When to turn off the bubble machine

[OlderStoner]

Been hearing from many sources that a bubble machine will make the tap water less chlorinated and add needed O2. So this morning I bought a fish aquarium air pump for $6 plus another $2 for some hose. Took me a little while to find something heavy enough to hold the hose down at the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket but it's bubbling away.

So for years I've always been told that if you fill a bucket with tap water and let it set out for 24-48 hours opened the chlorine will evaporate. Then someone told me hogwash, you gotta "bubble" (aerate) the water for at least a week to get all the chlorine out. One extreme vs another here. What I do know is that while tap water may not be the best source for plants but it's not that bad and they do grow nicely when using it. Still I'd like to get all the bleach out of the water before using it and I'm sure the add O2 will only help.

So, how long should I let this 5 gallon bucket filled with beautifully clear and drinkable tap water bubble?

 

[c526]

it will dissolve in the air,but water does turn"stale"over time,, adding the air pump adds dissolved oxygen and the plants love that.

I put my water into 32 gallon trash cans and leave the air pumps running 24/7 take water as needed

I use tap water @8.5ph and just under 500ppms in hydro,no serious problems as a result

 

[MassMedMan]

Good question. I've been bubbling mine in one gallon jugs for 24 hours. I check my EC after and it's much higher then where I started, I don't know what that means, just throwing it out there. I don't know if I'm doing it to long, just right, or not enough. 24hrs is just a hunch, no science there for me. Happy to hear others think it's worthwhile.

 

[Alienpus]

Chlorine is very volatile and leaves relatively fast , the exact time it takes depends on concentration, volume of water, exposed water surface, temperature and even UV light, so it's unique fo each situation. Bubbling logically would accelerate the process, boiling removes it instantly. In the aquarium world 24 hours is generally accepted as safe (I have confirmed with ORP measure) in quantities like aquariums, buckets, and reservoirs. So without testing for free chlorine or ORP it boils down to a matter of opinion how long to safely wait or to bubble or not.

Municipalities (20% according to EPA) are also adding Chloramine to water which does not evaporate out and actually can concentrate somewhat as water evaporates that is not exposed to UV light, before breaking down to ammonia, this can take week(s). Maybe this is why someone recommended bubbling for a week to give it time to break down. This also affects ORP (probably PPM also) readings letting us believe there may still be free chlorine present.

A carbon block filter at the point where you draw water will remove chlorine and chloramine.