pearl

Can someone out there explain to me what reverse osmosis is.
How it can be used to enhance my plants.

I saw this statement regarding someones mg problem ;

"I can't imagine what keeps causing this as I now use reverse osmosis filtered water, so there's no excess calcium in the water to cause the Mg problem"


What is reverse osmosis filtered water ?I hope he doesn't mean what drains back in the res.

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Pearl's Drip System ~ Fall Harvest 2006 ~ Live Predators

lilbud99

Pearl
from what i know, Reverse osmosis is when water is run thru a device which actually removes dissolved solids (calcium/chlorine) from the water, whereas a normal water filter only removes suspended solids (metals like aluminium/iron) from the water.

Its nothing to do with your res water, Dont panic.

Lilbud

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furrybean

Hey Pearl,

Lilbud is right. Reverse Osmosis water is just another name for distilled water.

Beanz

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afterburner

not quite, furrybean

distilled water is water thats been evaporated & condensed again...

Reverse osmosis water, aka R/o or RO water is water thats gone thru at least a simple reverse osmosis membrane, or at best a complete 6 stage filtration system (multiple carbon filters, sediment filters etc. including an RO membrane, and a de-ionization stage) giving you a TDS of less than 5 usually



-burner

pearl

lillbud, furrybean and afterburner Thanks for the information.
I appreciate it.

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Pearl's Drip System ~ Fall Harvest 2006 ~ Live Predators

grass_hopper

Distilled water is about as pure as we mortals can get, but is unecessary for hydro. RO water is pretty darn good.

As afterburner alluded to, not all systems are the same. There are 4 stage and 6 stage systems which filter at different levels.

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grass_hopper

Just FYI - RO is pretty good but far from perfect... some drawbacks:

RO systems use about 8-9 gallons of water for every gallon of filtered water. This is called the "reclamation rate", which is usually 10-20%. Check the system before you buy, esp. if you live in an area where water is expensive (like southern CA).

RO filters out most solids, but does not catch bacteria, parasites or suspended oils, which can easily pass through the RO membrane. For instance, desalination systems on boats that purify seawater for drinking often have a separate oil filter and a UV chamber that exposes the water to light that kills bugs. This is especially a concern with folks who have unchlorinated well water, since the water is usually stored in a tank post-filter where bugs can grow.

Systems decline in effectiveness as their membranes get older. When you start out with a tds of 5 it could rapidly increase as the filter begins to fail. The only way to know is to test water periodically.

RO systems can also be expensive to maintain. A heavy hydro user might have to replace filters 2-3 times per year or more based on the quantity of water put through it. Most systems are designed around a filtering water for drinking at a spigot on your sink. Replacing the filters in a standard home system adds up fast - $50/each for the RO filter itself, then another $40 for the carbon blocker (if your system has one).

__________________
"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk in front of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone."


Ancient History:
Blueberry/Mazar (started in hydro, moved outdoors)...Skunk#1/Blueberry in Soil
Botanicare 42 Site Cloner - a Review...Grass_Hopper's Butane Honey Oil (BHO) Thread

Website goodies:
Grow Guide...Cecil_B's CO2 Enrichment Guide...Grower's Dictionary...Getting Females From Standard Seeds

419 and Holding

Just my two cents here....

I used to buy distilled h20 by the gallon from wally-world for about 56cents per gallon....quite an expensive habbit to maintain.

So then I found a R/O system not to far from my house (a public system in front of a grocery store). I tested the water and it consistantly puts out 3ppm. This way, it's not MY water being used (in reference to the amount of h20 needed for 1 gallon of R/O water).

Also, it is only 30cents per gallon. Since my res is only 5 gallons, I use 5 gallons to fill it (day 1), then replace about 10 gallons over the next 2 weeks (topping up) (day 14-16). This is some quick math so excuse any errors, but .30 x 7.5 (gallons per week) x 16 (weeks, assuming a 4 month grow)= $36 per grow. This is the best deal that I can get....buying an r/o system is expensive to obtain and maintain.....distilled water is more expensive.

I'm sure my girls love the water......and I sure as hell can throw out $40 for them for a grow.

This, along with nutes (every other grow) is really the only recurring cost of my grow (of course not counting electricity).

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grass_hopper

I was buying water for my soil grow and reaized that the filtered bottled water at Walmart is about that same price per gallon. They also RO filter the water, and usually expose with UV to kill bugs. The only problem is what do you do with all the empty jugs!

__________________
"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk in front of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone."


Ancient History:
Blueberry/Mazar (started in hydro, moved outdoors)...Skunk#1/Blueberry in Soil
Botanicare 42 Site Cloner - a Review...Grass_Hopper's Butane Honey Oil (BHO) Thread

Website goodies:
Grow Guide...Cecil_B's CO2 Enrichment Guide...Grower's Dictionary...Getting Females From Standard Seeds

419 and Holding

Ah yes.....I had that problem too when I was still buying distilled h2O from wallyworld. Just recycled them all......
I havent seen filtered bottled water there though..maybe I just havent looked lol. (I try to avoid going there whenever possible)

But once I switched to the public RO system, I found a use for all of those jugs!!! (well, the ones I still had laying around.) Just throw em in the car, drive down the street and fill em up for 30 cents per gallon.

It's nice this way too, because now I don't have to keep relabeling jugs every weeks or so. Just use the same ones. The one that says "3:2:1" I use for the full strength veg solution, "1/4:1/4:1/4" is for the clones, etc. It makes for a nice organized system this way.

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