Couldn't say it any better........ I have well water that full of metals (my property used to be a farm i.e. salt fertilizer has alot of heavy metals in it!) and is bad for everyones health, including plants. It just piece of mind and one LESS thing I have to worry about. My water is always top quality.
RO Water System - Is it really necessary for everyone??
- Thread starter DivinePower
- Start date
BoomerBloomer57
Well-Known Member
Funny thing about them FERTILIZERS eh?
good thing you know your water.
2 nutes, a veg and a bloom a touch of ph down
anything else and ol' bb frowns, his girls
may go yellow and ol' bb will bellow
shoot that fellow with the Sen** jugs
and that one there with the bi* bu* jug
keep em' away from ol' b's girls
cause if that shits in there,
I'mma gonna hurl
bb
ftp
Pretty sure that's not RO. I think it's just their basic filter. Here's a link to their RO filters. Perhaps the Small Boy is all you really need though.
fatman7574
New Member
That is just a sediment and carbon filter.
Is that in soil or something else? I'm thinking the Small Boy filters would be sufficient so long as I'm not doing hydro.
fatman7574
New Member
A good Rofilter can be bought for less than $150. The odds say all growers will benefit by using an RO filter as nearly all quality hydroponic nutrient formulations sre designed for use with RO water. Even a nutrient mix using hard water micro performs better with RO water than tap water.
In actuality though no one can really say whether or not you can benefit from using an RO filter without seeing a water analyisis "report" on your water and yjey musrt be capable of interpeting what dta the report provides. Your water anaysis report shouldbe available omn the web if it is treated water. Or jusy contact the water treament plant. The information you need is: calcium, carbonates, magnesium, alkalinity and pH. Occasionally they will leave out either calcium or magnesium (they will provide on but not both). If you live in central to souther california or Utah you also need to know the level of florine.
Quality but cheap RO filters. http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_di_systems.htm
In actuality though no one can really say whether or not you can benefit from using an RO filter without seeing a water analyisis "report" on your water and yjey musrt be capable of interpeting what dta the report provides. Your water anaysis report shouldbe available omn the web if it is treated water. Or jusy contact the water treament plant. The information you need is: calcium, carbonates, magnesium, alkalinity and pH. Occasionally they will leave out either calcium or magnesium (they will provide on but not both). If you live in central to souther california or Utah you also need to know the level of florine.
Quality but cheap RO filters. http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_di_systems.htm
EagleEyeHamThrust
Active Member
RO takes simplifies the equation, and at 100 bucks for a cheap filter, it's a bargain. If you aren't using RO, you're flying blind and you're complicating things. If you have problems with your plants, you can figure right away that it's not a salt build up problem and move on down the list. I'd recommend using a $20 digital water timer from (can pick one up at Walmart garden section) so that you can set your timer, walk away, come back an hour or two later and voila!
freeze600cc
Member
my tap water is 70ppms. wooooooot woot
fatman7574
New Member
Rain water is as filthy as the air it falls through. Any dirt of pollution in the air ends up in the rain water that contacts it on its way to the ground. 5 to 8 for a pH. That is sorta like saying well he is either gay or hetero. Free? Cost of surface to collect rain, cost of filtering rain, possible cost of a chemical treatment of rain water. Cost of storage of rain water. Cost of pumping water from storage. Worth more than alcohol or drugs, very unlikely, worth more per hounce than gold, only if the third choice is immediate death.
mrFancyPlants
Well-Known Member
I'd be willing to bet that the folks who don't think they need R.O., or the folks suggesting rainwater, don't live in Southern California.
Chances are, if your tap water is clean enough to not need R.O., you live somewhere that gets enough rain to have washed out the minerals already(i.e. the Pacific Northwest).
Anyone on Colorado river water would be a fool, IMHO, not to get an R.O. unit. Maybe you could get away with it in an organic/soil setup with some phosphoric acid, but definitely not with hydro.
Chances are, if your tap water is clean enough to not need R.O., you live somewhere that gets enough rain to have washed out the minerals already(i.e. the Pacific Northwest).
Anyone on Colorado river water would be a fool, IMHO, not to get an R.O. unit. Maybe you could get away with it in an organic/soil setup with some phosphoric acid, but definitely not with hydro.
I use RO as my tap water starts at 550 ppm so thats to high but you have to watch for calcium and magnesium defs which RO are renound for, epsom salts sort the problem no worries. Keeping the res temp down is the hardest part i have a freezer full of frozen water in plastic milk containers. i try to keep it aat 20c this is hard in summer in GB lol
PDN247
Active Member
So my taps PPM is 365, 356 after going through a PUR filter...I need an R/O system. Do they have to install under the sink involving plumbing skills or can i attach it to a garden hose or something faster/more accessible? Are the counter top units equally effective?? any specific brand or model recommended?? what should i use as a reservoir to collect the R/O water? i need about 20 gallons/week.
Are Cal and Mag defs still a problem if using nutrients designed to run with R/O water? this wouldn't make sense to me
Thanks for the help
Are Cal and Mag defs still a problem if using nutrients designed to run with R/O water? this wouldn't make sense to me
Thanks for the help
some people use tap water at that sort of ppm. I never have,
I buy my RO from my local marine shop (cash only) 45 ppm. I looked into a constant supply with fittings under the sink and shower heads these seem quiet cheap (depending on finances) RO/MAN do a cheapish ro system that will more than meet ur needs.
I use a wilma 8 pot system this is recirculating the nutients so canna aqua for me. They do a nute for run to waste as well and also a coco for coconut husk in hydro. My system was ready bought so it was all set up but it seems easy to build one.
Google the ro and see what comes up. Using tap water with that ppm would be possible if you have it analysed to see what those ppms are.
Thats about all the info for water i can give you but im sure someone on here will pipe up with more knowledge.
I buy my RO from my local marine shop (cash only) 45 ppm. I looked into a constant supply with fittings under the sink and shower heads these seem quiet cheap (depending on finances) RO/MAN do a cheapish ro system that will more than meet ur needs.
I use a wilma 8 pot system this is recirculating the nutients so canna aqua for me. They do a nute for run to waste as well and also a coco for coconut husk in hydro. My system was ready bought so it was all set up but it seems easy to build one.
Google the ro and see what comes up. Using tap water with that ppm would be possible if you have it analysed to see what those ppms are.
Thats about all the info for water i can give you but im sure someone on here will pipe up with more knowledge.
found this for you on another site and the photos of his plants look great. ppms are a little high (since im using tap water)all between 1550 and 1600 thats just before he is flowering the ppm includes nutes.
Hydro- top drip, 2 gal water farm; airstone in reservoir;hydroton medium
TYPE OF WATER
tap water
TEMPS & HUMIDITY 78F day/ 40-60% rH
LIGHTING SYSTEM
600w hortilux super hps
NUTRIENTS USED-gh flora series
INDOOR
STRAIN -The two vigorous ones are supposed to be ed rosenthal superbud but who knows. the other scraggly plant is a supposed "blue cross". picked up from some local dispensary.
AGE-Been vegging them for almost 4 weeks now
Hydro- top drip, 2 gal water farm; airstone in reservoir;hydroton medium
TYPE OF WATER
tap water
ph's all at 6.0
ppms are a little high (since im using tap water)all between 1550 and 1600
TEMPS & HUMIDITY 78F day/ 40-60% rH
LIGHTING SYSTEM
600w hortilux super hps
24/0
VENTILATION SYSTEM- 452 cfm vortex exhaust/ 165 cfm hydrofarm intake(rarely used)
NUTRIENTS USED-gh flora series
INDOOR
STRAIN -The two vigorous ones are supposed to be ed rosenthal superbud but who knows. the other scraggly plant is a supposed "blue cross". picked up from some local dispensary.
AGE-Been vegging them for almost 4 weeks now
PDN247
Active Member
good stuff, those ppms seem scary to me but to each his own. i know i could grow with tap but balancing my ph has sucked big time and i'm blaming it on the water.
i need the RO to get the alkaline out of the water. according the the "ph manifesto" (posted here earlier) alkaline is the enemy and it will make truly balancing the PH near impossible i have to move the water down a sketchy flight of stairs so im curious about the portable RO. if i could rig it to a hose and run the hose down the stairs or just run a real long pure water line down the stairs, i'ed save some time and lifting. not sure what to do but i needed the water yesterday lol. week one of flower with tap will have to do for now so ill rough it out for another week, maybe 2 but ie'd deff like to have them bitches sippin on the finest bubbly by week 3 when the co2 and h202 hits. i guess i kinda know what to do, i just don't know how to do it *sigh* .
i need the RO to get the alkaline out of the water. according the the "ph manifesto" (posted here earlier) alkaline is the enemy and it will make truly balancing the PH near impossible i have to move the water down a sketchy flight of stairs so im curious about the portable RO. if i could rig it to a hose and run the hose down the stairs or just run a real long pure water line down the stairs, i'ed save some time and lifting. not sure what to do but i needed the water yesterday lol. week one of flower with tap will have to do for now so ill rough it out for another week, maybe 2 but ie'd deff like to have them bitches sippin on the finest bubbly by week 3 when the co2 and h202 hits. i guess i kinda know what to do, i just don't know how to do it *sigh* .
nicktater
Well-Known Member
I install and sell those ro systems. I found they my hydro plants had stunted growth and spots on them with regular tap water. I changed to RO and had maJjor improvments. I dont post pics on here much but if you look at my profile those smaller hydro plants were with tap water and didnt last very long or improve. had them over a month. switched to RO with my new set up and had major improvments. I also have a hydro pepper plant that i was testing on. used tap water and it sucked, switched to RO and it boomed. grew bigger then the ones in dirt planted over 3 weeks before it.
With neutrients that go with RO water your grow will go good.
Some RO systems come with tanks to hold your water and presurize it. They also keep from bacteria build up. The small ones hold 2.5 gals. I would recomend a larger tank if your not on a low budget. if so you can always put the water in safe reuseable jugs and the RO system will purify water until the tank is full. (dont let it get full for the most water possible.)
They really arnt very hard at all to install. I can look into it and see if they have ones that the dealerships can order to attach to some thing easy.
The RO will get your ppm down to atleast 20 if not lower.
Yeh his ppms scare the shit out of me as well lol and i notice hes still in veg i bet he gets problems later
mrFancyPlants
Well-Known Member
Here's what I'm doing for water: Ordered a 100GPD(gallon per day) "portable"(i.e. tankless) RO system from purewaterclub.com. I also picked up a float valve and a auto-shutoff valve for a total of $100. The valve is usually incl. w/ tanked RO but not portable systems - this shuts off the flow of water when you don't need it. If you don't get this you'll waste LOTS of water. Even with it, you'll still waste lots of water(like 3-4 gallons waste for every clean gallon I think). Then I went to home depot and picked up 2 27 gallon storage containers(opaque - no light or you'll get algae), and 50' of 1/4 polyethylene tubing(about $5). I added a dedicated spigot for my system but you can buy adapters that will hook your RO up to a faucet or garden hose. Remember you'll need a place to drain the wastewater - I put mine next to the washer so I use the same drain as the washing machine. Then I ran the clean water line about 25' using the 1/4 poly tubing straight into the room and into the float valve.
Install the float valve in one of the 27 gallon containers and hook it to the RO. Now you've got 27 gallons of clean water when you need it. Then I got a cheap pump on a switch so I can fill the other 27 gallon container when I mix my nutes up. I run drain to waste, and my wastewater goes into a bucket outside(for fruit trees), so I never have to lift a heavy container of water.
One problem - the RO system I got from purewaterclub had a busted check-valve so I don't have it fully running yet. Also, their instructions fail to state that you need to flush each carbon filter before hooking it to the next stage(it comes already hooked up). So I've already fouled a carbon prefilter and possibly my RO membrane. I'll let you know how their customer service handles this. I emailed them back last night and haven't heard anything yet though.
Edit: The RO membrane is fine. Turns out that if you screw the connector too tightly onto the carbon filter it will block the flow of water. The check-valve is faulty though.
Install the float valve in one of the 27 gallon containers and hook it to the RO. Now you've got 27 gallons of clean water when you need it. Then I got a cheap pump on a switch so I can fill the other 27 gallon container when I mix my nutes up. I run drain to waste, and my wastewater goes into a bucket outside(for fruit trees), so I never have to lift a heavy container of water.
One problem - the RO system I got from purewaterclub had a busted check-valve so I don't have it fully running yet. Also, their instructions fail to state that you need to flush each carbon filter before hooking it to the next stage(it comes already hooked up). So I've already fouled a carbon prefilter and possibly my RO membrane. I'll let you know how their customer service handles this. I emailed them back last night and haven't heard anything yet though.
Edit: The RO membrane is fine. Turns out that if you screw the connector too tightly onto the carbon filter it will block the flow of water. The check-valve is faulty though.