Can EC affect my yield??

ziv2002

ziv2002

Well-Known Member
Hey!

I was thinking about getting a reverse osmosis system but im not sure
about the advantages:

I understand, it cleans the water from all the salts so that I can give
my plants the exact minerals they need -

BUT WHAT WILL BE THE AFFECT??

will it give me more yield?

will the plant be just plain healthier?

will it give me a better product at the end??

thanks a lot guys!
 
Dogenzengi

Dogenzengi

Well-Known Member
Test your tap water before you decide.
either EC or PPM meter, I use both.
My waster is 110 ppm out of the tap.
I let it sit open to let any chlorine evaporate before I use it.
I have no Cal mag issues because I don't strip my water of its nutrients with RO.
If your water has a high PPM then maybe RO is a good idea but It has not been needed in my case.
PH of water seems the first most important variable

Big Noob lesson I learned,
I use to fill my res then PH the water and then add Nutes.
Dumb Noob move!
My bloom Nute Kicks my PH down hard.

Now I always add my Nutes to my water then correct the PH of the res.
 
chocobear

chocobear

Active Member
Dogenzengi said:
Test your tap water before you decide.
either EC or PPM meter, I use both.
My waster is 110 ppm out of the tap.
I let it sit open to let any chlorine evaporate before I use it.
I have no Cal mag issues because I don't strip my water of its nutrients with RO.
If your water has a high PPM then maybe RO is a good idea but It has not been needed in my case.
PH of water seems the first most important variable

Big Noob lesson I learned,
I use to fill my res then PH the water and then add Nutes.
Dumb Noob move!
My bloom Nute Kicks my PH down hard.

Now I always add my Nutes to my water then correct the PH of the res.
Click to expand...
Wonderfully put. If your taps ppm is low in your area don't bother spending the money on a filter!
 
ziv2002

ziv2002

Well-Known Member
My friends, thank you for the answers - BUT!!

1. I know that PH is important & that nutrients can pull it down.

2. I know that if my tap water has a low ppm level I don't need reverse osmosis system -

I DID NOT ASK ABOUT THAT.

can someone please explain me what the benefits a grower
will get if he will water his plants with reverse osmosis water?

thanks!
 
jondamon

jondamon

Well-Known Member
ziv2002 said:
My friends, thank you for the answers - BUT!!

1. I know that PH is important & that nutrients can pull it down.

2. I know that if my tap water has a low ppm level I don't need reverse osmosis system -

I DID NOT ASK ABOUT THAT.

can someone please explain me what the benefits a grower
will get if he will water his plants with reverse osmosis water?

thanks!
Click to expand...
Actually what you did ask was "can EC effect my yield"

As for using RO water.

RO water is used by those people who suffer with extremely hard tap water. As you know it removes contaminated from the water and strips out minerals.

If you were to use RO water you would not only need to buy a calcium and magnesium supplement but also a trace mineral supplement too.

This leaves you open (if you're a novice) to over ferting your plants with calmag or trace minerals or not supplying enough causing macro and micro nutrient deficiencies.

If your tap water is under 0.4EC then you don't have hard water and there wouldn't be a need to use RO water.

If you run a hydro setup and use RO water then you also strip the buffering capacity of the water which will mean that your reservoir will fluctuate greatly in pH.

If you water only with reverse osmosis water then your plants would not receive any trace minerals contained within the tap water.

Most nutrient manufacturers and soil manufacturers base their mixes on most people using tap water, therefore to use RO water would require the above supplements to sustain healthy growth.




J
 
ziv2002

ziv2002

Well-Known Member
jondamon said:
Actually what you did ask was "can EC effect my yield"

As for using RO water.

RO water is used by those people who suffer with extremely hard tap water. As you know it removes contaminated from the water and strips out minerals.

If you were to use RO water you would not only need to buy a calcium and magnesium supplement but also a trace mineral supplement too.

This leaves you open (if you're a novice) to over ferting your plants with calmag or trace minerals or not supplying enough causing macro and micro nutrient deficiencies.

If your tap water is under 0.4EC then you don't have hard water and there wouldn't be a need to use RO water.

If you run a hydro setup and use RO water then you also strip the buffering capacity of the water which will mean that your reservoir will fluctuate greatly in pH.

If you water only with reverse osmosis water then your plants would not receive any trace minerals contained within the tap water.

Most nutrient manufacturers and soil manufacturers base their mixes on most people using tap water, therefore to use RO water would require the above supplements to sustain healthy growth.




J
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot!!

one more question:

I understand from your answer that revers osmosis water lacks the
trace minerals that are also important for the plant and that nutrient
manufactures most of the time don't include these trace minerals
because they base their mixes on tap water -

So why do some people that grow with soil still use revers osmosis?

is that a mistake?
 
jondamon

jondamon

Well-Known Member
ziv2002 said:
Thanks a lot!!

one more question:

I understand from your answer that revers osmosis water lacks the
trace minerals that are also important for the plant and that nutrient
manufactures most of the time don't include these trace minerals
because they base their mixes on tap water -

So why do some people that grow with soil still use revers osmosis?

is that a mistake?
Click to expand...
Its not that nutrient manufacturers deliberately leave them out, they generally aren't in an amount that's appropriate for use with reverse osmosis water.

Which is why alot of nutrient manufacturers also produce things like calmag, trace mix etc along with your grow and bloom formulas.


Its worthwhile asking said soil growers if they add anything extra to their nutes when using RO. If they don't, ask them what deficiencies they see during their grows.

I'm personally a coco grower that uses hydro nutes and I have to add extra Ca and Mg to my own nutes due to my hydro nutes not containing enough for sustaining growth in coco.






J
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top