Before we get started, let’s take a sec to break down the basic needs of plants. Just like any living being on earth, plants need a source of nutrition (food), water, space to live, air, and optimal temperatures. These basic needs are essential for the growth and survival of plants. The delicate balance of these basic needs determine the success or failure of a grow operation.

Today we will be talking about Chlorine and Chloramine, what they are, and how they affect your plants and grow operation. Let’s start by defining what these chemicals are?

 

So What is Chlorine?

Chlorine is a naturally-occurring chemical element. In fact it is one of the most abundant chemical elements on planet earth! A fundamental component to much of the earth’s chemistry, Chlorine can be found everywhere and is ubiquitous in soils, minerals, plants and animals. Seawater is a huge reservoir of dissolved chlorine weathered from the continents and transported to the oceans by Earth’s rivers.

One of the biggest uses of chlorine can be found right in your tap water! Municipalities all around the world add chlorine to their water supplies as a way to kill microbes and purify tap water to make it safe for humans to drink.

 

Now What is Chloramine?

In short, Chloramine is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia. But let’s elaborate on that for a minute. Chloramine is formed naturally in soil when ammonia (from artificial fertilizers, animal waste, pesticides, etc.) are combined with chlorine in water. Just like Chlorine, Chloramine is often used as an additive to public water systems (either as a replacement for, or along with chlorine) to control and disinfect water supply. Chloramine can take many forms, such as trichloramine (NCl3), monochloramine (NH2Cl), and dichloramine (NHCl2), but the collection of these chemicals are often referred to as simply Chloramines.

 

As a grower, why should we know about these chemicals?

Well at the end of the day, we all just want healthy plants, right? It is true that tap water is okay for humans to drink, but drinking too much tap water might not be the best option for you long term, depending on your municipality. Tap water is filled with leftover chemicals like Chlorine and Chloramine that were used to treat and disinfect the water supply before reintroducing the water back into general circulation. Chemicals like Chlorine and Chloramine in heavy doses can be problematic to humans. This is why many people use filters to give their water one last scrub before consumption.

 

How are these chemicals bad for plants?

So you might ask, why are these chemicals bad for plants? Well, remember the main reason why municipalities add chemicals like Chlorine and Chloramine to local water supplies. They are used as one of the main cleaning components for disinfecting and purifying water supplies. Large doses of Chlorine and Chloramine are added to help eliminate toxic microbes that are present, leaving a water supply that is safe for humans to consume.

Now let’s shift over to how Chlorine and Chloramine affect our small green friends. It might be a surprise to some, but Chlorine is actually considered a micronutrient, meaning it is essential for the proper growth and reproduction of plants, and plays a key role in plant photosynthesis.

Too much of Chlorine, and especially Chloramine, can be dangerous for your plants. It is important that growers are aware of the levels of Chlorine and Chloramine in their plants’ soil and water supply.

Let’s explore this from a different angle. Plants, just like humans, rely on a healthy microbiome (or a bacteria fueled ecosystem) to survive. You may ask “Well ,isn’t bacteria bad for living beings?” The answer is Yes and No.

No, because you and I right now contain a gut full of billions upon billions of bacterial species feeding on the food you eat every day, processing that food, and (for a lack of a better term) “pooping” out vital nutrients that your body uses to fuel itself. We as humans could not survive without this microbiome! Humans and plants are very much alike in this regard. Plants, just like humans, also rely on a healthy microbiome to survive! 

On the flip side, not all microbes are safe and healthy for organisms. When you have a cut, the first thing you do is clean the wound and disinfect the area to prevent infection. We do this to prevent unwanted bacteria from entering our bodies. It is a good thing that water supplies are pretreated, but it is important for growers to understand that straight tap water contains certain levels of Chlorine and Chloramine that could potentially be hazardous to plants. We want to limit our plants exposure to unwanted microbes, but at the end of the day, a proper chemical balance is necessary.

 

The Benefits of using Chemboys Chlor A’ Clean solution!

We here at Chemboys have created a formula that is perfect for reducing the harmful effects of Chlorine and Chloramine in your plants’ soil, while also promoting a rich growing environment where your plants can grow and thrive! 

We call this product Chlor A’ Clean!

The name speaks for itself. If your plant’s soil or hydroponic environment contains too much Chlorine and Chloramine, we recommend a simple treatment of Chlor A’ Clean once per week to balance the chemical composition on a per-needed basis. 1 gram of solid Chlor a’ Clean per 10 gallons,  or 1mL of liquid Chlor a’ Clean per 1 gallon of untreated tap water weekly is the recommended dosage.

Chlorine and Chloramine is more commonly found in tap water, but you can also find these chemicals in leading fish waste nutrient products. Ensure you are combining your fish waste additives with Chlor A’ Clean to help reduce the harmful effects of Chlorine and Chloramine in your plants’ soil, today!

 

Head on over to our Shop today to get your hands on a bottle of liquid premixed Chlor A’ Clean, or a bag of our non-mixed, pure crystalline Chemboys Chlor A’ Clean.

We offer pre-mixed liquid solutions in Pint, Quart, Half Gallon, Gallon and 5 Gallon solutions. 

Our non-mixed, pure crystalline form of Chemboys Chlor A’ Clean can be purchased in 100 gram, 1 lb, 5lb, 10lb, and 40lb bags if you prefer a little more control over your dosages.

 

 

 

 

 


Sources

  1. What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow
  2. Water Quality for Crop Production
  3. Chlorine Chemistry: What is Chlorine?
  4. Chlorine 101: A Workhorse Chemical
  5. Chlorine, Chloramine and Plants – Everything You Need to Know
  6. https://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsPdfs/chloramine.pdf
  7. PlantProbs.net – Chlorine
  8. How plants harness microbes to get nutrients

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