Water? To Buy Or Not To Buy

On my first dro grow and I have been buying and using only distilled water. Plants are lovin' it. I was wondering if tap water run through say a Brita water filter or dedicated charcoal filter would be just as good? I am using General Hydroponics flora series , which hase "PH buffers" in it. I use the recommended mixing strength, and my Ph is always 5.5-6.0. So could I do this with filtered tap water?? PotRoast, Mogie,...?? Oh, I checked my tap water PH and it is very alkaline. Will the Ph buffers in the GH flora series fix this?


Schmokee

You could check out a reverse osmosis system. I got one capable of producing 85 gallons a day with the cold ground water we have in Michigan. I only have 3- 15 gallon resevoirs so I could change them all on the same day if I wanted to. It was easy to hook up and control. You do have to have a place for waste water as the run off is about 80%. For every gallon of RO water you get you will have 5 gallons of unusable water.

You can find a six-stage RO system on Ebay for around $150 and install it yourself. GH does sell a nute that is designed for use with tap (hard) water I believe.

Vi

thanks for the input gents. more still welcomed.will have to check on a RO system. Store bought distilled H2O adds up over time and I dont like the exposure of having to constantly buy distilled water ( I do rotate stores though).

Many hydro growers use RO filtered water, but I think that the Brita filter leaves some sodium in the water or something, so it's not good. You can use your urban high-pH tap water if you let it sit for 48 hours, and then adjust the pH down using phosphoric acid, and then mix the nutes and do a final pH adjustment.

My tap water is pH 8.2, and I've used it in hydro for many years.

HTH

thanks for the input Pot. I just ordered a 6 stage RO + DI filter system off of Ebay. $109 plus $27 for shipping.says its 100 gallon per day usage capacity, so thats more than enough.

Pot, I see you recommended GH kool bloom to someone in another post.does this stuff really pack the buds on? stand alone or mix in with flora series?

Thanks for steering me to the systems on ebay Vi. I appreciate the input.

schmokee said:

Pot, I see you recommended GH kool bloom to someone in another post.does this stuff really pack the buds on? stand alone or mix in with flora series?

Click to expand...

You use it as an addition to the basic salts, although you need to use less of the flora with the KB. I start adding KB on Day 32, and notice an increase in odor the next day.

excellent..thanks for the input. looking forward to seeing (and smelling) the changes.

Keep in mind that the actual out put may not be that high, that 100 gals./day is actually the maximum oout put if your water pressure is 60# and I forgot the temperature range. In Michigan the ground water is a little cold so from my 180 gal/ day system I am able to get 85 gals/ day. Just thought you'd like to know.

I do indeed want to know..Thanks for the info. I would have been trippin'....dammit it says 100 gal/day. I want 100 gal./day!!!!.(lol).. I didnt read the fine print....I damn sure dont have 60 p.s.i. supply h20 pressure either. Any- hoo it should still put out more than enough volume for my purposes. Also, it's a RO + DI system. Now I can quit going to a bajillion different grocery stores buying DI water.

"Also, it's a RO + DI system."

I have the same system as you do. Great for coffee, tea, soups and general cooking and drinking too. With the "Di" in place, the PPMs at first are .05. That's hardly anything at all. Therefore, your plants are going to get nothing but good nutrients to absorb. You will want to change out the filters every six months or so. If you don't have a PPM meter, you will be able to detect a change in the taste of the water when a filter change is needed. It starts to tastes slightly metallic. But ... its about every six months or so. Also, the 100 gallon per day thing ... you can get about a full tank (five gallons) about every two hours. So, I have a 50 gallon, plastic trash can with a lid that I mix my nutes in. I have a 25 gallon res, so I put the 25 gallons of RO water in the trash can in advance of needing it. Be sure to get a sturdy one. I think mine is made by RubberMaid.

Vi

If you have a Nursery in your area you might be able to get water from them? I am fortunate enough to have access to PH balanced RO water directly from a Nursery.
Just a thought.

simply beautiful . I love it when a plan comes together. Thanks again to the brain trust.
puff,puff give. I everyone an air toke.lol

that's owe everyone an air toke.