CALCLEAR | Testimonials
HYDROPONICS & AGRICULTURAL TESTIMONIALS
Grenville Stocker, NZ
We have had several positive reports from clients who are using the Calclear water treatment unit on their nutrient system, we would like to hear back from other users of these units, if you think they are helping or not.
One very interesting comment from a lettuce grower was regarding the improvement in his green frilly lettuces, always hard to grow well in tough climatic conditions, but his were excellent with very little bolting or tip burn. This at a time of the year when reports from other growers were indicating that the green frilly’s were not doing very well, bolting, tip burn etc, and proving to be very hard to get good results. We have confidence in these units, when installed correctly, as we have seen the results produced in Australia, where twin systems on the same site, one with and one without a Calclear unit, the difference was clear to see, much reduced tip burn, larger and faster growing lettuces.
The units when used on Tomato and Capsicum systems result in reductions of blossom end rot, again as a result of easier uptake of Calcium into the plant. These units are never going to produce 100% results, unless all other remedial measures are taken as well. For example, a Calclear will not help if the humidity is far too high, as the plants will still suffer Calcium deficiency if they cannot transpirate water. If there is a major deficiency of Calcium in the nutrient, again they will not help, even adding extra Calcium to the nutrient when the humidity is too high, will not help greatly, but if we attend to the plants basic requirements, then these units will produce startling results.
Grenville Stocker. Consultant for Indra WIRAWAN Director Betterlife PT. Grita Farm Indonesia
Robbie, Thanks, all is going well. The units are installed on lettuce systems in Indonesia, in an attempt to stop tip burn in hot damp conditions.
Without the units they were getting a lot of tip burn, now very much reduced, but in the local climate it is going to be almost impossible during the wet season to stop tip burn completely.
Lana Mitchell, Gundaroo NSW | Australian Rural Woman of the Year - Flannel Flower Grower
The trial was finished and the results are:
- There were absolutely no blocked drippers in the house with the Calclear from the day it was installed, however there continued to be blocked drippers in the other house through to now, resulting in loss of plants. I would estimate it is about 20 blocked drippers over that period of time – so a saving of 20 plants. This alone is enough to sell me on the
- There was no observable and visible difference in flower size or length with the Calclear – however as we installed it when the flowers were already in full bud I suspect that having the Calclear on for longer, during the full growing season, that there would be a difference visible. I did measure the number of stems and the length of stems, and whilst there was no real obvious difference between the two houses (between October and December) I can state that I observed that the flower quality of my oldest flower plants (in their 5th year) was better than in the earlier year (4th season) with taller stems and larger flowers, and that flower quality was improved. There was no other change with those older plants, other than adding the Calclear – so I suspect that there is a definite improvement of yield and quality of flowers as a result of the Calclear – even if it is only visible in those older
- I have had NO pest outbreaks this year of any kind. I normally have aphid problems in large numbers and I did not have this year. When the nutrition of a plant is improved – particularly Calcium – it is harder for pests such as aphids to break through a toughened and stronger stem wall. I suspect that this has been part of the successful action of Calclear. I normally lose 10% of my crop to pests, and it was much lower this year.
Lana started her commercial cut-flower venture at Gundaroo in 2005, specialising in the Australian native Flannel flower. She exports to the USA, Europe, UK and Japan as well as providing for the Australian market
Peter and Sharon Doyle, Corinella Herbs, Corinella Victoria , Australia
We grow a wide range of herbs in two sheds ( 2500 square metres) at Corinella Herbs, supplying through our agents both Safeways and Coles Supermarkets.
The CALCLEAR Water Conditioners save us time and money every day. Prior to their installation, the flexible feeder pipes supplying nutrients to each channel would become blocked due to a build-up of salt deposits. We would then spend 1 ½ to 2 hours each day inserting a wire down each of the feeder tubes to clear these deposits. These blockages occasionally resulted in crop losses or damage, due to insufficient nutrient supply.
The CALCLEAR Water Conditioners have not only kept all our pipes clean, the improved quality of our nutrient has improved plant quality, weight and shelf life.
J & RM, Tomato growers, Mansfield VIC
‘36,000 reasons to own a CALCLEAR’ – Clean up your drippers .
The main reason we installed the CALCLEAR unit was to help prevent getting a calcium phosphate precipitate from our bore water at our drippers.
After installing the CALCLEAR unit we have not had this problem. This has saved us a lot of time and money by not having to go through 36,000 drippers and pull them apart to unblock, whilst having a crop in.
As far as yields and crop quality, these have been very consistent with previous years. It is also very hard to comment / compare crop quality and yield as there are so many external variables which can affect these two things. It can be said however that our yield for this season gone has been just below 60 kg per square meter for both sheds, and crop quality was excellent throughout the year.
Cheers J. M., Murphy Fresh
T.S Perth WA
A long standing client of ours, a prominent Avocado grower in Western Australia has had a consistent problem at his Carabooda operation north of Wanneroo Perth with Iron and Iron Bacteria deposits consistently blocking his under tree micro sprinklers. Although the Iron level is only 0.65 ppm the site was experiencing considerable problems with the consistent blockages which required numerous man hours to keep the system operational. The bacterial growth in the bores was so prolific that both 22kw bore pump motors failed.
Some twelve weeks ago we installed a Calclear Hydro 200 to the main line fed by the east bore and on the 6th November the unit was turned on. Within a couple of days the client reported that the water was different; it was clearer, no orange discolouration, and fewer blockages. These reports were initially accepted with some scepticism.
as we were not expecting such a fast result. From that time on I have regularly monitored the system and been involved in many of the flushing operations and checking of micro sprinklers. I can report that the system has consistently improved over the time period. The water flushed from Mains, Sub-mains, and Laterals is now consistently clear with no discolouration or red slimy mud. It appears that the Iron bacteria can no longer survive in the system while it is treated with the Calclear Hydromaster 200 unit. The client has also reported that since the unit was turned on there have been no solenoid valve failures, a common occurrence due to blockages prior to the Calclear being installed.
My conclusion to the above is that I can see many growers who presently suffer from any type of mineral or bacterial blockages in their irrigation systems, now being able to rid themselves of these tremendously frustrating and costly problems and therefore freeing up their time to concentrate on the growing of their produce.
Yackandandah 3749 VICTORIA – Lettuce Grower
JB. rang to say good things about CALCLEAR.!
“The CALCLEAR is one of the best things I have bought. In the normal course of events right from the beginning it did everything you said it would, Robbie. There are only 3 or 4 things I would recommend in my business and CALCLEAR is one of them. “
FLORACO - Cut Flowers
Floraco is WA’s largest undercover producer of fresh exotic cut flowers. The flowers are grown with a state of the art computerised Hydroponic watering system.
Calclear Hydro 80 was installed to the 65mm main line feeding the greenhouse of Gerberas to eliminate the build up of minerals in the mains and laterals.
In the following Floraco production manager Mr G. DK. explained the following results were obtained by the use of the Calclear on this crop
- The foliage was predominantly greener.
- The stems are
- Plants are able to tolerate the heat more readily
- There is no longer a build up of mineral deposits on the bottom of the pots, in fact the pots have cleaned up considerably in the time the Calclear has been
- The Calclear appears to assist in the overall growing of the flowers ensuring a better quality
- The cost of the unit has well and truly been paid for by the results
Floraco have now purchased an additional unit and is being installed on their crop of greenhouse roses which are drip fed with a duplicate hydroponic system.
Tasman Ford 373 Brooke Street, East Devonport
Tas Ford contacted Suntec Consultants, our researchers in New Zealand because he was losing 80% of his
lettuce crop to tipburn. The scientists agreed that the nutrients were not being transported through the leaf to the tips. After installing the CALCLEAR unit to his NFT hydroponic system, he reduced his crop failure from 80 % to 5%.
Tas Ford: “It appears to have solved a problem that was not being controlled by normal plant husbandry. The treatment is very effective. Thank you for your inquiries and phone calls.” TF
(Beats throwing out hundreds of dollars of lettuce a week !)
Dripper system using bore water for Cucumbers
Mr Duong has come from Vietnam and been a farmer there for 27 years. He and other growers have had problems with bore water and algae growth blocking drippers. Having put on the CALCLEAR system he hasn’t stopped grinning – his son V. D. says that he was sceptical of technology but he has to believe his father when he tells him the results of using the CALCLEAR Water Conditioner. With all his experience his father knows all the changes occurring.
Now Mr Duong says his results are ( through his interpreter)
- Drippers cleaned up within a day
- No algae
- Better water absorption in the ground – not small drops but water spread out soaking into ground
- 2 hrs tme saved every day in the morning not having to loosen algae in the drippers
- Tank of bore water cleared up and now without algae
- The pump doesn’t have to run as long – they only need water for half the time because the water absorbs into the ground for a further distanceground
- The pump is not working as hard because it is also cleaned up
Mr Duong is telling all his friends. Calclear is now waiting for him to report on a better and larger crop of Cucumbers. WE know that will be his next result and they will last longer on the shelf.
FLOWERS- R. P.- P.Nursery, Gatton, Queensland, Australia
Descale Misters !
We had Calcium build up in the high pressure 10 micron 1200psi sprays. They were all clogged up. We couldn’t clean them – we just had to leave them , so in effect we had a fogging system which was useless. It would have been impossible to spend the time cleaning the sprays. Of course I was skeptical at first when we installed the Calclear. I kept asking the boys how the Calclear results were going. Everything is running smoothly. Now we have an operational fogging system where we can keep the seed moisture content up for germination and everything is cooler.
I’m happy , sure -I’ve just bought another Calclear for another area of the nursery.
Queensland Rose Grower
We had problems with our misters blocking up with our roses. After we put on the CALCLEAR at the end of the year we saved maintenance time unblocking the drippers. Then we noticed that at the time we had Valentine’s Day the flush of flowers was extraordinary! We thought it was a co-incidence , but then it happened at Easter and Mother’s Day. It must have been the minerals being taken up by the plants.
The CALCLEAR ? – “We wouldn’t dare turn it off!!
B& B B - Bendigo
We put the Calclear on one shed Basil shed to trial. It was like chalk and cheese! – especially now it’s hotter the quality of herb growth is more noticeable.
Everything is cleaner, there’s less algae, no scale on the end of the drippers. Our kids pick the Basil for us – they hate picking the Basil in the shed without the CALCLEAR – it’s easier to pick the Calclear treated- Bigger and lusher growth!
Smyth Road Irrigation - Tanunda South Australia, Barry Scheer
We have used the Calclear system for several years in our customer’s vineyards and have been very happy with the results. Of course growers don’t say much when things go right!! We know the results of the Calclear by what doesn’t have to be done after one is installed.
In a new irrigation set up we have put in the Calclear as a preventative measure and this has helped reduce maintenance. Everything stays clean and healthy.
Where there are those who have had problems for years and have a lot of muck in the lines, the Calclear descales the tubes and drippers and we get more use out of them so growers don’t have to throw those bits away. It really improves the hygiene and maintenance and actually adds more “life” to the system.
Victorian Orchardist – E McC
Dear Robbie,
Growth of Citrus has been spectacular since correcting PH and installing Calclear. PH was corrected first and some new growth started to occur but has accelerated markedly with Calclear installation. Orange tree which has been dormant for months has sprouted a lot of new leaves which are twice as big as old leaves. See Pic.
The other deciduous fruit & nut trees have not shown much change although one Walnut tree which I almost killed with flooding with 9.2 PH water has sprouted a new set of leaves. See Pic. Can see a few of the old leaves. Bit hard now to determine effects as deciduous trees are edging into leaf fall.
B. E. ,Clean Green Hydro ,Childers Qld
Dear Robbie,
Just a quick note to let you know that the Calclear unit you sold us has achieved the desired results. We run an NFT recirculating system growing fancy lettuce.
As I mentioned previously we have never had a problem with scaling in our pipes or feed lines, however prior to using the Calclear unit we had a persistent problem with blocking of the underground lines every week or two due to accumulation of vegetative matter (root hairs etc), minerals & very fine silt from our dam water.
Previously to clean these lines effectively we would have to shut of our growing tables, pump a chemical into these lines, allow it to sit for some time and then blast each one out individually with the full force of the pump.
This of course needed to be done in the cool of the late evening/early night so that the plants don’t suffer, using up a valuable couple of hrs that we would rather be spending elsewhere.
Since installing the Calclear unit about 18mths ago we no longer have the need to do this as the Calclear keeps this matter suspended in the water in the underground lines, it no longer sticks to the walls of the pipes. It is then a matter of just opening the valve at the end of the run once every day or two for a couple of minutes to allow it to flush out the underground lines, any matter that does go through the growing tables is eventually trapped in our filtration system.
It must be understood here that this foreign matter we are talking about is extremely fine and requires continuous filtration to remove it.
The effectiveness of the Calclear unit was brought home to us in no uncertain terms recently (3 months ago) when it was shut off for a period of 1 week (accidentally). By the end of that week we were experiencing noticeable reduce flow to the tables at the end of the run.
We did a quick flush of our underground lines and restored power to the Calclear unit, watching carefully over the next week to see our lines gradually clearing and restoring to full flow. We have not had a problem since.
S.K Bittern. Victoria | Tomato Grower
I thought you would be interested in my observations of your CALCLEAR unit, in my NFT system, in which I grow tomatoes.
The tomato seedlings were planting in April of this year, not an ideal time, but it was that or the whole system would lie idle until the end of June. We started picking fruit early June and to my surprise we have continued to pick good- sized fruit from these plants through winter and will continue to the end of January 2003.
These seedlings were planted at the same time as my tradiro crop in the same greenhouse, but the medium was Grodan. By the fifth truss I experienced some blossom end rot in the grodan medium growing plants, by the sixth truss the blossom end rot problem was pretty much right through the crop. Without exception the NFT plants being serviced by the CALCLEAR unit, did not show any signs of the calcium deficiency, indeed no signs have yet appeared.
I have since planted a new crop of tradiro in the same grodan slabs and would you believe it; blossom end rot has raised its ugly head again around the fifth truss. I am very keen to try the CALCLEAR unit on the grodan crop to see if I can eradicate the problem. Obviously, these observations are just that, but I would like to think that your unit had a lot to do with solving some of the problems I usually experience with calcium uptake in the plants.
I will keep you posted on my findings, and if you would like me to give a reference for your product I would be happy to do so. Look forward to chatting with you soon
The result is CALCLEAR units deliver a super treatment that enhances the treatment per litre/sec of heavily mineralised water. This has been more successful in treating scale buildup in pipes caused by heavily mineralised water and resolved other costly problems such as the treatment of iron and iron bacteria buildup in irrigation pipework.
This advanced technology has been welcomed by distributors and the results are extremely exciting!