Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 7/26/2010

Question
My husband swears that the only thing in our well water is silica and keeps telling me I don't have to buy distilled water. Soooo, is silica harmful to carnivorous plants?  It sure does NO good for my bathrooms!
Thanks Guys
Marian Hill
twotut

BTW...your second dvd is awhsome!!!!

Answer
Hi Marian,

Thank-you.  I'm glad you liked the video.

Here's a way I think you can solve two problems at once, you can get the correct water, and I won't get hate mail from your husband. :)  Take a look at this website:  http://www.zerowater.com/  When we made the volume #1 DVD and I was talking about filtration this filter wasn't on the market yet.  It uses an de-ionization filter that totally removes minerals.  It also comes with a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter.  It's very different from Brita or similar carbon filters.  If your willing to fork out the 35 dollars you can test your water, and you'll have a filtration device that will give you distilled-quality water for your plants at a decent price.  If you buy the bigger pack of filters, it comes out to around 40 cents a gallon, plus you don't need to lug around gallons of water.  Retail these can be found in Target stores and Bi-Mart in the Pacific Northwest.

On your original question, I'm not sure what your husband means by silica in the well water.  Silica (Silicon dioxide) is sand.  It is part of most rock, and makes up most of rocks such as pumice and rhyolite.  It doesn't really dissolve in water.  The most common hard water minerals are calcium, magnesium and iron.  If you're seeing deposits in the bathroom, it's probably a combination of those.  If you get a Zero-Water filter pitcher, the TDS meter will tell you if you have hard water or not.  If your well water is 50ppm or below, it will be fine for your carnivorous plants.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com

Addendum:

Hi Marian,

I did a little more quick research and found that your husband may be partially correct.  Magnesium and Calcium can occur as Magnesium silicate and Calcium silicate in well water.  These are still hard water minerals, and would be harmful to carnivorous plants long-term.