I added this to another thread, but no replies so far. So I'll try it here. I bought petstore CHC and did 3 days of water soak. However, I didn't do a cation exchange and I believe I should have. This was 4 months ago and at first I thought all was well, but I'm not happy with the growth and overall vigor of the trees. So here are my questions.

1. Will the salt ever dislodge from the CHC withour a cation exchange? As I said, I did this months ago, so I'm curious if the salt would still be an issue after this length of time?

2. Will an application of Tbs per gallon of Calcium nitrate and Epsom salt be enough for the process? I use a 10 gallon bucket for the soak.

3. Lastly, this is the Calcium nitrate I'm going to buy. I assume it will work, but I want to be sure.
http://www.amazon.com/Calcium-Nitrate-15-5-0-0-19-5lb-bag/dp/B0017K4RMY/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I169S5LBL0V9CS&colid=7PEFA1Y147WF

Yes, that is the Calcium Nitrate that you would use. A tablespoon of CaNO3 and MgSO4 would be more than enough for a 10 gallon pail. The reason that there is salt in CHC is because salt is used in the process of removing the coconut meat from the coconut shell. When you add the above two chemicals let it set over night. I don't know if you will need to rinse after the cation exchange or not, as I have never purchase pet store grade of CHC . All the CHC that I have ever purchased, came from the Crystal Company of Saint Louis, Mo.. Personally, I don't rinse after the cation exchange. HOWEVER, this is because before the Crystal Company sells their CHC, they rinse it three times, then squeezes the chips "dry" three times under VERY HIGH pressure. The high pressure removes most of the salts, as it squeezes out the rinse water. The little that is left is easily removed by cation exchange. In the past I have used the Crystal Companies CHC with, and without, cation exchange when transplanting citrus trees, without any difficulty. - Millet (766-)

So do you think that the salts in the CHC I used, will remain in the chips are will it leech out? As I said, it's been four months. I ask because I wonder if I need to redo the soak or it is probably safe after this much time.

A single Tbs will work of each Ca, Mg for 10 gallons?

Mark a tablespoon of both chemicals is more than enough. I don't know anything about the salt content of pet store grade CHC. Whether 4 months is enough time or not depends on the amount of leaching that took place with each watering over the 4 months and the amount of salt in pet store grade CHC. Below is a web site, that actually talks about removing salts from CHC for orchid growers. The information that this site provides is exactly the same for container citrus growers.
- Millet (766-)

http://www.ladyslipper.com/coco3.htm

Thanks Millet, I'll get the Ca and trying soaking it again. I will buy Crystal from now on, if you found it worked fine without a cation exchange, then at least I know whatever soak I do at home, the medium will likely be more than safe. The Crystal CHC seems fool proof.

Millet , I would like to ask you if there is a way to measure and determine the salt level in each soil mix we have.
I did 6 clean/rinse/squeeze procedure to the chc CHC soil mix I have from pet stores , so I wonder if there is any salt left in the soil.

Thanks