[MichaelFranti]

Im thinking about investing in a reverse osmosis system and was wondering if all R/O water is the same. The systems all vary in price and some say they take out 98% of lock out causing ingrediants as well as the clorine and all that good stuff, others dont say this fact, also i noticed the pet store and home depot have them for significantly less, then the garden center, what do you all think, id love to hear

[diesel]

It can be very beneficial to the right grower, or pretty shit if u dont know that without the calcium, ph flucations are much more happening with RO.

IF you have soft water i wouldnt bother, if u live in a very hard water area you should use one, you can use 2/3 RO 1/2 tap for a good mix.

Also RO is great for foliar feeding.

peace

[stickyicky]

PH conditioners such as fulvic / humic acids help overcome issues. Also, epsom salt should be used to overcome magnesium def. w/ R/O use. Grow shops offer "cal/mag" for this def. Cannabis however, does'nt seem to suffer from calcium def. Epsom salt is pretty cheap and so am I. In hydro even my 40-44ppm is unacceptable. Where I can improve I will. Good Luck on your decision.

I don't know the difference in R/O systems, sorry.

-Sticky

[ismokepot]

That's the first time I've ever heard of adding an RO/Tap h2o mix...... never thought about it. But I have well water which is treated with a water softner (salt) and a chlorinator (chlorine)- both of which are very bad for pot plants.

[Sirius]

dude your michael franti... why would you settle for anything but the best?

[purpleblockhead]

ive been using ro filters for 2 years now ill never use tap again, all the high end growers i know all use ro water filters all the rookies use tap, i got a merlin ro filter on ebay for 350 free shipping if you buy 1 search ebay there alot cheaper there, the differences i found between tap and ro water is my ph dosent jump up with ro water it goes up slowly threw the week unlike the fast jumps with tap water, also my house tap water is around 270 ppm so when i used 2 water i had 2 take that in2 consideration with my ro filter my ppm is around 20-30 so i know my plants are getting the right ppm, your going 2 have 2 get a ro filter that matches your reservoir if you have a 100 gallon reservoir your going 2 need a ro filter with a higher gph, on flush days you need alot of water!! you have 2 fill your res and flush than fill your res and flush your flush with water than fill your res and mix your nutes, i made this mistake with my first ro filter i bought a 75 dollar filter that took hours 2 fill up my res, up grading 2 the merlin was perfect i can water and flush easy with good water, if you have the extra money get 1

[Jalisco Kid]

I would not flush as much as the above poster,changes your chem bal in your plants too much. JK

[ismokepot]

www.freedrinkingwater.com counter top unit is what I currently use. It produces 5 gallons every 1 1/2 hrs. It lasts around 1 year before I change the pre-filters. The film filter should last a few years. After I thought about it more....... only use r.o. water, and mix dolomitic lime into your soil. The calcium in there should last around 2 months or so. Then add a bit of cal/mag occassionally (a very light dose) and you'll be fine.

[MichaelFranti]

thanks for all the advice, I am definitely going R/O, i just gotta find out what system now, still no one knows if there is a difference in the water between high end and the cheaper systems?

[downdon]

I own a spectrapure and one I got off of ebay from the pure water club. they work the same meaning they both remove all impurities. I am happy with both and would say if you can find one cheaper that does the same output you need buy it.