Is R/O Water all that important?

BeaverHuntr said:

True the flush is whats important to taste, but if you are looking to get a better taste soil grown has a better taste to it vs. hydro

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Lol who told you that!? Hydro has always had a cleaner flavor in my experience. Flavor is dependent on strain but controllable aspects are FLUSH, FINISH, and CURE. Soil bud can taste great but hydro can be flushed much faster for obvious reasons. You can also add sweeteners that will make your bud taste "sweet" I prefer my bud to taste like well . . . Bud.

noxiously said:

When doing a hydro system, is R/O water that important to use, and if so why? I know tap water has chlorine and other elements in it, but does it make a huge difference once you get the chlorine out of the water? What if I were to just take a sample ppm reading from three different days, get an average, then just add the nutes then? So lets say the ppm is around 450 just from the tap, then why couldn't I just add 600-900 ppm depending on the stage, and leave it at that?

Any advice would be helpful on this. I just don't wanna have to go out and purchase 10 gallons of R/O water to use, and have as back up if I can use tap water without harmful results.

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Five years ago, I went out and bought a $485 R/O system with a 55 gallon tank and a floater valve to keep it full. six to eight months later I had to pay about another $110 to replace the filters in it. Since then I have stuck that R/O system away and have been using tap water ever since. For ever 1 gallon of R/O water you get, 3 gallons go to waste. WOW, that is pretty hard on our environment. One person mentioned that he does not like using tap water, because if it was good, not so many people would drink bottled water. Most humans are like cattle and buy what ever they are told to buy. Not more then about two years ago, scientist ran test on about two hundred different bottled waters from around the USA. Over 80% of these bottled waters were nothing but tap water. Even though some of them said Purified or Spring water. And which is it? Is Chlorine bad for the Plants or not? Because I know I let my tap water sit out for 18-24 hours for the chlorine to evaporate, But then other people add Chlorine Bleach to it to kill off algae and such things. Would I use R/O water if it did not cost so much and waste so much water? YES!!!! But why? If it is so costly? And Why especially if I am wasting so much fresh water? The plants grow everyday out doors. I see people all the time watering plants out doors with the garden hose.

Anyway. This is my Opinion. If you like R/O water, then go ahead and use it. For me, I do not want to be just another problem on this planet, or at least I would like to make it as minimum as possible, when I can.

Actually modern systems are a lot closer to 1 gallon clean, .5 gallon waste. Still very wasteful i agree, but i do not trust my tap water as it tastes different from week to week, therefore it must be different from week to week. I cannot have changes happening that i don't understand therefore i cannot fix, much more efficient to run my 30 gallons every 2 weeks through an ro even if that makes if 45 gallons every 2 weeks, i saved 5x that by not showering yesterday. We as people are hugely wasteful with water, look at your water bill it is in thousands of gallons, for the month!!! My 30 gallons that went down the drain will never be noticed in the grand scheme of things.

There's a way to set up a much more efficient system. You use two 55 gallon drums. Fill the first drum with water, put a water pump in there, and connect the pump to the RO system. Allow the wasted water to drain back into the first reservoir so you can use that water again, and again, and again, until you get down to maybe the last 15 gallons or so, then you drain that water and refill it. Use the empty reservoir to hold the RO water.

I'm surprised more people don't do this actually. It'd save a fortune in water and is pretty simple to set up. This is why I don't buy the waste argument.

Actually, with the new shower heads, you can take a good long shower, with plenty of pressure for about 8-10 gallons of water. They do this by people something that looks like a propeller. It is pretty cool, really. The place i live in Las Vegas did not have enough water pressure to the shower for me. The guy at the tub and shower shop told me to put one of these shower heads in, and it worked fantastic. Other simple and fast thing to do in your house to help out is to put a digital and programable thermastat in your place. You can get them for about $70. And it will pay for itself in 2-3 months.

Anyway. Sorry to sideline this thread, and rant. I can see when the R/O water could be needed. Hell in Jackpot Nevada, their water is so bad. It has enough radioactive particles in it, the EPA failed it. BUT!! That is a Casino town right on the boarder. And they Side Stepped it. And the people there still shower, water their plants and all kinds of stuff with that water. And most of the people staying in the Hotels do not even know about this problem. Matter of fact there is a cattle ranch about 30 miles down the road that uses that water for the beef. I thought it was crazy. I showered in the water, but that was about it. Luckliy, I was only stuck in that town for about 2 months. I wouldn't have even trusted R/O water on this shit.

Snow Crash said:

There's a way to set up a much more efficient system. You use two 55 gallon drums. Fill the first drum with water, put a water pump in there, and connect the pump to the RO system. Allow the wasted water to drain back into the first reservoir so you can use that water again, and again, and again, Until you get down to maybe the last 15 gallons or so, then you drain that water and refill it.

I'm surprised more people don't do this actually. It'd save a fortune in water and is pretty simple to set up. This is why I don't buy the waste argument.

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Am i understanding you correctly here?????? When your R/O system is filtering water? You send the waste water to a second 55 gallon? Then you refilter this water in the 55 gallon barrel over and over as it fills with waste water?
If this is what you mean. WOW! That is mess'd up. As you filter that water over and over and over, the crap you are filtering out are collecting in the filter at a faster and faster rate. As the filter fills with this crap, it needs to by pass more and more water down the sytem that is unfiltered.
Now maybe there is something I miss understood in what you said. And if so I am sorry. But to refilter, filtered water over and over is not a good idea. But as I have usually said, to each his own. If it works for you. Then that is all that matters.

But. These replacement filters are costly.


.

If your tap water is low ppm use it. Problem with tap is that all areas have different tap so you don't know what's in it without a test. Even if the final ppm value is within range one nutrient may be in much higher concentration than others. Hydro is weird in a sense that if there is too much of one nutrient in the solution it can block the plant from absorbing other nutrients even when they are all present.

Tap contains good things yes but also a list of crap. Chlorine fluorine heavy metals.

Only by using ro water will there be a standard across all growers with hydro nutrient concentrations. Because if 10 people across the country use tap water and say gh nutes to 1000ppm all those solutions will differ.

It's best to know exactly what's in the solution achieved by reverse osmosis or a water test period. Takes out a lot of guesswork. Personally I use ro water which is 5 ppm and add cal mag to 100 ppm and then add normal nutrients. Everything plants need nothing they don't in correct ratios

Before you bash me take a moment and do the math Lord Dangly Bits.

Really, take a minute and look at it.

The 3 gallons that drains out contains some of the removed contaminant, most of it to be honest. So that 3 gallons may increase by up to 30%.

Add that 3 gallons back and the actual increase is around 2%. So 200ppm becomes 204ppm with the first gallon and up from there with every gallon removed.

Maybe you don't take it down from 55 to 15. Maybe you make it a 1:1 ratio. 25 gallons of RO can be had by emptying out a little over 25 gallons from the "dirty" container, rather than 75 gallons. If you include a simple and cheap carbon and sediment pre-filter, removing most the big stuff, before it hits the RO system... I don't know why no one else seems to be running something close to this.

Also, I only stated this because of the waste water argument. If you want to filter the water, it is going to cost money. You can spend that money on wasted water, losing 3 gallons for every one gained, or you can spend that money on reducing your filter life by maybe 10% to 20%. You can put your cash where you want to, I'm not going to tell someone what to do, but from what I have heard pouring money down the drain is ill advised.

blackonblack said:

If your tap water is low ppm use it. Problem with tap is that all areas have different tap so you don't know what's in it without a test. Even if the final ppm value is within range one nutrient may be in much higher concentration than others. Hydro is weird in a sense that if there is too much of one nutrient in the solution it can block the plant from absorbing other nutrients even when they are all present.

Tap contains good things yes but also a list of crap. Chlorine fluorine heavy metals.

Only by using ro water will there be a standard across all growers with hydro nutrient concentrations. Because if 10 people across the country use tap water and say gh nutes to 1000ppm all those solutions will differ.

It's best to know exactly what's in the solution achieved by reverse osmosis or a water test period. Takes out a lot of guesswork. Personally I use ro water which is 5 ppm and add cal mag to 100 ppm and then add normal nutrients. Everything plants need nothing they don't in correct ratios

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This is one of the reasons I stopped using a PPM/EC meter. People get to caught up in the PPM. Hell, I have seen 100's of people say this to someone they have no idea of even the strain this person is growing.... "Put your PPM to 1,200 PPM and your plants will Explode with that nutrient".. Reply back is, My Plants just Burst into flames and are ashes..... Different strains need different amounts of nutrients. You have to learn the new strain anyway. Keep a detailed journal. And you can adjust in.

Once again, I do understand R/O water is needed at times. But dam!!!!!! Not always, and I bet not even most of the time. This is a &$%&% weed. WEED!!!!!! This shit is known to adapt.

Snow Crash, I understand that some people want to use R/O systems. And that some people really have to or should use it. But most places in America do not need this filtration of the water to grow dank buds. I have worked on the Engineering of WASTE water systems for cities. Most American cities put out filtered water from our sewage sytems that is cleaner then 80% of the water people use around the world.
So to say that most of America's tap water can not grow this WEED, I have trouble biteing off. But hey, if you want to filter that water. Get at it. I live in an area that I can use my tap water and have fantastic results. Even with out filtering my water.
I am very happy I am not growing 250 plants. Could you imagine filtering the water that is fed to all those plants? I highly doubt the big production growers use R/O water.

I stated my side of it. I believe R/O water has it's uses. But is not always needed. Pretty simple.

Lord Dangly Bits said:

Snow Crash, I understand that some people want to use R/O systems. And that some people really have to or should use it. But most places in America do not need this filtration of the water to grow dank buds. I have worked on the Engineering of WASTE water systems for cities. Most American cities put out filtered water from our sewage sytems that is cleaner then 80% of the water people use around the world.
So to say that most of America's tap water can not grow this WEED, I have trouble biteing off. But hey, if you want to filter that water. Get at it. I live in an area that I can use my tap water and have fantastic results. Even with out filtering my water.
I am very happy I am not growing 250 plants. Could you imagine filtering the water that is fed to all those plants? I highly doubt the big production growers use R/O water.

I stated my side of it. I believe R/O water has it's uses. But is not always needed. Pretty simple.

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Well said, read your water quality report, I would have to filter several hundred gallons a week . . . No thanks!

And I very much agree RO water is only necessary in some grow rooms. A simple filtration would be good for most water.
Though, I have taken the time to show that in 90% of the cities that had their municipal water tested failed the hexavalent chromium safe levels. San Jose, CA was over by 3000% the "safe" value. This shit gives people fucking cancer. No lie. It is also well known that reclaimed water contains things like asprin, birth control hormones, heavy metal, pesticides and fertilizers.

It is just a matter of being educated and knowing where your water is coming from. Personally, I won't drink sewer "water" that "the man" has treated and told me is totally safe to drink. It is one of many reasons I chose to live where I live. Water is life. The disconnection from nature is a huge issue with America and it is demonstrated in our water. If you are what you eat, and you are 60% water... Do you really want to be 60% filtered piss mixed with reservoir water?

Again, not everyone needs a filter, but for those that do... I feel sorry for you.

Hell, home delivery water services are EXTREMELY affordable in large cities if you don't want to sack up and install a big filter. There's always a way and it's not like the water from the tap is free. My water/sewer bill is like $50 a month up here in Oregon and I don't have to throw away any water for filtration.

You're dead right, I can't imagine what a large operation might cost, but I'm sure the energy bill isn't cheap either...

His reasoning is exactly why I choose RO water. My City water made the top 10 worst in America list. We don't drink it. There are water filter dispenser machines outside of every grocery store and business around here. We have as many water delivery drivers as we do pizza delivery drivers. Our water sucks. It has an odor. It is anything but clear. And the municipally held water utility claims we have the best water and it exceeds Federal standards. That just tells me the last time Federal Standards were set, it had to be by a business friendly Republican with fat pockets.

TruenoAE86coupe said:

Actually modern systems are a lot closer to 1 gallon clean, .5 gallon waste. Still very wasteful i agree, but i do not trust my tap water as it tastes different from week to week, therefore it must be different from week to week. I cannot have changes happening that i don't understand therefore i cannot fix, much more efficient to run my 30 gallons every 2 weeks through an ro even if that makes if 45 gallons every 2 weeks, i saved 5x that by not showering yesterday. We as people are hugely wasteful with water, look at your water bill it is in thousands of gallons, for the month!!! My 30 gallons that went down the drain will never be noticed in the grand scheme of things.

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