Advice from pro please.

Bozy

Member
He knows what its for...what do you mean when i have "root issues or stunted growth i will know wh3re to start looking"
Do you think the r.o. is gonna cause probkems?
 

Bernie420

Well-Known Member
no the water softener water is what I think is going to cause you problems. Do what you want to do. I absolutely dont know wtf i'm talking about no facts, no science, but I know that I would not run water softener water through an ro system to feed to my plants for the only reason that it doesnt sound like the thing that I would want to do.
 

Fractured but whole

Well-Known Member
no the water softener water is what I think is going to cause you problems. Do what you want to do. I absolutely dont know wtf i'm talking about no facts, no science, but I know that I would not run water softener water through an ro system to feed to my plants for the only reason that it doesnt sound like the thing that I would want to do.
I posted a link earlier, did you read it???????????????/

http://blog.watertech.com/is-reverse-osmosis-needed-if-have-a-water-softener/
 

Fractured but whole

Well-Known Member
Yes I read it do you understand that when the ro filters fail and they will that you will be feeding your plants salty water and will probably end up killing all of your microbes and stunting your plant.
I understand that for salt to pass thru the membrane would be nearly impossible, Also it has been shown that nutrients with high P is what kills micro herds, not salts
 

Bozy

Member
R.o. filter has a minimum life span of 1 year and by running the softwater through it will last longer than if was running hardwater... so just change the filters and good to go.. obviously u dont agree. Also i always test with tds pen so if the water started to get worse i would notice..imo its better to know what is in the water from the start and go from there.
 

HotWaterKarl

Well-Known Member
this is your issue. Get some r/o water from store and mix it with your hard water, not soft at 50/50
mix. or get a r/o unit for the hard water.
If the water softener uses salt, it can cause an issue even with RO systems. You can still have up to 5% or more after filtration, in my case my RO only removed 95% of the salt but my water was 1.0+ EC which left me with 25-50PPM in my water. Which is too much for hydroponics solution anyways. So in my case I added a post RO de-ionization filter (DI filter) which reduced PPMs to 0. The DI also helps with soluble forms of other minerals like forms of manganese and Iron which may remain in large amounts even after softening which RO cannot remove.

Using a softener and then RO will save your filters compared to just using hardwater then RO, true. Filters for my EvolutionRO1000 are expensive so I use my water softener to help them last longer, and a post-RO DI filter.

See my system here. It has a PPM meter post RO and post DI to tell when both filters need changing. The filter on the floor is the DI filter20171016_180907.jpg
 

Bozy

Member
Good info, thank's. I've heard of Di, just haven't made the leap yet l...lol one thing at a time all these things add up quick.
 

Bozy

Member
I am growing in soil for now, rdwc is probably gonna sometime in the future.. then maybe have to consider the DI...
 

HotWaterKarl

Well-Known Member
The saline tolerance for soil is higher than hydroponics solution but still helps to know your input EC from your tap. if it is 1.0 or less you probably will not have an issue with any salt or need for a DI unit, you can just use an RO, but you need to add cal mag or risk a deficiency.
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
I am growing in soil for now, rdwc is probably gonna sometime in the future.. then maybe have to consider the DI...
Pro-mix, many kinds, do contain ammendments, the one the op is using, the 'hp' variety does not. Btw, you are not growing in 'soil', pro mix hp is sphagnum peat moss, it is to be treated as soilless and ph between 5.8-6.3 max. With that being said, have you clipped your leaves? If not, there is one leaf that seems to have been chewed away at from the tip in. Also, i see odd discoloration on your pebbles, looks to be moldy! As for hard water, can you check an online report from your city to see what it's made up of? It may not be that bad unless it has a high carbonate value and/or contains too much sodium, iron or led.
 

Bozy

Member
It's my own well.. and i know it's high in iron and various other stuff.. not to mention it will change as time goes by with spring melt and runoff. Right now it's -15 and snowing...so I think the r.o. is a good investment for me.
 

HotWaterKarl

Well-Known Member
It's my own well.. and i know it's high in iron and various other stuff.. not to mention it will change as time goes by with spring melt and runoff. Right now it's -15 and snowing...so I think the r.o. is a good investment for me.
I'm on a well too and my input PPM was 500 PPM ~ 1.0EC mostly Calcium Carbonate and Magnesium and Lime, Sulfer, and Manganese. Best to filter it and add CalMag if it is anywhere near as hard as mine. And use a softner to save your filters.
 

Bozy

Member
Pro-mix, many kinds, do contain ammendments, the one the op is using, the 'hp' variety does not. Btw, you are not growing in 'soil', pro mix hp is sphagnum peat moss, it is to be treated as soilless and ph between 5.8-6.3 max. With that being said, have you clipped your leaves? If not, there is one leaf that seems to have been chewed away at from the tip in. Also, i see odd discoloration on your pebbles, looks to be moldy! As for hard water, can you check an online report from your city to see what it's made up of? It may not be that bad unless it has a high carbonate value and/or contains too much sodium, iron or led.
Theres no mold!! As for leaves my big fingers clipped a few leaves when I tried to fim.. still fairly new at this lol..
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
Theres no mold!! As for leaves my big fingers clipped a few leaves when I tried to fim.. still fairly new at this lol..
ok..then that explains the leaf:) As for the mold i only mentioned it because of the dark spots on the pebbles..i never used them, so im not sure what it was:)
 

Bozy

Member
To be honest, only once l, usually feed,water,feed....550 ppm ended up burning the tips a bit..last time I watered I used a compost tea..
 
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