fatman7574
New Member
First I do not use organic fertilizer or organic supplements in my systems.
The main reason I use chlorine is the ease in monitoring how much is actually used up in oxidation and in knowing easily how much residual I am maintaining for near future oxidation. I have found that once the water is initailly free of all pathogens and the system is clean and disinfected initially it takes a very minimal residual level of chlorine to keep the system pathogen free. A lot ot tap water is delivered to homes with residual levels of chlorine adequate to prevnt pythium and of bacteira and pathogens from developing. Th problem is that water treatment plants srenot initially using high enough chlorine doses to kill all organisms when treating the water. They use ecoli as an indicator and that requires pretty low levels. Lower than that need to kill all pythium. Monitoring the amount of H2O2 added above that needed as an oxidizer is much more difficult to do as it reacts quickly and it also has no residual effect. With H2O2 you have to basically guess at waht is going on and therfore you really have no measurable information to work with.
Some people try to keep track of H2O2 effectiveness and needs through monitoring ORP but there are so many things that can alteryour ORP. Measurement of free and total chlorine is simple and cheap. Its potential for harm is grossly over exxagerated, but over exaggeration is common in forums. There are many thosands of green houses that inject a solution made of sodium hypochlorite directly into their nutrient spray and delivery lines to the 2 ppm level at the spray heads or emitters. Kinda makes my 0.5 ppm residual in the reservoirs that are cahanged weekly seempretty close to negligible. But the low levels work. My drain to waster systems also have 0.5 ppm residual chlorine.
I have not found the H2O2 to be any more plant friendly. In fact I have found it less plant friendly as it is too strong of an oxidant. It is a great deal stronger oxidant than chlorine. As far as adding oxygen. That oxygen is shortlived in the water and I really with my aero systems in large tubes and in chambers do not have any need and do not really gain through high DO reservoir water as they plants roots get over 99% of their oxygen from the air not the water. I have very minimal amounts of roots laying in tube or chamber bottoms. I have found the high reservoir water DO is realy only beneficial to systems that are very dependent on artifically high water DO, such as DWC, small tube aeros, NTF with large root masses and narrow troughs and bubbleponics. My smallest tubes are 18.5 inches tall. If I was to digress to any of the artifically high DO dependant systems I would use venturis or needle wheel pumps in combination with venturis to assure high reservoir water DO and just simply ignore any possible short term O2 gain achieved by adding H2O2.
I can loan you a DO meter if you would actually like to test just how much and for how long dosages of H2O2 effect your reservoir water.
The main reason I use chlorine is the ease in monitoring how much is actually used up in oxidation and in knowing easily how much residual I am maintaining for near future oxidation. I have found that once the water is initailly free of all pathogens and the system is clean and disinfected initially it takes a very minimal residual level of chlorine to keep the system pathogen free. A lot ot tap water is delivered to homes with residual levels of chlorine adequate to prevnt pythium and of bacteira and pathogens from developing. Th problem is that water treatment plants srenot initially using high enough chlorine doses to kill all organisms when treating the water. They use ecoli as an indicator and that requires pretty low levels. Lower than that need to kill all pythium. Monitoring the amount of H2O2 added above that needed as an oxidizer is much more difficult to do as it reacts quickly and it also has no residual effect. With H2O2 you have to basically guess at waht is going on and therfore you really have no measurable information to work with.
Some people try to keep track of H2O2 effectiveness and needs through monitoring ORP but there are so many things that can alteryour ORP. Measurement of free and total chlorine is simple and cheap. Its potential for harm is grossly over exxagerated, but over exaggeration is common in forums. There are many thosands of green houses that inject a solution made of sodium hypochlorite directly into their nutrient spray and delivery lines to the 2 ppm level at the spray heads or emitters. Kinda makes my 0.5 ppm residual in the reservoirs that are cahanged weekly seempretty close to negligible. But the low levels work. My drain to waster systems also have 0.5 ppm residual chlorine.
I have not found the H2O2 to be any more plant friendly. In fact I have found it less plant friendly as it is too strong of an oxidant. It is a great deal stronger oxidant than chlorine. As far as adding oxygen. That oxygen is shortlived in the water and I really with my aero systems in large tubes and in chambers do not have any need and do not really gain through high DO reservoir water as they plants roots get over 99% of their oxygen from the air not the water. I have very minimal amounts of roots laying in tube or chamber bottoms. I have found the high reservoir water DO is realy only beneficial to systems that are very dependent on artifically high water DO, such as DWC, small tube aeros, NTF with large root masses and narrow troughs and bubbleponics. My smallest tubes are 18.5 inches tall. If I was to digress to any of the artifically high DO dependant systems I would use venturis or needle wheel pumps in combination with venturis to assure high reservoir water DO and just simply ignore any possible short term O2 gain achieved by adding H2O2.
I can loan you a DO meter if you would actually like to test just how much and for how long dosages of H2O2 effect your reservoir water.
