The Problem
Water Hardness
Water containing high levels of dissolved calcium or magnesium salts, or both, is described as being “hard.” Other minerals including iron, manganese and zinc also contribute to hardness.
Hard water affects soil, pipes and equipment. Although water hardness does not affect plants directly, minerals precipitated on the soil surface can form a crust, and thus increase runoff and reduce soil penetration. This can have an indirect impact on plant growth.
Salinity
Salinity is the concentration of all soluble salts in water or soil, and left untreated it will cause a reduction in crop yield. Plants are adversely affected by salinity in several ways. The most important of these is that it limits the ability of plants to take up water. If the soil water salt concentration is too high the plant will not be able to absorb water and will eventually wilt and die.
Effect on Pipes, Irrigation, Hydroponic and Farm Equipment
Hard water problems cause scale buildup on pipes and irrigation systems. Left untreated this buildup will reduce water flow and eventually block pipes, drippers and associated equipment, costing you money.
The Solution
Softerwater Conditioners manufacture a range water conditioners designed with various flow rates to suit the smallest hydroponic or drip irrigation system through the larger high flow center pivots.
Softerwater Conditioners
At Softerwater Conditioners we custom design and manufacture a skid-mounted Watercube system comprising any combination of the following;
The stock did not show signs of iron staining, or calcium build up. It did show signs of some minor salt damage but more like damage from water with calcium of 347 ppm, sodium 321 ppm and TDS of 2110 ppm. I was told that I could not grow plants in this water, and although I did experience a reduction in plant growth (nothing beats rainwater) I was able to slowly grow most lines. The reps of the Nursery and Garden Industry were amazed at the quality I could produce with the quality of water I had.
- Canopy Wholesale Nursery, Tamborine Queensland Australia
I was having big problems with blocked drippers on my tree farm due to iron residue build up in the popes. This was a major frustration as my water is reasonably clear and filtration measures were not alleviating the problem. I have been amazed with the results achieved after fitting a Softerwater Conditioner device to my system. The dripper now freely flows and this was by far the most cost-effective solution to my tricky problem. I highly recommend these products to those in the agriculture and horticulture industries with similar problems.
- Care Transplanters, Palmwoods Queensland Australia
