Does RO water make a significant difference?

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Hackerman

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I am one of those who believe that perfect is better. LOL Just wondering if I should invest the time and money into an RO water system for my water supply. Growing in soil.

I have been using my house tap water for decades. City water. Very chlorinated smell. I fill 1 gallon jugs and they sit until needed. It's never been a problem but my strain was Superman strong and it wasn't really picky about water or food (fed her MG news for years).

Now, that I am growing the more hybrid strains, I suppose they will be more sensitive so I should try to get things as close to perfect as possible.

I did some reading on the RO systems but I didn't find any posts that embellished on the results of using it with pot.

Any input on this would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
I have been using tap water since I first started and have never had a problem. Most of the time my water sits for at least a day, but there have been plenty of times when I hadn't filled any buckets and had to go straight from the tap to my plants after a ph adjustment. No problems. I am a soil grower, not sure if there are benefits for hydro.
 
The only issues that you will run into with treated water is if it is softened with salt or if you are growing totally organic. The chlorine levels can kill the microbes in a organic grow and cause problems there. But if you grow in soil and use synthetic nutrients (chemically derived) then the loss of microbes is not important. however, if there is a lot off salt or other chemical water softener used in the treatment process then that can cause toxicity over time as it builds up in the soil/medium.

I would say unless the water has a high TDS out of the tap and/or you are running total organic, then an RO system is overkill. If there is a significant amount off chlorine in the water, just run an air stone in it for 24hrs to aerate it and that will remove most of the non-stabilized chlorine, which will make it safe to use with synthetic nute grows. :)
 
The biggest advantage for me using R/O is the ease of pH'ing and you are able to use the same nute recipes no matter what your water source is
 
I agree with PC, all R/O is a zero base H2O. I use well water but I have had it analyzed so I know just what adjustments I need to make.
 
Why fix what ain't broke? I'd love to use my tap water, but it's 500ppm and that's 10% of the pre softener level. I get real tired of filling jugs and buckets with r/o water.

Plus I have to supplement with calcium to put back some of what my r/o takes out.
 
I think I am going to skip the RO route. I did some reading and I just can't see any real advantage to it.

I need to bring down the PH of my supply water and the RO doesn't really affect PH very much.

Thanks to everyone for the input.
 
R/O removes the buffers in the water. Which allows the buffers in the nutes to pH the solution to where it is suppose to be..Makes pH'ing a breeze.
 
I think most people use tap water. What else is there? LOL If you have good well water, that's cool but a lot of people here use city water, I'm sure.

What's the alternative to tap water?
 
WOW !


There's a lot of us here who, in your opinion, are doing it wrong and at the same time doing very well with municipal tap water

What is it they say, Even the blind squirrel finds an acorn in a blizzard?

Some city water works ok, but a lot does not. Better to be safe than sorry so I also highly recommend using RO or in my case RODI.

Can plants be grown? Totally, but why inform people it is ok to use tap when it surly does not apply to all who grow?

The use of RO does apply, so there ya have it.
 
Just think how much nicer they would look if you did pH.
 
My 2 cents--Have your water tested and don't get an RO unless you need one. My biggest beef with the RO systems is the water they waste--it can bypass 4-5 gallons of water to get 1 gallon of RO'd water. Also there are some things in the water that your plants like. I used an RO when I had well water with a lot of dissolved solids in it. When I moved, my water was better and I don't use it any more.
 
Just think how much nicer they would look if you did pH.
gone that route...and not much or really at all. the tap water out here is fine and adds calcium tbh so i dont have to use my calmag as much.
 
I have been using tap water and well water for years and I don't think the glowing hand that is growing out of the side of my head has anything to do with it as it only glows at night :eek:
 
actually well water can be better than RO water in many instances

RO will remove trace minerals that are beneficial

RO is a pain in the *** and if you don't need it then you don't need it

if you have **** source water with high ppm or high in Na then you need an RO because you got **** source water

I would take good source water from a well with no filter over RO water all day long

as for buffering... whats the big deal... adjust your ph!
 
Depends...to many variables to access and answer properly. A more detailed question maybe.
 

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