Need RO? thefilterguys are awesome!

I just got off the phone with Jim @ thefilterguys.biz

What a great guy! Talked to him for at least half an hour.

I'm setting up a grow in a new house, and the water here is not great. It come out of the tap at 300-400 ppm. I know it's hard water. We bought this house a little over a year ago, and I replumbed the entire house. All my new fixtures are starting to get some hard water build up. Now that I'm trying to setup a hydro system, I'm having trouble with the tap water here. I think they are putting something in the water that is "buffering" the ph up to 7.2-7.6! I adjust it down, and the next day it's risen at least 1 whole ph. This was just for a couple cups of water for the babies too! The big reservoir does not seem to stable either, so I decided to invest in an RO system.

After way too much research (I'm a little obsessive at time), I decided to go with thefilterguyz. They are recommended highly, and now I know why! Talk to Jim for 10 minutes and you will agree that he is THE MAN when it comes to filtering water. They come from the reef/aquarium scene, but he's been doing this for 30 years. Not only is he just a fun guy to talk to, his systems are awesome! He will ONLY use Filmtec membranes because they are the best. Have you ever heard of anyone talk about another specific brand of membrane? me either Plus his systems are really affordable. I just ordered the Freshwater system. He recommended that or the Freshwater Plus, but I don't need the pressure gauge or the TDS meter. I also got a float valve so the system will just keep an extra 55g barrel full.

So if anyone is looking for an RO system, stop wasting time and go to Jim! If I had called him yesterday, I could have just been done with all this in an hour. He is cool with pot growers. We talked about the legal status in various states, and he told me how he used to be worried the feds would want to review his records looking for grow rooms. That never happened, but this was back before CA even had medical.

Anyway, don't waste you time researching RO any longer. Just call the filterguyz!

btw, I ordered the Freshwater system on this page:
http://thefilterguys.biz/ro_systems.htm

They build to order, but it will shop tomorrow. Unfortunately, I won't see it for awhile due to the holidays. Oh well, if growing teaches us anything, it's patience.

Yeah they have good deals. The mythological fatman used to recommend them back in my cannabis culture days. They have some big RO systems.

better pricing, free shipping 150/gpd...I have used it for two years and works great...filters sets with great pricing as well...ro water is 18-21 ppm

http://www.purewaterclub.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=370

Kite High said:

better pricing, free shipping 150/gpd...I have used it for two years and works great...filters sets with great pricing as well...ro water is 18-21 ppm

http://www.purewaterclub.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=370

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I saw many recommendations for purewaterclub as well. I chose to go with the filterguyz for a couple reasons. The main reason was the use of Filmtec membranes. Like I said, I did more research than was warranted, and the Filmtec membrane was the only specific brand I found mentioned. It is considered the best out there, so that's what I was looking for. I read too many warnings about inferior membranes coming out of China. It's my understanding that purewaterclub uses membranes from China as well. I'm not saying they are not high quality. I don't know. All I know for sure, is they are not using the Filmtec membranes. The other reason was I didn't like purewaterclub's website. The filterguyz isn't too much better, but it isn't as busy as pwc. Filterguyz seemed more personal, so I just called them to ask my questions. I'm sure glad I did. Jim was such an awesome guy!

That system is a little cheaper than what I ordered, and filterguyz do charge shipping, but I'm still happy with my purchase. Now all I have to do is try to have the plumbing ready before it gets here!

Purewaterclub s membranes are made in Indiana. Better pricing.

airwaterice.com they are super nice guys also with top quality ro and ro/di units. typhoon III is what I use, used it for my reef tank previously. ro comes out at 5 ppm, ro/di 0 (don't bother using di though for grow room, I skip that stage). I have a 75gpd unit.

its an RO machine. who gives a shit... get the cheapest one. If your water comes out anywhere between 0 and 30 ppm its working. membrane schmembrane.

ilikecheetoes said:

its an RO machine. who gives a shit... get the cheapest one. If your water comes out anywhere between 0 and 30 ppm its working. membrane schmembrane.

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By that logic, why buy a higher quality of any product? Why buy a Toyota or a Honda when a Kia is cheaper and still drives you around, right? Why would anyone want a Seiko or a Timex when you can get a much less expensive timepiece that was made in China? Do I have to mention things like reliability, accuracy, or quality?

I wanted a Filmtec for a couple reasons. First, it is the ONLY brand I found singled out as the best. What does it mean to be the best? How about longer life and improved performance? I'm sure the quality control is better as well. While many of the cheaper alternatives may perform adequately, I suspect there will be a much larger variation in performance. I trust that the Filmtec membranes are manufactured with a better QA process. I also like that this system is made in the US. I'm not a protectionist type, but as a US citizen, I have seen the consequences of all our manufacturing moving overseas. If I can get a higher quality product, at a competitive price, made here, I'm going to give it preference.

Buy whatever you like. All I'm doing is sharing my experience to help others that may have been in the same situation I was last week. I searched here for RO advice. While I did find some, it was scattered around and not real definitive, so I made this post to share my story of how I arrived at my decision to purchase from the filterguyz.

Hiker, do you work at filterguyz? because you are really pushing their product, whenever i get on forums and see someone that has a handful of posts pushing something so fiercely it really looks shady. also i can get this for 55$ and it does 100 gallons a day.... i want one to bring my PPM's down from 250 but i really don't want to have to install one in my house, rather just have a 5 gallon bucket gravity feeding that filter or whatever and have it drip slowly into another 5 gallon bucket.

69Bandit said:

Hiker, do you work at filterguyz? because you are really pushing their product, whenever i get on forums and see someone that has a handful of posts pushing something so fiercely it really looks shady. also i can get this for 55$ and it does 100 gallons a day.... i want one to bring my PPM's down from 250 but i really don't want to have to install one in my house, rather just have a 5 gallon bucket gravity feeding that filter or whatever and have it drip slowly into another 5 gallon bucket.

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My only connection to filterguyz is as a customer. I'm not trying to push these guys. I'm merely sharing the thought process I went through recently when purchasing an RO system. I did some searching, and while there is a LOT of discussion of RO, I was having trouble deciding what to buy. I read many RO threads, and there are 3-4 sources that come up often, one of them being the filterguyz. When I looked at the websites of each recommended source, I liked the filterguyz site best. I think it was a combination of the endorsements others gave and the fact that the filterguyz have their pictures right there on the website. To me, that indicated a very personal interest in the company. As a contrasting example, I couldn't find anything on their site to explain the 'club' part of purewaterclub.com. I'm not disparaging purewaterclub at all. I know many RIU members are very satisfied customers, and I'm sure they sell high quality products. Again though, this is my thought process...

I wanted a Filmtec membrane. While not a great site, I was less confused by the filterguyz' site than the other sites. They also come highly recommended by other RIU members. When I finally got overwhelmed by so many different RO systems, I just called filterguyz. Jim (one of the owners) answered the phone. He was a nice guy and very helpful. I was so impressed by talking to him, that I wanted to come share my experience here.

69bandit, I can understand your logic, but I assure you, I don't work for these guys. I'm pretty sure if you look at my limited # of posts, that would become readily apparent.

I just ordered my RO system from Jim at The Filter Guys, and you're right Hiker. He was great to talk to, and he's building exactly what I want, and it will work the way I want it to. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't talk to a 'person' at purewaterclub.com to get my questions answered. I've been studying for days on what to get, and Jim made it easy. Thanks for the good info.

For the benefit of the group:

I have been interested in RO myself, and after this thread did a little research. Airfilterice.com also uses Filmtec filters just so you are aware. Here is a link to a comparable unit, with a holding tank as well, and it is still cheaper than thefilerguys. I am not persuaded either way, but I feel in the best interest of this forum that we give non-biased information.
https://ssl.zoovy.com/c=eeUOwh9RTB1JUsZ7yg7h4hQS7/s=www.airwaterice.com/product/1WATERCOP/WaterCop-5-Stage-Kitchen-RO.html

Anyone using the above setup? Positive or negative comments?

How to buffer reverse osmosis water
Here is a great tip for those who use reverse osmosis water to buffer your water and help stabilize pH. There are two ways, both efficient.
- For those who prefer simplicity, all you have to do is add 20% tap water to your reverse osmosis water.
- For the purists who do not want to use tap water, or whose water is particularly bad, here are two easy steps:
1 – First increase your pH up to 10.0 with pH Up or potassium carbonate
2 – Then bring it down to 6.0 with pH Down
In both cases you’ll obtain water well adapted to hydroponic nutritive solutions, while avoiding untimely pH fluctuations.
You need to raise pH first because the “buffer” elements have a very high pH or very low pH. You can start by adding acid, but then you will need pH up to raise your pH.
You need to buffer R.O. water simply because pure water has no buffering capacity. It is subject to big swings in pH every time you add something to the solution, making it unsuited for cultivation. Using pure R.O. is a classic source of failure.

If you’re using reverse osmosis water, add 50-100 ppm of Cal/Mg; this helps to buffer your water so nutrients absorb better. From Advanced Nutrients site http://www.rosebudmag.com/hydroponic-tips-ideas/insider-tips-for-maximum-yield-in-urban-garden

What happens is that the basic/alkaline components (mainly calcium) that are responsible for the high PH (as in 7.3 or 7.6) also buffer it together with the more neutral components. As soon as you add SOME acid, the basic elements neutralize it in 24 hours, but loose some potency, respectively get eliminated partially within the "reaction". If you repeat that process, the alkaline components- and their buffer capacity get lower and lower until the alkaline buffer is "gone". The "last" time you add ph-down/acid to your water, it will drop drastically to perhaps under 5. This mostly happens when a week PH down is used repeatedly. With Nitric acid at 75 or 95 %, this will not happen, it will get the alkaline elements down in one shot. But that is the stuff that burns through concrete floors like alien blood and it's truly not everyone's cup of tea. If ever you can lay hand on it in the US without an explosive license.
PH of boiled water of 8.4 after 13 hours of boiling is "normal" because you evaporate lots of water, while calcium and other alkaline elements (already responsible for the high pH) remain in the water and hence will be present in higher concentration and push up the pH. There may also be some chemical reaction and transformation within these 13 hours of boiling, I don't know of.
Nutrients generally lower and buffer a certain pH, that's what any mineral composition with an acidic sum, added and dissolved in water does anyway. NUTRIENTS are actually made to lower the PH, as the usual 7+ is not suited. The only difference is that some manufacturers point this out explicitly while others don't. Some manufacturers may indeed add some more of specific components like mono potassium phosphate that helps lowering and buffering such Ph, but that's pretty much it. As a side effect (when running higher EC) you may have excessive Phosphorus that will result in Ca deficiency.
But in this context it is important to know that a higher nutrient concentration will lower the pH more than a weaker ratio. Hence in some cases it's not a bad idea to simply (slightly) increase the nutrient concentration by a click or two. It's also a reason why some manufacturers recommend higher concentrations as needed, and some commercial growers push the nutrient concentration higher.
If the PH of the base water is too high, most nutrients can't bring it down to around 6 and that's (only) where pH down- as in acids or other components are required. In ANY case it is always best to have, use or get water that is around and not (much) over 7.
RO water is fine, but take care what nutrients you use, as with some extra acidic nutrients (many are developed with areas in mind that have an excessive amount of calcium carbonate in the (well)water) you may end up with an unwanted but extraordinary low PH as well.
Attention, Ph and EC are interconnected, EC reading of a nutrient solution will not be the same at PH 5.0 as it is at 7.0!

Stopped reading at Advanced Nutrients/Rosebud....

Kite High said:

Purewaterclub s membranes are made in Indiana. Better pricing.

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Your experience may vary, but as of right now BUYER BEWARE of purewaterclub.com!!!!!!! I ordered an RO system over a month ago through the recommendation of a member here and it still has not arrived.

After two weeks of patiently waiting i emailed them asking what the status of my order was. I replied directly to the automated invoice that they sent me and "David" the proprietor emailed me back 5 days later asking for my invoice number which was right in the email i sent him. So i shrugged it off and just sent him the invoice number again. It has been 3 weeks. I have gotten zero response from this joker. I have emailed him politely asking what the status is a few times a week and nothing. I got taken for by this guy. They have no contact information on their website other then email and I'm really at a loss for what to do.

Tdubb said:

Your experience may vary, but as of right now BUYER BEWARE of purewaterclub.com!!!!!!! I ordered an RO system over a month ago through the recommendation of a member here and it still has not arrived.

After two weeks of patiently waiting i emailed them asking what the status of my order was. I replied directly to the automated invoice that they sent me and "David" the proprietor emailed me back 5 days later asking for my invoice number which was right in the email i sent him. So i shrugged it off and just sent him the invoice number again. It has been 3 weeks. I have gotten zero response from this joker. I have emailed him politely asking what the status is a few times a week and nothing. I got taken for by this guy. They have no contact information on their website other then email and I'm really at a loss for what to do.

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I second this. That company sucks.