Ro system or tall boy?

I'm gonna go organic using subcool super soil. I don't want to use my straight hose water because it has chlorine and who knows what. My question is should I get an ro system or can I use a tall boy which isn't ro but removes chlorine and rust etc. I like the high flow of the tall boy and can water straight from it. Any ideas? Thanks a lot.

I use a small boy fill a 55 gal reservoir and aerate it. all the water I need. you dont need ro for soil unless your water is super bad. get the kdf-85 carbon filter also. it removes chlorines and chloramines. its an upgrade buy, but worth it. I would get a res of some sort. the plants love aerated h2o.

Nice. Good info. Thanks nightbirdx.

np man. glad to pass along info

I would use a true 4-6 stage RO system to have complete control over the water and to ensure no impurities are in my water. If you're not running multiple hydro systems with a large need for water on demand, than I would recommend a standard barrel 55-gallon resevoir and a $100 4-6 stage Reverse Osmosis System. You can get 100gpd systems very inexpensive on ebay compared to Hydrologic's over-priced stuff. I've installed 6 different RO systems from eBay and have had zero issues over 4 years with nearly 30 units.

Here's a unit I've used regularly, however this system will need the de-ionizer from the system removed to prevent damaged PH pen probes, ultimately making it a 4-stage.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-G-Aquarium-Reef-RO-DI-5stage-Reverse-Osmosis-Water-/180544571860?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a094b89d4

If you don't want to modify a DI RO system, then simply find one made specifically for drinking water (they tend to be more expensive), or find any RO system that does NOT have a de-ionizer.

Personally, I have a house-filter system (Tall-Boy style) that filters all incoming water and then I run an RO system after. Using the Tallboy style house filter increases the longevity of your RO filters 10-fold as well. Not to mention, I don't mind bathing in chlorine-free water.

i agree it depends on how good your local water is. If your water has 200 ppms or lower i would say get a tall boy. ro water is unneccessay in that case. my local water has 150 ppms and all i do is aerate tap water for an hour and then use it, that is better in ro IMHO.

Killer info guys. My original plan was just that...ro and 55 gal barrel. I need to check my ppm.

new-ish to posting but been growing for years. i totally agree w/ birdx and do the same thing(fill 50 gal and have 4 airstones and water pump pulling from bottom and waterfalling back up top).
i also use the small boy w/ kdf85. i have chloramine water. i noticed almost immediate difference in veg growth. watered one w/ tap(that sat for cpl days) and one straight out of small boy. tap = continued as usual. small boy = took off. and have been more than happy ever since. solved a big problem for me, chloramines killing my microbes.
i use and re use home blend. coco, ewc, compost, plus about 15 amendments or so mix. so i am all about microbes. the small boy is an excellent pick up for the price. do get the kdf85 upgrade.
not to mention this water tastes better than any bottled water i have ever had. that is to say it has NO taste at all.

^^^very true. but i only am concerned chloramine not low ppm's. so the pre-filters(small boy) work perfect for me. filters out the chloramine but leaves some mineral content.

Instead of buying a new RO system you could spend $20 or $30 at home depot and make your own rain barrel. Rain water has N and there's a bunch of minerals and other good stuff as well...plus it's free. You can google DIY roughneck rain barrel and get instructions. Just an idea.