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how important is a RO for hydro??

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how important is a RO for hydro??

BCbudfarmer 60 Replies 20,855 Views
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BCbudfarmer

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Dec 16, 2011
#1
im on my second run in hydro and im using tap water, should I be using a RO for this setup? I have top fed 5gal buckets returning to a 160 gal res
 
#3
First good question was answered, 'what's your total dissolved solids?' 250ppm

Second good question is, 'what makes up that 250ppm?' That, my friend, will determine whether you'll want to RO. If it's stuff like calcium, magnesium, iron, etc, then all you need to do is adjust your nutrient load a bit and those will act as micronutirents.

It's my humble opinion that there is much more reverse osmosis going on in this industry than is strictly necessary. Just because your water has some dissolved solids in it doesn't mean that it will stunt your plants' growth. After all, what are nutrients but dissolved solids?! The key is a balanced diet, and if oyu can still feed your girls a good balanced diet without using an RO system, then save yourself the money!
 
#4
I personally won't use an RO filter anymore. It's just too wasteful for me to feel good about. That said, I didn't noticed any difference, good or bad, from switching to tap. Mine comes out of the tap at around 250ppm.

If you DO have really high PPM tap water, I would recommend something like a Small Boy filter as it doesn't have any waste water. It won't get the water down to 0+- like RO, but it still does a great job.
 
#5
ttystick makes a good point about what is in the water.

IMO, tap water introduces too many variables especially because I'm not testing the water to see what is in it.

When I used tap water, the pH was always fucked. RO makes everything better. I also drink it.
 
#6
dank_ said:
IMO, tap water introduces too many variables especially because I'm not testing the water to see what is in it.
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This is my take on the idea, honestly. The waste does bother me a bit, but its something I can deal with, I suppose... I might switch to a filter though. We have been buying our RO water from winco @30 cents a gallon, but that's swiftly becoming impractical, with our new 55 gallon rez (previously we just had a couple 3 gal DWC buckets).
 
#7
lol you guys are just scared of the unknown. Why not have a closer look at it and actually know instead of being scared? As I said, I didn't notice any difference for the worse what so ever.

I mean seriously.. its just tap water. Its not like its jungle crud water.
 
#8
tap water its fine bro my shit is about 200/250 something like that so I am good with that ..I have smoked many buds of some shit that was grown with 600 ppm tap water shit was supper dank bro I didn't notice any difference and dude was getting them solid rock nugs I shit a chicken when I heard he was running 600 ppm tap water and getting results like that. So I checked mine and it was 250 so I have been running with that about to flower my plants and its my second time running tap water I did it once outside with good results its so easy. and for me I am kinda lazy most of the time so I like to use a one part nute and some bloom booster and the end two weeks before flush never really have to fuck with the ph its sits at 6.0 to 6.2 so sometimes a few drops of ph down no biggie.
 
#9
Has anyone noticed that in the winter the tap water is cleaner than in summer. Right now my Tap ppm is like 60! In the summer time its about 100-120ppm.
 
#10
St3ve said:
lol you guys are just scared of the unknown. Why not have a closer look at it and actually know instead of being scared? As I said, I didn't notice any difference for the worse what so ever.

I mean seriously.. its just tap water. Its not like its jungle crud water.
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LMAO too funny!

Im doing good with the tap water was just wondering if a RO is a waste of money and I'm thinking it is. the girls are looking pretty good although the master kush doesnt get all that big :( Cant wait for the white shark and rockstar!
 

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SSHZ

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#11
I think the key is, with the r.o. water, you know what you ppm is going to be(0-10) and what's the makeup of the water (nothing). Unless you get your water tested out of the tap, you really don't know what's in the water. I live on an old peach farm and my well water is LOADED with metals, left over from the cheap fertilizer the farmer used for many years. My ppm is only about 220. But it's BAD water. My feeling was better safe than sorry......
 
#12
ppm is just part of the equation...
get your water checked
im pretty sure all tap water has either chlorine or chloride.
these will both KILL your benes in the soil.
chlorine will bubble out. chloride will not!!

when running RDWC MPB and a sterile res (AN nutes + Hydro Fungicide) our tap water was fine (in the east bay we have chloride in our water)
now in our coco system with teas and bennes we use a tallboy to filter the water.
 
#13
paperplane said:
Has anyone noticed that in the winter the tap water is cleaner than in summer. Right now my Tap ppm is like 60! In the summer time its about 100-120ppm.
Click to expand...

I have noticed this as well. summer=350 winter=230 for me. I wonder why that is.
 
#14
RO WASTES too much good water !! For every 1gallon produced it also creates 3-4gallons of waste water going down the drain.

RO Filters have 4-5 different stages; the RO membrane usually being the last. I've unplugged my RO membrane and using Stage 1-3 to clean my tap water without any waste water created. Best of both worlds !
 
#15
paperplane said:
Has anyone noticed that in the winter the tap water is cleaner than in summer. Right now my Tap ppm is like 60! In the summer time its about 100-120ppm.
Click to expand...

alienkush600 said:
I have noticed this as well. summer=350 winter=230 for me. I wonder why that is.
Click to expand...

Think about it- most municipal water sources are surface water. In the spring and summer what does your river look like? It's loaded with silt from runoff, that's what! In winter there isn't so much scouring going on, and so the water is cleaner.

SSHZ is right about his well water. That's a completely legitimate reason for RO.

I'm not sure I'd trust Detroit water, either lol.

Just more reason to like Colorado- cuz we get the water first, before the flatlanders piss in it!
 
#16
ttystikk said:
Think about it- most municipal water sources are surface water. In the spring and summer what does your river look like? It's loaded with silt from runoff, that's what! In winter there isn't so much scouring going on, and so the water is cleaner.
Click to expand...

Is this your guess or do you know that for a fact? Just curious
 
#17
switched to GH hard-water micro and it has made a huge difference! all the girls are looking way better, seems like i was overfeeding with the reg. micro even at a lower ppm having all sorts of signs of deficiencies and overdose. Within a week of switching I have tons of fuzzy new white roots the plants have greened up and they are now using more water and nutes:mmm So I guess I wont be needing a RO.
 
#18
paperplane, I'm seeing the same thing, 50 now vs 150 in September.

I started out using RO and switched to tap after I expanded bigger than my RO supply, it actually solved a micro-deficiency that had been plaguing me forever.
 
#20
The need for RO is overrated IMHO. Plants have grown for millions of years and done well before "pure" water was invented. Unless you have really hard water, and there are better ways to address that than RO filtration, and you can get rid of the Cl in your tap water (carbon filters do it I'm pretty sure) RO systems are really not needed.
 
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