Ro water conditioner

bwheat

bwheat

Member
Hi guys, new to this forum, and have been on a quest to find information on what other people might use in this situation. I had a few grows under my belt before my last few grows in which i switched to using ro water from tap water because i was going to be running a hydroponic setup, so i used it in my last soil grow as well and fought with calcium deficiency for the last 8-9 weeks pretty badly. It took using 2x the normal amount of calmag just to keep them alive and not lose all their leaves. That was in ocean forest which has decent calcium content. That was with fox farm nutrients. I did get them thru to harvest. On my drip hydroponic grow i have had to add calmag first at 1ml/l which is the recommended dose, the 2ml, and now up to 3ml/l which is quite a bit of calmag, just to keep them somewhat happy. It still isn't enough for that setup. I am using advanced nutrients in this setup. When i grew with tap water i only had to add calmag once or twice the whole time, so on my other grow which is coco and gh flora trio nutrients which was at full strength cal-mag at 2 weeks old and getting leaf damage from calcium defficiency, i switched to tap water a week ago and they are as happy as can be. I ph at 6.2 to 6.5 for soil. 6.0-6.2 in coco, and keep the hydro reservoir at around 6.0, which should be optimal for calcium uptake, but in 3 mediums with 3 different nutrient lines the results are the same with my ro water even with 2-3x the amount of cal-mag usually required. I tried tap water in my hydro reservoir and 2 days later i have some kind of white slimy foamy stuff covering most of the surface inside so for whatever reason it is not going to work in that system, even though the leaves greened right up from it being in there. The plants were noticeably greener and much perkier with tap water, but it turned a very clean reservoir into a mess in just 2 days after changing it with tap water after 9 weeks with ro water. I am looking for someone who maybe has had a similar issue and found any products that will add just enough of the minerals back to the water to where it functions somewhat like normal water, as ive got to use the ro water, but the rate of leaf damage was faster then the plant will be done. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
 
bwheat

bwheat

Member
This is the inside of my reservoir just 2 days after the switch. It was spotless 2 days ago. The filter on the pump is actually blue, just covered in what ever is going on in there.
 

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bwheat

bwheat

Member
sf_frankie said:
Your tap water is probably hard and that build up could be from mineral deposits.
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It is somewhat hard, but doesn't have that effect on anything else that i put it in, like it could sit in a container for a month and still be clear, but something, maybe in the nutrients is causing either a reaction with what ever is in the water, or the mineral deposits to drop out of the water. It is a slimy white residue that is covering most of the surfaces that the water is touching in the reservoir. My roots grow in the hydroton so it isn't effecting the plants, they are actually much happier in that water, it just seriously goops up the reservoir in just 2 days. I used 4ml/gal of 12% h2o2 in the ro water and it has kept it nearly spotless after having a little bit of an algee problem 5 or so weeks ago and it was real clean, no buildup anywhere.
 
bwheat

bwheat

Member
sf_frankie said:
And 3ml per gallon isn’t really that much calmag. I grow in soil with tap water and use a minimum for 3ml of cal mag
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3ml per liter, so like 12 ml/gallon, i have had to use gh calmag just because the nitrogen level is only 1 percent. If i use the Advanced in there it is like 4 percent n to 3 percent ca, where the gh is 5 percent ca.
 
S

sf_frankie

Well-Known Member
bwheat said:
It is somewhat hard, but doesn't have that effect on anything else that i put it in, like it could sit in a container for a month and still be clear, but something, maybe in the nutrients is causing either a reaction with what ever is in the water, or the mineral deposits to drop out of the water. It is a slimy white residue that is covering most of the surfaces that the water is touching in the reservoir. My roots grow in the hydroton so it isn't effecting the plants, they are actually much happier in that water, it just seriously goops up the reservoir in just 2 days. I used 4ml/gal of 12% h2o2 in the ro water and it has kept it nearly spotless after having a little bit of an algee problem 5 or so weeks ago and it was real clean, no buildup anywhere.
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Hmmm that’s odd. Have you checked your water quality report from your municipal water department to see what all is in it? I was able to get mine from a google search. Might give some clues as to why you’re having that reaction. I’ve never grown hydro but I feel like everything I’ve read says RO water is a must.
 
bwheat

bwheat

Member
sf_frankie said:
Hmmm that’s odd. Have you checked your water quality report from your municipal water department to see what all is in it? I was able to get mine from a google search. Might give some clues as to why you’re having that reaction. I’ve never grown hydro but I feel like everything I’ve read says RO water is a must.
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Yeah, it seems like there is something in it that the ro system isn't removing, or something. It works great in soil and coco without filtering it. My coco plants are now 4 weeks old, but started showing the spots on the leaves and a little yellowing at only 2 weeks and i was at a half dose of calmag because they were not very old, and then a full dose after the spots started, then switched to the tap water back down to the 1/2 dose and they greened up and no spots on the new growth. The hydro plants are much happier in that nasty water, went from yellowing and a few new leaves every day getting new spots and eventually drying out and curling up, to greening up in just 2 days. The healthiest they have looked since about week 4 when the calcium deficiency started.
 

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1212ham

Well-Known Member
bwheat said:
Yeah, it seems like there is something in it that the ro system isn't removing, or something. It works great in soil and coco without filtering it. My coco plants are now 4 weeks old, but started showing the spots on the leaves and a little yellowing at only 2 weeks and i was at a half dose of calmag because they were not very old, and then a full dose after the spots started, then switched to the tap water back down to the 1/2 dose and they greened up and no spots on the new growth. The hydro plants are much happier in that nasty water, went from yellowing and a few new leaves every day getting new spots and eventually drying out and curling up, to greening up in just 2 days. The healthiest they have looked since about week 4 when the calcium deficiency started.
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What is the TDS/EC of your tap and RO? Do you have a water softener?
 
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1212ham

Well-Known Member
That sounds a little high for RO, I see about 8-15 from store bought RO. I don't understand why you'd have problems with RO at 20-30ppm, but it's recommended to use a water softener before the RO filter.

"If your water sample shows that you have hardness, iron and sodium in your water, a softener needs to go in front of the RO system to remove the Calcium and Iron from the water. Otherwise the Calcium and Iron will quickly exhaust the RO Membrane."
blog.watertech.com

Reverse Osmosis Vs. Water Softening: Do I Need Both?

If you have a water softener in your home, you may feel pretty good about your water. But in fact, even after being processed by a water softener, impurities may remain in the water you drink and w…
blog.watertech.com
 
bwheat

bwheat

Member
1212ham said:
That sounds a little high for RO, I see about 8-15 from store bought RO. I don't understand why you'd have problems with RO at 20-30ppm, but it's recommended to use a water softener before the RO filter.

"If your water sample shows that you have hardness, iron and sodium in your water, a softener needs to go in front of the RO system to remove the Calcium and Iron from the water. Otherwise the Calcium and Iron will quickly exhaust the RO Membrane."
blog.watertech.com

Reverse Osmosis Vs. Water Softening: Do I Need Both?

If you have a water softener in your home, you may feel pretty good about your water. But in fact, even after being processed by a water softener, impurities may remain in the water you drink and w…
blog.watertech.com
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Ive pulled hundreds of gallons thru it and not much has changed as far as ppm out of it, so it isn't a big deal if i eventually have to replace the ro membrane once or twice a year, but it hasn't changed how it functions as of yet. I am doing a test right now with the ro water that i am going to change out the reservoir with where i am mixing in the calmag in the buckets and gonna let it sit over night and see if it is actually mixing properly with the water, or separating. Been stiring it every now and then, i have had a theory that it is some kind of ion type of thing or something where the calcium isn't actually bonding with the water like it should. I usually put the water in the reservoir after draining it and then add calmag and let the circulation pump run for 20 or so minutes between adding the micro, then 20 and add the grow, and so on until everything is in and mixed together.
 
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1212ham

Well-Known Member
bwheat said:
I am doing a test right now with the ro water that i am going to change out the reservoir with where i am mixing in the calmag in the buckets and gonna let it sit over night and see if it is actually mixing properly with the water, or separating.
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Good idea, gotta start somewhere. What brand calmag?
 
Rdubz

Rdubz

Well-Known Member
bwheat said:
This is the inside of my reservoir just 2 days after the switch. It was spotless 2 days ago. The filter on the pump is actually blue, just covered in what ever is going on in there.
Click to expand...
does it remind u of jell? For what ever is covered in your water
 
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