"reverse osmosis"

[shuggy4105]

:smoke1: :smoke1: hi folks,hope all is doing good man.
i`ve been reading the grow journals and in "e-man`s" grow he talks about "reverse osmosis".I`ve also read somewhere on this forum this term being used. wat is this "process",if it is a process!
cheers for anyones veiw.

 

[SFC]

It is basicly a series of filters hooked up to your tap water that purifies the water of total dissolved particles,and lowers the Ph to an even 6. For hydro,and even soil growers it gives you a pure water source to start adding nutrient to. I have one,and it made a world of difference in my own grows. I highly recommend it as an investment.

 

[shuggy4105]

any idea of cost,can you "DIY" it, just buy the filters and purify yourself?

 

[DLtoker]

Hm, that's interesting. I never even thought of anyone doing a DIY for an RO system. I know the filters are the most expensive part of the system so I don't know if it really would make a difference with price. I just bought one for just over 100 bucks on ebay.

 

[Elephant Man]

I love mine, my RO water tastes better than any store bought. I looked around abit and as DL pointed out many can be found for just over $100. I paid $150 for mine at 'Home Depot' or 'Lowes'...can't remember which one. It came with everything, attachments, faucet, expansion tank. The same store had a $250 'premium' unit. The clerk couldn't tell me the difference so he let me open it and it is the same except the tank is metal and it had pushlock fittings. Not worth the extra cost IMO.

My water worked fine for growing before, city here comes in at a neutral 7 and 300 ppm. But I wasn't drinking it, so I bought the unit to save $ on bottled water. About 4 months later I am still getting a nice neutral 7 ph and 20 ppm. I hardly ever adjust ph of my feedings, my water takes on ph of ferts very easily.

The only thing else that should be pointed out I guess is that if you switch to RO, make sure you have a macro and trace additive handy. Most ferts are based loosely on alkaline tap water, usually containing Ca/Mg.

 

[shuggy4105]

are they difficult to fit/connect? i`m a DIY disaster,but i love givin things a shot:guitar: . what about those "Brita Filters",would they do anything simmiliar? thanx for the feedback allready:ciao:

 

[Elephant Man]

are they difficult to fit/connect? i`m a DIY disaster,but i love givin things a shot:guitar: . what about those "Brita Filters",would they do anything simmiliar? thanx for the feedback allready:ciao:

Thanks for reminding me, I forgot to mention something. Some of these cheaper kits come with a 'saddle clamp' I think it is called to tap into your water pipe. I would stay away from using this thing as I was told in some states (USA) it can void your homeowners insurance.

Get the right adapters or have a plumber install it for you.

That being said, any hardware store will have a 'tee-in' fitting for the right size compression fitting hose attachment. This peice goes between a faucet, toilet, on the end of a hose connection, wherever you need to connect it. If you have a fridge with drinking water connections, you should tee in with that too.

Shuggy, honestly I hung mine on the side of my bathroom sink for a while...attached by simply connecting on the cold side feed under the sink. It was totally 'temporary apartment style' so anyone can do it. Funny thing is though, they drink more than me so I moved it to the garage. They can be attached to hydro reservoirs too, with an auto-feed float valve.

Guess the best idea I can think of would be to take a picture of wherever you think you might could hook this thing up and we can go from there. Remember, not too detailed a pic, just under the sink or something...not necessary to see your whole kitchen.

Eman:ccc: