Rain Water Collection for Houseplant Watering

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by chirita, Jun 5, 2007.

  1. chirita

    chirita Active Member

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    british columbia canada
    We are building a rural home and are planning to install an underground rain water tank for watering our indoor plants. The water will be collected from the roof eaves trough. We were planning on using a fire rated ashphalt roof but am worried that there might be chemicals in the roofing material that might contaminate the water. Does anyone know if these types of roofs, treated with a fire retardant, could be a problem in this application?
     
  2. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Location:
    Victoria Australia [cool temperate]
    More curious than a help here. Asphelt how can they make that fire retardent???

    We use courrigated tin here in OZ. Makes for good rain water gathering. In fact since global warming it is the height of fashion to have the old tank and tin roof again even in suburbia. They come in all colours shapes and sizes as well as different materials. The one I like is able to be fitted under a house like a large bladder. We have a lot of houses on stumps. No basements.

    http://www.stgeorgelandscape.com.au/irrigation/water_tanks.html
    http://www.bushmantanks.com/
    http://www.rainkeepertanks.com.au/

    Liz
     
  3. chirita

    chirita Active Member

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    Hello Liz,
    In North America ashphalt shingles are chemically treated to make them fire resistant. We had thought of using a metal roof but our local fire department said that the new ashphalt products are actually better. But I am concerned about the chemicals. In Canada we need to bury our water tanks or else they will freeze in the winter.
     
  4. Sunset Cycads

    Sunset Cycads Active Member 10 Years

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    I have collected rain water for my cycads for many years, and put a new roof on my house about five years ago. Do not collect the water for the first month or so of rain, so that any chemical residue can wash off. You will also get a lot of grit coming off at this time. After that the water should be okay for the plants. I did not have any after-effects. Good for you for installing such a system! Your plants will love it.
     
  5. chirita

    chirita Active Member

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    Thanks for your reply. I am feeling more comfortable now about using the asphalt roof and your suggestion to wait a month sounds good. We decided to collect rainwater for two reasons. First we live in an area that is very hot and dry in the summer and there are often watering restrictions in place during that time. We wanted to reduce the load on our source which is a glacier fed stream. Also, we thought that in the event of a forest fire it would be good to have extra water available for wetting down the house and surrounding vegetation. Thanks again for your feedback.
     

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