare. In the summer, I'd periodically pour some bleach into the barrels. Inside, periodically I would use a 1% solution of bleach in the buckets of water. I had no problems with rot using rainwater.
C
Chuck
Guest
I have used rain water or snow melt for years with no problem I could attribute to the water. I check and adjust the pH of the water if necessary. I clean my barrels twice a year with a bleach rinse. I don't know that that is necessary but it probably doesn't hurt either.
E
Ernie
Guest
We use two rain barrels. A 32 gallon trash can and a 55 gallon white plastic barrel. both with a spigot at the bottom. A chunk of window screen is stretched across the tops and held on with bungee cords. The downspouts drain right into them. Bird and lizard poop is a bonus IMO.
NYEric
Well-Known Member
Rainwater!? In NYC!? Bahahhahhahhahaahhahaaa! :rollhappy:
G
goldenrose
Guest
I have leaf guards on my gutters & have screening bunjeed as Ernie described, right off the roof, into the downspouts & into the barrels. It's the cheapest source of quality water for me. I have a TDS meter, if there's been a dry spell, then I let it rain for a while & move the barrels back under if I'm around. Heavy rains will flush the roof & the barrels overflow & it's normally not an issue. I've done it this way for years & this winter was the first time I used physan in the stored barrels, I can't say I noticed any difference so chances are I won't spend the $$$ on the physan in the future. In the summer I have holes in the lids so minimal light is entering the barrel so algae hasn't been a problem.
