Reverse Osmosis System PPM

[mrgreen2015]

Ok so my water had a PPM of like 325 and after the Reverse Osmosis System it is around 42-50

Should I mess with it some more or be satisfied? I mean I want a 0 ppm but 45 ppm is a heck of a lot better than 325!

In this video he takes 320 PPM to 0 wtf???? I have the 200 model which is better and I can't get that?

 

[az2000]

I mix RO with my 800ppm tap water to get 150ppm starting water to mix nutrients into. I don't care if the RO water is 10 or 120.

Why do you want zero ppm? You should have some, for trace minerals, etc.

 

[mrgreen2015]

Well I heard the trace minerals are in a form where the plant can't absorb. I also heard any ppm is basically "poison" for plants. (unless you add the nutes yourself)

p.s. 800ppm to 150 is awesome. how did you get it so low. I bought a good Reverse Osmosis System

 

[az2000]

p.s. 800ppm to 150 is awesome. how did you get it so low. I bought a good Reverse Osmosis System

I take 5gal jugs to a dispensing machine at the store. Usually it dispenses 20-40ppm. I have a couple jugs with 120ppm. The machine's membrane must've been failing that day.

If water is too high in dissolved solids it can interfere with the ppms added by nutrients. But, < 200 should be ok. I shoot for 130-170ppm. You can call your water provider to find out what's in your tap water. That might reveal some reason that you wouldn't want any ppms in your water. But, zero sounds excessive.

 

[intenseneal]

My cheap under the sink ro unit probably a 5gpd unit puts out 15ppm water and i have no idea when the filters where last changed. My good SpectraPure ro filter without the di canister does 8-10pmm with a new ro membrane and 0 ppm after fresh di resin, its a 90gpd unit. My tap water is about 450ppm but goes up to 550ppm. I am using my under sink unit water and tap water mixed to 150-200ppm as a base. 45ppm is not too bad i would not worry about it. Perhaps the restirctor is not correctly sized or the restrictor tube is the wrong length causing a poor rejection rate, imoroveme ts can be made but i would just happily use 45ppm water.

 

[mrgreen2015]

I'm still "salty" though lol. I will mess with the regulator and see what I can do.

 

[intenseneal]

45ppm is not salty in any way. I think you are being overly concerned with your water quality. Plants need some desolved salts and soilds in the water to complete many life processes. No where in nature do you find plants living on super low ppm water. It is most likely the more major solids/trace minerals that are making up that 45ppm, like cal mag possibly iron and silica. But like i said your ro filter shoukd be doing better than the 45ppm.

 

[chuck estevez]

0 ppm would be distilled water and that shit will fuck up your plant. I have very hard water, a cheap unit got me to 150 ppm, my 200 gal hydrologic gets me to 45/50 ppm and that is awesome, but i still have to add cal/mag back occasionally.

 

[Rrog]

rain water is super low ppm.

 

[intenseneal]

rain water is super low ppm.

And can contain unwanted things lfrom air polution. So unless you live out in the middle of the woods in an area with a very low emissions population i woukd stick with ro water or tap water. Acid rain comes to mind. Towns that burn coal to supply power to the grid or burn fuel oil for heating have poor air quality, i would not use LA or Phoenix rain water.
I do just like az2000 does(credit got to az200)and mix ro and tap water and my results have been very impressive and i no longer need to add a calmag supplement. I was having mag issues ealier in my grow using ro and calmg and tap water fix it, in fact nearly all my prior grows the stems have had the purple stripes from low mag. Now my stems are a nice healthy green. High tds is not always a bad thing you just want to know for the most part what makes up the tds in the water. You can get a yearly report online from your water company or send a sample in to a lab for analysis. My tap water ranges from 450-500+pmm, contains chlorine, some chloramine not much, fluoride, and mostly desolved minerals from erosion. Mixing ro and tap to a tds of 140-200 ppm has only benifited my plants.

 

[az2000]

I'm still "salty" though lol. I will mess with the regulator and see what I can do.

I think, like neal said, you're pursuing a quixotic obsession (I do that too). There's nothing wrong with some dissolved solids in the water. If it's too low, you have to add it back with a "calmag" product. You just don't want it to be too high. 150'ish is good. (You might find you don't need "calmag.").

 

[mrgreen2015]

Ok after playing around with the unit I found out some things. I normally have well water and when the pressure gets too low it turns on a pump to bring it up.

So even though my RO unit starts out in the green it ends up slightly in the yellow before the main well pump turns on. When I initially check the PPM it is about 40-45.

When I let it run.....it stabilizes to about 19. Come to find out if I just turn off the water to the RO system when I'm not using it, so the water doesn't build up pressure in the unit, it will continually come out to 19. Which is better than 45. I am content with 19.

I tested some bottled water and the PPM was 3.

I also decided to test the water BEFORE it goes to the softener just out of curiosity and the PPM was about 288. After the softener 325. So I'm thinking about possibly hooking up the RO unit before the softener now and then checking the PPM. 0 ppm might be a reality. But I don't want to mess up the filters on the RO unit.

Oh by the way. It takes 1hr 20min to fill a 5 gallon bucket!

 

[az2000]

Oh by the way. It takes 1hr 20min to fill a 5 gallon bucket!

Another good reason to cut your RO water with tap (instead of using purer water and then adding minerals back via a bottle of "calmag."). You might save half an hour.

(You would cut it with tap water before the softener, not after).

 

[Enigmatic Ways]

What's up with everybody saying that if you use RO water you'll need to use cal/mag...I use RO water that's 20ppm and not once have I had to use a cal/mag product.

 

[mrgreen2015]

I don't know your level of grow experience. I am new to it myself. A few grows but nothing worth anything.

But the Cal/mag issue has to do with purple stems I think. So if you ever had purple stems throughout your grow I believe that is a Mag deficiency. "they" say Mag deficiency is the #1 problem in a healthy garden. It basically controls everything.

 

[az2000]

I don't know your level of grow experience. I am new to it myself. A few grows but nothing worth anything.

It could be the nutrients he's using, or his soil may be fortified with dolomite. I think I get away without using "calmag" because my soil has a generous amount of dolomite. I start with 150ppm water (20ppm RO, 130ppm tap). But, my tap is mostly sodium and sulfates. Only about 30ppm is Ca:Mg.

I've been thinking about using epsom salt and gypsum to get my RO water to 150ppm starting. That would be interesting to see if it makes a difference. (I doubt that it does. I probably don't even need to add tap since it's mostly useless ppm. If anything, I like to do it to reduce the amount of RO I use. Slightly fewer trips to the RO dispensing machine.).

 

[intenseneal]

Glad you got it figured out. Water pressure is important for a ro filter to work correctly. Too low and you are not forcing the water threw the membrane. If you have low water pressure a booster pump may be needed. I ha e a 90gpd unit and ut take 45 minutes to fill a 5g jug so 1 hour 20 minutes is not bad sinc3 most ro filters for gardening and aquariums are 50-75gpd and home ro fliters are 5-10gpd. Water pressure also comes into play with speed of water priduction.

 

[az2000]

I looked at getting an RO filter. I noticed there's also a pump called a Permeate Pump. It uses the pressure of the waste water to help push pure water into the tank. Something also about it equalizing the membrane pressure for faster output, less waste. I don't remember, but it sounded like a worthwhile addon. (It doesn't use electricity.).

I read that it's common (if using the PP) to replace the shutoff valve with one rated for a higher pressure. That lets the tank pressurize further. Faster flow when you use the faucet. A little more capacity.

 

[mrgreen2015]

Last question if anyone is up for the challenge.

Is it ok to "stockpile" RO water? I mean like for a couple days only. That way I can have the water in 5 gallon buckets ready for a reservoir switch.

It takes over an hour for me to get 5 gallons. So I figure I could just buy a lid for the buckets and maybe it can sit for 1 or 2 days? I have 2 reservoirs that each hold 20 gallons! So 40 gallons total. That's like 10 hours of waiting!

 

[chuck estevez]

Last question if anyone is up for the challenge.

Is it ok to "stockpile" RO water? I mean like for a couple days only. That way I can have the water in 5 gallon buckets ready for a reservoir switch.

It takes over an hour for me to get 5 gallons. So I figure I could just buy a lid for the buckets and maybe it can sit for 1 or 2 days? I have 2 reservoirs that each hold 20 gallons! So 40 gallons total. That's like 10 hours of waiting!

sure, why not? I make a 30 gal barrel full, make a jug for coffee and a jug for drinking.