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By Hectorsgaf
Posts:  19
Joined:  Tue Nov 01, 2022 4:12 pm
#423472
Intheswamp wrote: Tue Nov 08, 2022 5:06 pm I'm looking forward to hearing your results! Best wishes.
Ok so one tray was 29 and has stayed at 29 overnight. The other tray started at 9 and is now 20. Doh. Both have the same matting in. Ok so they are different size trays but same material, same company. More research needed I think. Also with and without the matting.
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#423475
I'd definitely let those two trays sit a few more days as they are and then retest.

Also, if you have a glass jar or something that you know won't leach material into the water you could stick a piece of the mat material in to isolate it from anything else. Stir it good, making sure it's well saturated then test the water after a couple of days of soaking.
By Hectorsgaf
Posts:  19
Joined:  Tue Nov 01, 2022 4:12 pm
#423477
Intheswamp wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 1:50 pm I'd definitely let those two trays sit a few more days as they are and then retest.

Also, if you have a glass jar or something that you know won't leach material into the water you could stick a piece of the mat material in to isolate it from anything else. Stir it good, making sure it's well saturated then test the water after a couple of days of soaking.
Will do, I have swapped out the tray with very high levels.
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By Intheswamp
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#423478
With the two samples, one unchanged and the other going from 9 to 20ppm it appears that something is *not* the same other than the size of the trays. You said that the trays were two different sizes, which means they were not made at the same time. It could be that the one with the higher TDS reading has "something" in its plastic formula that is causing the problem, maybe. Are these new trays that haven't been used for other things? The difference between the TDS measurements of the two different-sized trays is notable, but being such a short-term experiment I would like to see a longer test before I attributed anything to a tray...maybe four or five days of testing...a week wouldn't be too long. :)

I would definitely do the glass jar test to isolate the mat from all other factors. If the TDS of the water in the jar doesn't rise, then you should be able to rule out the mat material.

It's basic. You have certain parts to this puzzle... trays, mat material, water, pots, grow-mix. The plants themselves should not be a factor. By isolating each part and testing each after at least a couple of days of soaking you should be pointed towards the likely culprit. You need to do the soaking in an inert container of some kind, for example...glass for the mat material, water, and some of the grow mix from a pot. Or, for an empty pot, you could use a rainwater-rinsed plastic bag to soak it in. For the trays simply let some water stand in them. As for the water, test it each time before adding to whatever you're soaking with it.

I would first start with the mat material soaking in a jar. For some reason I'm just suspicious of it. But, with your two different readings from the two trays that makes me scratch my head a bit. Still, though, do a good test with the mat material to rule it in or out.

You've mentioned that you have several types of grow-mix in use at the moment, some from your own repotting and some that plants were planted in when you got them. I take it that the pots with the different grow-mixes share the trays. Rather than taking soil out of the pots to test, I think I would first take a large saucer and top water each plant until you have a good amount of water in the saucer and test the TDS of *each* plant's drain water where it hasn't mixed with other plants' drain water. The TDS will most likely be elevated a bit from all the pots, but if one pot is much higher than the others that could point you towards the problem.

I'm not any kind of pro so take all of this with a grain of salt. ;) I'm just throwing stuff out there for you to try...if you want to. You have finite pieces to the puzzle...test each one. :D
By Barlapipas 6
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Joined:  Tue Aug 30, 2022 11:26 pm
#423489
If it were me, I would first top water my plants until water goes out of the bottom, then measure that water. If it has high ppm then I would top water to get rid of the minerals until it goes 50ppm or below. If it rises quickly again I would get rid of the tray you are using. For a simple DIY tray you can use a plastic bucket or a tapper and cut it until it has a height of 2 inches. If the bucket had food first wash it.
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#423648
I see you've gotten several comments over on your side of the water on CPUK, good deal. I also see where it seems to have dissolved 8-) into a salt conversation.

One question that I haven't asked you is whether you have recently acquired a new potted plant or transplanted a plant into some newly acquired growing medium. Have you?

From my understanding, when perlite is processed it creates a great amount of unhealthy dust (the dust is readily seen in the bags). To keep the dust from filling the air and being a hazard for workers in its vicinity the perlite is sprayed with water to keep the dust down. The problem is that producers really aren't concerned with what type of water they use to keep the dust down and may have sprayed it with a salty water or other questionable water. So, there *could* be salty residues (or other impurities) on that bright white perlite that seems so clean. In my itty-bitty brain I can see where a pinch of salt *could* be in a growing medium. It seems most people don't rinse the perlite (or peat) before using it and they seem to have no problems. As for myself, I rinse everything...peat, perlite, and sand. OCD-Me!!!! :mrgreen:
By Hectorsgaf
Posts:  19
Joined:  Tue Nov 01, 2022 4:12 pm
#423672
Thank you for that. Appreciated. All my cps are in the media that they were supplied in. Spring will bring the need to pot some up. No telling what the suppliers have done with heir perlite etc but I take and appreciate you point.
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By hindzee
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Joined:  Mon Oct 24, 2022 12:16 am
#423714
I have had similar experience. Currently I am using tap water because that's my only choice, tds 56. Plants are in plastic pots sitting in plastic trays and the tds of the water in the trays after a few days was around 150. I water by filling the tray and occasional top watering. I believe it has to be the so called peat l am using that's raising the tds. I think that will be your issue too.
By Hectorsgaf
Posts:  19
Joined:  Tue Nov 01, 2022 4:12 pm
#423715
Update. I have had just water sitting in bare tray and covered from rain for a few days. I have water sitting in a glass bowl with a sample of the capillary matting. Each has gone up by no more than 2 points which is obviously nothing. Conclusion is that the increase is being caused by the media the plants are in. I have 52 CPs from 3 different but recognised UK suppliers. I suppose I could take it a step further and separate those from the 3 and repeat the test in tray or even glass bowl starting with zero ro water and see what happens. It could be that this is down to one supplier’s chosen media.
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#423717
I agree, it doesn't sound like it's not the trays or matting. It appears that you've already ascertained the water's TDS is low. You've got pots and grow mix left to figure out.

I think drain water from pots will have a TDS reading higher than the 50ppm, no matter the pre-rinse effort...and, as time goes by the peat deteriorates and I think raises the TDS. Note the "I think" phrases...I'm no expert.

Top watering passes through all the growing mix as gravity pulls it downward. As it passes through the mix it is flushing out the "dissolved solids" (it is also pulling needed oxygen down into the mix). When the water arrives in the tray it seems that it would have a concentrated amount of dissolved solids in it...a higher concentration than what is in the mix it just passed through. I'm not sure what the implication of that would be, but in any one square centimeter of growing mix the dissolved solids might be much lower than what is represented in the concentrated drain water.

Now, if you are only tray-watering then the growing mix is simply leaching dissolved solids back into the water from a small contact area...it's hard for me to see how two inches above the waterline would contribute to leaching since the water is only traveling "up" by capillary action. If it is leaching from the grow mix actually submerged in the water then it seems that mix would be rather....bad.

Yes! I would definitely separate the plants by vendor/grower and see what impact that makes on TDS readings. Then, if you detect a tray with a vendor's plants in it has a high level of TDS, separate those pots and see if it's just one or all of the pots that are causing the high readings.

How are your plants looking? Healthy? Sickly? That is ultimately the tell-tale sign. ;)
By Hectorsgaf
Posts:  19
Joined:  Tue Nov 01, 2022 4:12 pm
#423719
Thank you. The plants look fine but bear in mind 90% of my Sarries are cut down. I do not top water at all. Water always starts at zero
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