FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

It’s firmly winter here, but I’m getting ready to start my first batch of seeds from the bank, so it’s got me thinking about rainwater collection. When it warms up, I’m planning to use 5-gallon buckets to collect the sheets of water that will run off my roof. Maybe a kiddie pool somewhere. The thing is, the buckets can’t live where they will collect the water as they will be in the driveway or the yard. Maybe I can find a spot for the kiddie pool that won’t need to move. So…
How do y’all store the rainwater you’ve collected? Like, do you just put lids on your containers and leave them there, or do you transfer it into something else? If you transfer it, into what?
Also, I’ve seen mosquito dunks or bits mentioned on here a couple times. Is that for if you are leaving the water out uncovered, or is it just a thing to do no matter what?
I’ve also seen mention of filtering the rain water through fabric. Is it necessary? Is it just to get dirt out, or something more sinister (like minerals)?
Basically, I’m probably going to need to purchase containers, because I only have 2 or 3 5-gallon buckets available. I don’t want to spend a lot of money, but I also don’t want to waste money on something cheap that won’t work.

I use a 40 gallon rain barrel that rain just cascades into, the only filter is a grate on top to block bigger debris. I have to empty it and clean it yearly due to algae anyway, so any little bits get removed before they can degrade and affect the water too much.
Although I know mosquitoes do get in and breed, I don't worry about treating the water with bits or dunks as they'll break down and affect water quality faster than stuff washed in with the rain. If they get too bad I simply empty it and clean it again. Easy for me as it rains often in the South.

all i do is put a few plastic tubs on the ground and once they fill up i store them in those 2litre bottles that cola and stuff comes in (washed out, of course) its nothing fancy but it does the job for me

ChefDean wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2024 6:34 pm I use a 40 gallon rain barrel that rain just cascades into, the only filter is a grate on top to block bigger debris. I have to empty it and clean it yearly due to algae anyway, so any little bits get removed before they can degrade and affect the water too much.
Although I know mosquitoes do get in and breed, I don't worry about treating the water with bits or dunks as they'll break down and affect water quality faster than stuff washed in with the rain. If they get too bad I simply empty it and clean it again. Easy for me as it rains often in the South.
20240125_122014.jpg

Good to know about the mosquito bits. I’m not sure I have a place near a downspout or anything that a rain barrel could live, but I will watch the rain in the spring and see.

Spunro wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2024 6:44 pm all i do is put a few plastic tubs on the ground and once they fill up i store them in those 2litre bottles that cola and stuff comes in (washed out, of course) its nothing fancy but it does the job for me

This sounds perfect for my price range! At least for now, until I find out if I can even grow these suckers.
How many full bottles do you have in storage at a time?

i just have however many i dont really have a set goal for them, right now i think i have atleast 10 full bottles but it really just depends how much water you go through at a time

Before you go crazy with water collecting schemes, get a TDS meter. You can find them for about $15 on Amazon. Test your tap water and see what it is. My tap is 27ppm but it is chlorinated. I added a carbon filter to my garden hose and can water my outdoor plants using it. I still have a RO filter to generate water for my indoor plants. I got when the water at my last house was 170ppm. Since I have it I continue to use it for indoors.

optique wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2024 7:45 pm
I pick up the tubs at yard sales for almost nothing. The floating plants remove anything from the water algae could use as food. I also use mosquito dunks.

What are the floating plants?

Panman wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2024 8:00 pm Before you go crazy with water collecting schemes, get a TDS meter. You can find them for about $15 on Amazon. Test your tap water and see what it is. My tap is 27ppm but it is chlorinated. I added a carbon filter to my garden hose and can water my outdoor plants using it.

So the carbon filter removes the chlorination?
I’ll go ahead and order the meter. I’m trying to AVOID going crazy with water collecting schemes, haha.

Hedonista wrote:So the carbon filter removes the chlorination?

As I understand it, yes. I don't think that it completely removes it, but it dramatically decreases it. Also, within 24 hours the chlorine has evaporated from the water. You will need to find out if your tap is treated with chlorine or chloramine. Chlorine can be removed with carbon and evaporates. Chloramine needs an RO filter to remove it.

Panman wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2024 8:15 pm

Hedonista wrote:So the carbon filter removes the chlorination?

As I understand it, yes. I don't think that it completely removes it, but it dramatically decreases it. Also, within 24 hours the chlorine has evaporated from the water. You will need to find out if your tap is treated with chlorine or chloramine. Chlorine can be removed with carbon and evaporates. Chloramine needs an RO filter to remove it.

Cool. So you are saying that for chlorine, I could just let it sit for 24 hours without filtering? And if so, does the water depth play a factor in how long it takes for the chlorine to evaporate?

Hedonista wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2024 8:33 pm Cool. So you are saying that for chlorine, I could just let it sit for 24 hours without filtering? And if so, does the water depth play a factor in how long it takes for the chlorine to evaporate?

We are exceeding the point where I can make a definitive statement. I believe that sitting for 24 hours is adequate. I know adding an aeration stone for an aquarium helps. But I am not positive on the timing or surface area. I would expect a greater surface area to off-gas faster.

The thing about rainwater is that you never know if you have enough. It depends on how many plants you are watering, how long between rains, do you normally have a predictable "dry season", etc.,. So, you store all that you can. I've got a couple of 32-gallon Rubbermaid garbage cans that I filled a year ago and have only used water from them once, maybe 5-10 gallons...but, I really didn't "need" to use it as I did have other water but just wanted to freshen it up a tad with fresher water. I've also got probably 25 to 30 gallon milk jugs and usually have four or five 5-gallon buckets stored. Water isn't just used for watering plants, though, it's used for rinsing your growing medium, too...that is, if you rinse it....some people don't. I do.

Being "OCD-Me" I pretty well filter all my water through a cotton towel with sometimes a cotton handkerchief laid on top of the towel. But, I have used it with unfiltered for outdoor plants and they seem to have done just fine with it. In my mind, what's left of it, debris in the water can tend to cause water to turn green with algae quicker than if it's relatively "clean" filtered water. Of course, I don't think "green water" hurts anything...just my druthers.

So, I catch my rain water beneath a drip line of the roof into 5-gallon buckets, coolers, empty flower planters, etc.,. I then filter it, and *usually* transfer it to the milk jugs. My grow room is a distance from my house so I need a way to readily transport it and the milk jugs are handy. Needless to say, I've got more rain water than I need...but, we've been getting fairly regular rain...unlike late summer around here.

What Panman said about getting a TDS meter is "spot on"!!! Handiest little thing that will take a lot of mystery out of things for you. Looking online it looks like your TDS is going to be north of 225ppm, though, so maybe not usable unless you dilute it with good, low-TDS water. I like to keep tabs on my rain water's TDS. Usually my rain water is below 5ppm, many times showing 0-1ppm, though I'm not sure exactly *how* precise my meter is...it's good enough for the plants, apparently.

But, like I said at the beginning...how much water you need depends on several factors. With a few plants, a couple of gallons of distilled water would keep things going. I'd prefer to have rain water, though, due to its acidic nature...and carnivorous plants like things acidic. Three or four 5-gallon buckets of good rain water might keep you going for quiet a while...at least until it rains again.

We're having some rain/storm systems coming through this week. Off the roof drip line I just collected three five gallon buckets and a couple of 1-2 gallon flower planters full of rainwater. The interesting thing is that the taller buckets measured 1ppm while the shorter flower pots measured 2ppm. The buckets are on a short bench as was one of the flower pots. I'm thinking it's got to be some spray bouncing back up and into the shorter containers. This is not the first time I've noticed the shorter containers having slightly higher ppm.

Something I thought I'd mention is, that if you can and it isn't a deal-breaker if you can't, is to dump out the first inch or two of rain water that falls into your containers. That first "rinse" will have dust, bugs, leaves, and other pollutants/debris in it so dumping that first little bit will result in a lot cleaner water.