Quick question about RO water. I just noticed this on the label, is potassium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, & magnesium chloride added for taste still ok for my plants?
3 Likes
I never thought to BUY RO water… $6.99 for 5 gallons is surprisingly reasonable. Good to know.
Hmm I never thought about buying it either, price isnt TOO bad, I’ve just got a filter system setup but it only produces so much at a time.
Not sure on those chemicals either, hopefully someone else can chime in, I’d imagine they are miniscule amounts though?
Based on the label, you have Purified water.
RO water should not contain minerals.
6 Likes
Water companies always add minerals back into the water after it gets purified, for taste.
@Cash your best bet would be to buy one of those affordable portable RO systems off Ebay, also get a ball valve to control the water to waste ratio.
2 Likes
At my grocery store R/O and distilled both $0.89 USD/ gal…my tap water is PH 9. If I move beyond hobby status, will need a good R/O setup
4 Likes
Affordable, portable, only 50gpd.
5 Likes
That’s what I use. A bit slow, takes 15-20min/gallon but other than that it works great. Gonna need a second one for this grow though since it can only handle 50gal/day
2 Likes
So will the minerals they add back to the water be ok for my girls or will the minerals start locking other nutrients out?
1 Like
So are the RO systems like pictured above easy to install?
1 Like
It includes everything needed to connect to a standard hose bib.
No tank. Easy to pickup and move around if needed.
A shutoff float is recommended.
I prefer these type.
Many kits like this to choose from.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07X44GKGN/ref=sspa_mw_detail_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1
2 Likes
One thing to maybe think about is testing the TDS/EC of the source water. Pure RO should make your meter look stupid or non-working, tap water will always show something, more or less depending on where you live.
When you asked about it ‘start locking other nutes out’ that is gonna depend on the grow method and just how anal you want to get about your nutrients. If you are perfectionist in tightly controlled hydroponics, you will freak on anything in your source water (smile). If you are watering chem or bio plants indoors water purity is much less a thing to worry about, you know?
In your pic they are adding back some basics for taste – basically the same stuff in products like ‘Third Wave Water’ packets for coffee. A coffee freak will use that sort of additive to pure RO water for the perfect cup of coffee. Other folks (like me) like use some filtered waawaa, other people use tap water over Maxwell House or something. Three different levels of worrying over the flavor of your coffee - or the flavor of your plants.
Hope that makes sense…