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Cl-




BC wrote:

> In the recent post about KCl, I read that Cl- can be detrimental to plants.
> I am wondering what effect will Cl- have on plants.  What are the signs
> that tell me I am having too much Cl-?  What ppm is too much Cl-?

Cl- (chloride) is essential in small concentrations but otherwise nearly 
benign.  There are chloride toxicity symptoms, but I don't know what 
concentrations are necessary to trigger problems.  They must be very high.  
For most plants you can probably raise the chloride concentration (along with 
suitable cations) to very high levels; salinity will kill the plant before 
the chloride itself has any effect.

I've seen "freshwater" plants (Najas and Chara) growing in water with more 
than 1000 mg/l of chloride and I imagine that many other plants can grow with 
high chlorides.  Anything that grows in estuaries has to handle very high 
chloride levels and I think that would include Val. americana, several types 
of Myriophyllum and a few other common aquarium plants.


Roger Miller