1st Grow 8sq ft. 400w hps Comment!

[SunnyD]

Quick Question,

When I worked at a greenhouse we would always water our plants with reverse osmosis water.

So, Headshake, what are your thoughts on reverse osmosis water?

Also, from research I've done on reverse Osmosis water, its really healthy for us to drink, but it's not really ideal for watering plants...not to mention it's a very wasteful filtration system

[headshake]

i don't honeslty know a lot about reverse osmosis water, honestly. i'm on a quest to find out more now though (thanks!).

i think it's better suited for industrial use as opposed to home use. home applications lack the high pressure needed to force the water through the membrane.

i would assume (and we know what this does) that this also removes the beneficial things in the water too, depending on the filtering size of the membrane.

i'm sure there are answers out there somewhere.


-shake

[syde00]

I believe the same applies to R/O water - you need to add CalMag.

Honestly, if you are growing in soil, there is almost no reason for you to not to just use tap water unless your municipal water supply is adding tons and tons of crap to it or the pH is way off. However, all of those things are easily fixed.

Things municipal water supplies typically add are:

Flouride - easy to remove with tablets that you can normally find at pet stores in the fish section
Chlorine - easily removed by simply letting the water sit in an open container for 24+ hours... it will evaporate from the water very quickly.
pH problems? pH-Up / pH-Down

[SauceeMcGee]

Hey everybody,

I'm new to the boards here and I saw you guys talking about reverse osmosis water.

Here's some stuff I've researched about it. In my opinion, its a really effective filtration process, however, its very wasteful and counterproductive.

Shake,

Here's a link that tells you some pretty good specifics on what RO does to water:
Reverse Osmosis Water Filters and Water Purification

Pros and Cons of RO water:
Grower 101: Reverse Osmosis --The Pros and Cons

These articles make an argument agains the use of RO water, pretty interesting:

Reverse Osmosis Faucet Produces Water Lacking in Nutrients

Reverse Osmosis Water Units and Why You Should Avoid Them If You Want to Stay Healthy

So, if you were to water with RO water, you would need to add CalMag, not to mention any other nutrients you want your plants to be absorbing. Also, watch pH...

By the way, call me sauce. Nice to be on "board"

In addition, not too sure why my greenhouse wants us to use RO water. It might be because the city found anti-depressant drugs and contraceptives in our tap water...that MIGHT be it.

[headshake]

welcome aboard sauce!

thanks for all of the info.


-shake

[DaNkBuD420]

Hey headshake,

FoxFarm- source of mag, but not cal.

Switched to tap water with Half of the recommended feeding from the bottles.

I'm hopefully going to go pick up a thermometer tomorrow. What temp is ideal?

400w HPS light is currently 2ft. from the tallest plant.

[headshake]

good luck with the water.

ideal temp is 78F, but this can vary without much harm. not too low or high though as this will cut photosynthesis.

first off use things to raise your shorter plants. you want an even, continous canopy.
then stick your hand under the light. you should be able to leave it there for 5 seconds before you have to remove it because of heat. back it off just a bit. this is a good height for your light.


-shake


-shake

[DaNkBuD420]

One question that I do have is will I benefit better from a bushier plant rather than a taller one or vise versa? My space is limited width wise but height isn't really an issue.

[headshake]

you'll be fine growing tall, single cola plants. or you can top a few and get some extra colas.


-shake

[DaNkBuD420]

1 week:thumbsup: