PLEASE HELP! HOW IMPORTANT IS RO WATER?

[btownbuddah]

My tap water is 40 ppm. How big a difference is it going to make if I buy a reverse osmosis water purifier? Someone at the hydro store told me I don't need one. I'm about to start flowering and I'm willing to buy one if its gonna make a noticable difference. I would appreciate any thoughts. I have a 4X4 flood tray with 1000W Thanks :rasta:

[GreenDestiny]

That's a pretty low ppm for your tap water. I'd say you wouldn't need RO water.

[the image reaper]

RO is not necessary, BUT, it removes the chlorine ... chlorine won't harm your plants, but it does kill the beneficial bacteria ... so, if using chlorinated tapwater, don't waste your money on microbial additives (Big Bloom, Tarantula, etc. etc.), they'll be killed as soon as they hit the water ... leave the water uncovered for a couple days, so the chlorine will have time to evaporate, then you can use additives, if you choose ... :smokin:

[stinkyattic]

You should not need RO with that tap water, but you MAY need calmag. Monitor closely for any sign of Ca/Mg deficiencies.

[herbie the love bud]

RO won't get you better ppm than 40 or so on average. But I think you DEFINATELY need CalMag. No less than a teaspoon a gallon.

[wwwDotBong]

what colour is the inside of your kettle?
do you get any scum from the water,like on the inside of your cup?:)

[the image reaper]

RO won't get you better ppm than 40 or so on average. But I think you DEFINATELY need CalMag. No less than a teaspoon a gallon.

might want to check your filters ... my RO unit ($175 on sale) brings tapwater down to .002 ppm ... perhaps yours needs a filter change ?? ... 'normal' CalMag+ dosage is 10ml, or two teaspoons, per gallon ... :smokin:

[btownbuddah]

Thanks everyone. In response to dotbong I don't see scum on any of my dishes. I guess I'll just go without the RO for now. I didn't think I would need CalMag because I use Supernatural nutes which has a lot of that already. But I guess I won't know for a couple of days. They look very healthy now but they're still vegging so I'll have to keep a close watch as they start to flower.
Today I have to go buy an AC unit. I didn't think I'd need one for another month but it got really hot all of a sudden. Anybody have any input on whether I should keep on the fan which brings in fresh air or just recirculate with the AC and keep the CO2 flowing? If I stopped bringing in the fresh air to the room I would run outside air through my hood and back outside. And I would have to find a new way to install my carbon filter. I probably should have started a new post for this. But I would still appreciate any input you guys and girls might have.
:jointsmile:Thanks again

[stinkyattic]

If you are running CO2 you should search for user 'tranoble' and read up on something called 'sealed room technique'.

[the image reaper]

a couple recent posts missing here :wtf: ... now, what's happening ??

[btownbuddah]

Thanks to everyone else too. Stinky, I did some more reading on sealed rooms. Not as much as I would have liked to because I was sort of in crisis mode all day dealing with the heat. I've got it sealed up now. I am drawing air for the light from the next rroom and venting it out the window. I run CO2 on a slow leak dispersing it with an oscillating fan during the light cycle. I just got it in last night so I haven't been able to see the results yet. One thing I'm worried about is getting the plants O2 during lights out. I'm wondering if I should run in fresh air or if that would defeat the purpose of the sealed room. If anyone's still on this thread I would love to get your input. Stinkyattic especially so far I have seen nothing but what looks like great advice for her posts. Thanks again everybody.:rastasmoke:

[the image reaper]

be careful about kissing up to Stinky, she gets mean when she drinks :S2:

[btownbuddah]

Its funny you said that someone else told me I should kiss up to her. Either way she does seem to have good advice. You too though man. I can use all the advice I can get. I'm appreciative of any and all advice. By the way the CO2 is working out great so far. I've had it on 2 days now and I can already notice a big difference. I need a better AC unit though I just moved in here and I had no idea how hot it would get.

[stinkyattic]

Wow... that stung...
No posts missing from this thread btw, I checked.

I wish I could say I was a sealed room expert but I've never done one yet. There will still be oxygen in there- remember plants actually generate O2 in one of the steps of photosynthesis. Their NET is co2 INTAKE and o2 OUTPUT. Most of the outside atmosphere is actually nitrogen, and the sealed room concept drops that to a lesser fraction of the total atmosphere. You're giving the plants N in their feed anyhow. I'm glad it's working out for you. One thing to save on gas is to put the lights on a separate circuit so that you don't exhaust the CO2 that you paid for along with the heat that you don't want.

[the image reaper]

I ony tease the ones I love :hippy:

[btownbuddah]

The air running through my hood comes from the next room and vents out into that room as well. So hopefully my CO2 is not going to waste. I've got the lights on at night to keep the temp in check. Temp with lights on has been in mid to high 70's witout AC
Temp with lights out has been about the same. If it continues this way should I bother running AC with lights out? How important is dropping the temp during lights out? I have a dehumidifier running which I think is keeping the humididty in check but I don't really trust my thermometer/barrometer so I'm having doubts. I've been thinking about buying a better one but I don't know which ones are reliable.

[Boomer1]

Where I live water is about 250 TDS. I think that RO would help, also removing any unwanted minerals in water. Growing DP PowerPlant 1000W HPS lighting.

I'd appreciate any input form those w/ experience. Thanks

[LOC NAR on probation]

You still need fresh air coming in but. As I was told by Zandor. C02 can run at higher temps and must be mantained at 1500 ppm's. Then flushed out with fresh air every 4 to 6 hours during light cucle. It is not needed during dark period only fresh air. If you can not maintain 1500 ppm's or close save your self the trouble. It's not worth it.

WARNING Will Robenson, even in a sealed room never and I mean never in a living area that could be contaiminated by Co2. It can flood a whole house and being heavier than air suffacate any people or pets living there.

Other than that party on Garth.

[the image reaper]

Reverse-Osmosis water, (like distilled water), is really not needed, or generally recommended ... it takes out too much ... you have to add calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, etc... to make up for it ... if you have 40ppm, like the originator of this thread, you're in great shape, to begin with ... the only thing the average grower wants to remove, is chlorine, anyway ... chlorine will evaporate from standing water overnight, and very quickly, if an air bubbler is run thru it ... chlorine doesn't hurt your plants, by the way ... in fact, I use straight chlorinated tapwater when cloning, and with young, beginning seed-sprouts ... the chlorine eliminates some concerns of funguses, etc ...
... chlorine does, however, kill beneficial bacteria in the soil/solution (basically, the bacteria helps break down the nutrients, so the plant can absorb them) ... these can be replenished, with the use of 'live culture' additives ... I use Fox Farms' Big Bloom, there are others, too ... :smokin:

[cavadge]

FWIW - my tap water is at 220 ppm TDS and 8.2 PH. A little too hard. I added a five stage RO system and the water coming out measures at 10 ppm and 6.9 PH.

What drives me nuts is how long it takes to create even 5 gallons of RO water and how much water is wasted down the drain. The ad for this unit spec'ed 85 gallons per day, but it's not until you unpack it and read the instruction sheet that you see that you get 85 gallons @ 80 psi. Who has 80 psi? Mine is at 52 psi (unit has a pressure gage). This unit has a 3 gallon res. Took about three hours to fill a 5 gallon water container. Came out pretty good at first, but once the res is empty, you're down to a dribble. Yawn... 85 gallons? More like maybe 30 or 35.

So today I decided to try mixing RO water with the RO drain water (which has at least been filtered for sediment and chlorine), at about 50/50. End result was 7.2 PH and 160 ppm. Added some PH down, and good to go. I've got some cal-mag plus on hand, but don't think I need it with this mix. Considering a booster pump to up the capacity. Will see how this pans out.

These residential RO units are for filling a few glasses of water at a time or a pot for cooking. Trying to get 40 gallons out to fill a res requires advanced planning and a lot of water storage containers. There are high capacity RO units out there, but require really high water pressure (200 - 250 psi), run several thousand dollars, and use a lot of electricity.

I am finding RO water, in the quantities required, is a pain in the ass. If your water isn't too hard, I wouldn't go there.

Cav

[cavadge]

Ha! I think I may have an answer for my issue - a permeate pump. Uses no electricity, reduces waste water, improves filling time of the tank and improves RO production. Cost is $45. On order...

Really need to spend more time reviewing the FAQs... my bad. :smokin:

Cav