How to handle water in the grow room

[MileHighMike]

Just a little information about my situation first...

A few cycles ago I got the worst root aphid infestation known to mankind, I had 3 different kinds totally infesting my entire Hugo Block™ rockwool, ebb and flow grow, using GH Flora nutes. Believe it or not, I had never had pests in any pot I grew in the past, and never really did any prevention besides keeping my rooms clean and changing my res water often. I used no particular nutrient line, and was ignorant about what I put on the plants and how it affected the microbiology of my soil/rockwool...and still I have hauled in some bumper crops of insanely good bud. So faced with this new and scary issue, I decided to fight them organically and switch to organic growing methods. The search for information brought me to this site actually. I killed 99% of the aphids with a few root dunks in a combination Neem Oil/Soap, and foliar spraying with Pyrethrin and Organacide about a month ago. It worked like a charm and I even brought back a mother plant of mine that started to dud out, producing three and one petal leaves(yes you can bring back a dud!). Now have been giving them EWC tea with beneficial fungi added, and the plants/roots are looking great!

I have a 25 gallon tub of water, and use a water pump and some plumbing to create a waterfall, keeping it moving and smelling fresh while expediting natural chlorine removal. This keeps me with plenty dechlorinated water for diluting my teas and sprays and just general clean water for the room.

So here is my question:

I am wondering how critical a few drops of chlorinated water is to my tea. If I wash my hands or a container in the sink(chlorinated water) will just a little extra water kill the microbes in my teas? I have been extremely careful about every single drop of fresh tap water around my gloves, containers, and buckets and have only been rinsing them out in my bin of dechlorinated water, but then I'm worried about it getting funky because of rinsing off my tea residue in it!...My tap water has minimal chlorine in it and I'm wondering if I am doing the right thing or being way to paranoid about a few drops of chlorinated water from freshly sink rinsed containers/gloves killing my microherd.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Seed Buyer]

I would check with your municipal water supplier and see if they are adding chloramines to the water. If so you will have to filter the water as chloramines will not dissipate like chlorine. You might be wasting your time if the water has chloramines in it.

 

[fishwhistle]

I dont think that you need to worry about small amounts of chlorinated tap water affecting your water.

 

[MileHighMike]

I would check with your municipal water supplier and see if they are adding chloramines to the water. If so you will have to filter the water as chloramines will not dissipate like chlorine. You might be wasting your time if the water has chloramines in it.

My city is currently on chlorine, and switching to chloramine in 2015 unfortunately, I will have to get a filter when that time comes.

And thanks fishwhistle, It's been worrying me and has been a hassle to constantly be wary about it. I'm looking to get a microscope so I can see the effect of tap water on my bennies.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

A few drops of chlorine would not effect your bio herd,chlorinated water no problem. I feel you believe you killed the aphids,they are much harder to get rid of then most think. I would keep an eye out for them coming back. JK

 

[MileHighMike]

A few drops of chlorine would not effect your bio herd,chlorinated water no problem. I feel you believe you killed the aphids,they are much harder to get rid of then most think. I would keep an eye out for them coming back. JK

I'm under no illusions I eradicated them, my wife has over 100 houseplants(that all got treated, what a bitch) and a fairly large outdoor garden, and we both spend a ton of time outdoors, even at nurseries....It's like I have given up with the eradication, and am concentrating on maintaining low populations of the bastards. I have never had an issue with bugs at all, and I always used neem oil/soap as a spray, my dad taught me it was for "plant health". When I had this aphid outbreak, my square in-laws were in town and I neglected my room badly for a few weeks....ugh the bugs showed up bad a few weeks later.

Everything I have right now is in rockwool, so I can very much verify there has been nothing on the roots for about a month now, and the bodies of the dead have turned to fungal mush, and no fliers in my traps either. But I'm pretty sure they are still here and plan on a constant regiment of cleanliness, neem oil/soap, and bene's...Fingers crossed.

 

[mastacheeser]

Are you sure about the aphids? Not just gnats?

How long have you been growing and not had any bug problems? You lucky

 

[MileHighMike]

Are you sure about the aphids? Not just gnats?

How long have you been growing and not had any bug problems? You lucky

Yeah, definitely root aphids, had green, green/red, and the black ticky looking ones all at the same time.

And yeah, my luck has spanned decades...indoors and out.