1973chemgrower said:

Are you on the gage green genetics forum seamaiden? I lurk there for time to time and do test grows for them under another name then this one ... Its 1973caregiver over there

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No, I'm afraid I'm not.

I know this doesn't really answer the OP's question but...
3 yrs ago I installed a rain barrel. Actually I have 3 rain barrels that I ran a hole through my basement wall and into my room. In the room is a 60 gallon barrel with a float valve.
In 3 yrs I have only had to run my RO system 2 times due to lack of rainwater. And that was in the winter due to the freezing temps outside.
And for whatever reason (I honestly don't know what it is)...rain water just seem to supercharge plants. I wish I could bottle and sell it as some sort of advanced nutrient product!

Seamaiden said:

No, I'm afraid I'm not.

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Sorry got you mixed up then

rain water probably has micro nutes.the water vaper collected on something b4 falling.

so to all the bulk reef supply guys. what would be your economical filter build?
i dont need the pressure guages or meters.

I have been reading a lot about water quality because I have been considering starting a bottled water company. A few things I have learned concerning human consumption which surprised me are.
1) VOCs (Volatile organic compounds) are not measured by TDS. These are things like gasoline, oil, pesticides, ect which are actually smaller than water molecules and cannot be filtered by an R/O.
2) Apparently R/O filters with polypropylene membranes require a post filter for human consumption or there will be bits of plastic membrane in your water.
3) If you consume exclusively R/O water you need to supplement with minerals and vitamins. This is especially true the lower the PH of your R/O water. For some reason lower PHs strip trace elements from your body.

Just wanted to spread this because I know a lot of you are drinking from your filters.

iscrog4food said:

I have been reading a lot about water quality because I have been considering starting a bottled water company. A few things I have learned concerning human consumption which surprised me are.
1) VOCs (Volatile organic compounds) are not measured by TDS. These are things like gasoline, oil, pesticides, ect which are actually smaller than water molecules and cannot be filtered by an R/O.
2) Apparently R/O filters with polypropylene membranes require a post filter for human consumption or there will be bits of plastic membrane in your water.
3) If you consume exclusively R/O water you need to supplement with minerals and vitamins. This is especially true the lower the PH of your R/O water. For some reason lower PHs strip trace elements from your body.

Just wanted to spread this because I know a lot of you are drinking from your filters.

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Good point ... I also read the same thing in an article on a reef forum ... It is exactly like you said had no value to us for drinking water hence the reason why when using RO you need to usually supplement with cal/mag for our plants but its perfect for growing and for fish aquariums like my reef tank because just like with my grow I still have to ass calcium and other trace elements into my fish tank for my corals and fish to thrive but using the RO water again gets rid of the nasties but also gets rid of the good stuff we need but actually the calcium and magnesium found in tap water isn't the right form for our plants anyways and they can't uptake the calcium or magnesium same goes for my corals which is wierd but is reef people use the stuff they use to melt ice off sidewalks in our tanks for a cheap way of supplementing calcium and baked baking soda is used for raising the alkalinity which balances tour PH aswell and I've always wondered if it would work for our plants the same way if so it would save us alot of money but I'm not sure if its the right type of calmag needed for plants just like for our reef tanks we use for a cheap PH down vinager and for a ph up we use baking soda since its alkilinity which raises your alk and ph and keep each other balanced also mrs wages pickling like is used to maintain a constant Ph once you get it right you can mix it and set a drip to keep your ph at a certain level which man now i think about it it seems like it would work for hydro growing but maybe not lol.. I suck at science but learned alot once i got into reef tanks and then growing but had to because to maintain a beautiful reef tank its expensive but all these tricks keep it really cheap which actually bulk reef supply sells this stuff for the people who don't deal with finding this stuff on there own but its all available locally usually anyways sorry got into the wrong subject ... Forgot I'm on the grow forum not the reef forum lol

1973chemgrower said:

Good point ... I also read the same thing in an article on a reef forum ... It is exactly like you said had no value to us for drinking water hence the reason why when using RO you need to usually supplement with cal/mag for our plants but its perfect for growing and for fish aquariums like my reef tank because just like with my grow I still have to ass calcium and other trace elements into my fish tank for my corals and fish to thrive but using the RO water again gets rid of the nasties but also gets rid of the good stuff we need but actually the calcium and magnesium found in tap water isn't the right form for our plants anyways and they can't uptake the calcium or magnesium same goes for my corals which is wierd but is reef people use the stuff they use to melt ice off sidewalks in our tanks for a cheap way of supplementing calcium and baked baking soda is used for raising the alkalinity which balances tour PH aswell and I've always wondered if it would work for our plants the same way if so it would save us alot of money but I'm not sure if its the right type of calmag needed for plants just like for our reef tanks we use for a cheap PH down vinager and for a ph up we use baking soda since its alkilinity which raises your alk and ph and keep each other balanced also mrs wages pickling like is used to maintain a constant Ph once you get it right you can mix it and set a drip to keep your ph at a certain level which man now i think about it it seems like it would work for hydro growing but maybe not lol.. I suck at science but learned alot once i got into reef tanks and then growing but had to because to maintain a beautiful reef tank its expensive but all these tricks keep it really cheap which actually bulk reef supply sells this stuff for the people who don't deal with finding this stuff on there own but its all available locally usually anyways sorry got into the wrong subject ... Forgot I'm on the grow forum not the reef forum lol

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You wouldn't want to use baking soda because it is sodium bicarbonate. Excess sodium in the root zone will severely diminish nutrient uptake and cause lockout.

Thanks... Ya there alot that I can't use that we can in our fish tanks which were growing coral and some are growing plants but it just dont work the Same like I said how we use baking soda to raise Ph/alkalinity and vinager to lower it but in growing marijuana like I had stated it won't work the same the vinager only lowers the ph for a few minutes in soil so that's why people use numeric acid... Pretty sure that's spelled wrong but you understand me I hope lol but it all has the same chemistry just some stuff is different as I was saying but I'm thinking the point I was making about the pickling lime set at a steady drip would keep the ph balanced at no ill effect its also known as kalkwasser if you look it up which us into DIY cheap methods use mrs wages since its so much cheaper but when growing I don't take chances if it hasn't been tested ... Just like my reef tank that I have we'll over 10 grand in coral alone invested in it for collecting the past 5years i only use whats been tested for a long period of time anyways back to the OP topic...

If I were you what I have is like I said a 35 gpd RO only no DI and its fine with a filter change onve a year tds is always 0 or never over 3-5 by the end of the year so I am upgrading to a 100 gpd membrane since it says it has less waste water then the 75gpd which is shocking but that's what it says on there web page so of just do a 3 stage ... First filter being a 1micron sediment ... 2nd being a 1 micron carbon block ... And 3rd would be what ever gpd membrane you chose and for me with 60 plants alowed and growing in Hempy which usses alot of water with the 35 gpd I have to fill a 50 gallon drum of water weekly so even with the 35 I just have to run it for just about 30 hours a week but with the 100 gpd ill only have to run it 12 hours also keep in mind water pressure from your source of water supply ... Mines really low since its at the last point of the house so when other stuff like the washer is running it kills my gpd so may need a booster pump to help out as afi has mentioned having I like my 35gpd since it makes it so I don't have to have one but with the 100 gpd ill put my filter right at the beginning of the main coming into the house so its not being slowed down by all the piping which is horrible in my house with so many bends and curves plumber must have been smoking some good shit lol anyways another thing is in the winter if your in a cold climate it also slows your gpd down and in warmer weather speeds it up ... Well hope this helps and sorry for getting off topic and rambling on about the chemistry crap I barely understand lol

Keep an eye on craigs list. Someone is selling the same 5 stage filter I have new in box for 45. Im thinking of picking it up just for the filter/membrane.

You don't need a r/o filter at all. A normal filter will do the trick. All you want is to remove the bad shit out of the water and a normal filter will do that. Whats left is high levels of calcium and magnesium. Calcium and magnesium is chemically bonded to the water and is why reverse osmosis is necessary to separate it from the water, but all the other shit can be removed with a cheap water hose filter. Your plant uses lots of calcium and magnesium its why its in the nutes and supplemented. I would use a hard water nute which has no calmag and run the bs filter to remove chlorine and other things not desired. The filter is at walmart in the rv section of the store for less than $20.

If you're on a well, it's usually not chlorinated (unless you're treating it). The Ca and Mg are often bonded with CO3 (carbonates) and may be difficult for the plant to use. I personally already went the filtration route and it was insufficient (for indoor cultivation, my outdoor cultivation gets completely unfiltered well water for irrigation. However, it's also open to rain). I wasn't able to pull off really successful runs, indoors, until I switched to RO/DI and rainwater.

How cool, I cleaned some small rezs out and left them outside on accident and it rained. I got some great clean water to give my ladies. I checked the ph and it is 7. Can I just water em with this?

R.O. in the mail 5 filter with di and extra ro membrane to cut down on waste.now i need to find a 150 gallon water tank to store water lol.

you can use your rain water for the ladies it still needs nutes unless your in soil or unless you ust want to give them a flush. id ph accordingly

souf69 said:

How cool, I cleaned some small rezs out and left them outside on accident and it rained. I got some great clean water to give my ladies. I checked the ph and it is 7. Can I just water em with this?

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Yep, although depending on your cultivation style a pH of 7 may be a wee bit too high. See where it lands after you mix in the nutrients.

Trillionsoatoms said:

Stealth 200 as well... Kik ass filters!!

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about how long does it take to fill a 5 gal jug with that filter? thanks

Depends on if the reducer is out or not...

Heres a question Ive always wanted to ask. When we flush, do we ph the water to the the ph we normally run at, or do we flush at a ph of seven?

I run a stealth ro 200 with a 400 gallon self supporting doorway tank.