Is RO water better for soil grows?

Thanks SS! I rinse the lines and drippers after each grow in... White Vinegar!! Works just as you say.

For single Mix-n-Toss soil grows, the buildup in the soil hasn't been an issue. I'm going no-till from now on and this is where the buildup will be unwanted. The plants get plenty of Ca from the gypsum, calcium shell, lime and of course the CaCO3 in the worm castings.

Rrog said:

I've been looking into this and so far can't find a significant difference between rain water and RO water. Assuming you are not getting rain with dissolved pollutants, both RO and rain are nearly pure water, with a few ions, etc.

If anyone has any hard data on this, I'd be very interested.

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BRAVO Rrog!!! (BTW, empty out your PM's! Been trying to message ya!) You are the first I have seen who actually considered that little tidbit!! Acid rain is horrible in my area, (Coal-fired Power Plants) yet we have some pretty lush forests in the Cherokee area. Tn, NC, SC, Ga
OP, If ya want to get REALLY anal about it, yeah rain would be best, but in my experience Tap water is just fine in almost every part of the country with the exception of some of the more severe areas out west like death valley. If you have extremely alkaline water use RO and stock up on Cal/Mag.
A whole lot of folks have been into hydro, and a lot of the principles and practices used in hydro seem to get carried over on these forums to soil where they are either unnecessary, or just plain don't work. For the vast majority of us, tap water has many needed micro-nutrients and minerals that would have to be added to RO. Why fix what aint broke?

JH

My city water is yummy and my plants love it. Some strains still need cal/mag in bloom though.

hotrodharley said:

Rain water is very good but totally lacking in any nutrient content. In that case it makes sense to be prepared to add nutrients. I was simply saying it seems a fool's errand to remove calcium and magnesium and then run to the store to buy cal/mag.

I run straight tap water in my soil and in my DWC units. I do adjust pH for both but with less concern about it in soil. Why people think pot is so vastly different than any other plant is beyond me.

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You run BOTH soil & hydro?? Props man!! You can adjust the pH of your watering/feeding solution to get it closer to ideal, but in a properly buffered soil or soilless medium, the medium will adjust the pH of whatever passes slowly through it to that of the medium. pH has never been an issue with my grows except in the beginning when I was learning from these forums and saw everyone obsessing over pH. I got my degree in over-engineering shit early on!! LOL It's a good idea to keep a supply of Cal/Mag on hand anyway IMO. I grow mainly Sats, and my cultivars seem to devour Ca and Mg in early to mid flower. Seems that the Sats and Sat dom hybrids love their Ca.

Rrog said:

I agree Cann. I water with Blumats, which require a constant pressure water source. I used to use well water, with a pressure reducer. Works great, but Ca buildup over time isn't good. So looking to set up RO filtration, with a pump to increase the pressure, then a pressure reducer to feed the blumats just what they want.

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WTF?? Just how many acres you got going on there anyway Rrog? Irrigation systems? LOL Seriously tho, I'd like to see your op in action. I like tinkering as well.

Hey Jack! How are you? Very nice to have you stop by. I just run 2-3 plants at a time. I like to maintain a specific soil moisture level rather than wet / dry cycles. So the drippers are for that continuity, not necessarily a labor savings. I have my grow op down until fall. I'm packing up to move to a new place.

REALLY? I am all ears here. That works for you? (Obviously, or you wouldn't be doing it. LOL) I'd like to take this private and pick yer brain a bit!! Don't know if I would personally try it at this stage, but the knowledge and info would be priceless.
I've been better, no doubt, but at least I'm breathing free air again. The post bust strokes left me on SSI, and I'm still reeling from the fall-out, but it gets better slowly. I'm trying to decide whether or not to stay where I am, or say fuck it and make a move to a more friendly environment. Growing and advancing my knowledge of it is more important than higher profit margins (which are still pretty damn good where I'm at right now at 5K or better per lb.) There is no doubt that I'll be firing up the bulbs again as soon as I am safely able to do so, in fact that's the only way I can see I'll make it now. SSI=$710 per mo, no food stamps because of the drug charge. The math there just doesn't work well for me. Anyone in need of an old, broke down grower, Holla!!!

Of course you're all ears. You're a hare.

Have you heard of the blumat drippers? Big thread on IC about it also. The drippers maintain whatever soil moisture level you set it at. I have a little hole under each dripper to fill with amendments, that slowly get dripped into the soil. Works great. I also have Tensiometers Irrometer Link to very accurately and quickly measure the moisture level (kPa) just to see what's going on.

Hope my two cents aren't coming in too late.. I've been kind of inactive here on these forums.

Anyways - my last grow, I was using tap water that I let set out and evaporate. But for some reason I kept having issues!!! Long story short - I researched on what my city water has in it and turns out that they use Chlorime in it. Kills bacteria. So basically - kills my organic living soil and my soil can not be strong enough to fight off any kind of def.

So - - - after discovering that I had that issue, I went ahead and found a 50gal barrel locally for FREE. Good deal huh? I routed rain gutters to it and had a full barrel in no time. Now I have 4 barrels since it worked so well. Though - I always wanted to have an R/O system just for the sake of having fresh clean drinking water - I bought one. . AND let me tell you - it's worth it. It is super easy to maintain it and most importantly you can hook it up right in your grow room! And that I have done - so I don't even use the rain barrels any more for indoor stuff since everything is right there in the room!

Note : As long as you keep up with your R/O system you'll get a good life out of it. Parts are replaceable so in the long run it's not expensive at all. Considering you know you'll be getting stripped water. CLEAN.

Personally this is how I do my water ..

Seedling / Early Veg - r/o water , r/o foliar spray
Mature Veg - r/o water & every 4th I water with r/o ACT + r/o foliar spray
---- And the cycle goes on after that. Every 4th I do a r/o ACT. Always keep up with foliar spray.

I agree with all of that, for whatever that's worth.

Rrog said:

Thanks SS! I rinse the lines and drippers after each grow in... White Vinegar!! Works just as you say.

For single Mix-n-Toss soil grows, the buildup in the soil hasn't been an issue. I'm going no-till from now on and this is where the buildup will be unwanted. The plants get plenty of Ca from the gypsum, calcium shell, lime and of course the CaCO3 in the worm castings.

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Hi Rrog! Sorry to bring up such an ancient post, but I'm in a similar situation now as you were back in 2013 and am hoping to pick your brain a bit.

I'm starting up a no-till living soil grow of my own (also watering with blumats), and am a bit torn on what to do about my water source. How did the RO water work for you in your living soil setup? Did it cause any deficiencies/issues down the line? My main concern is it stripping too many minerals from the living soil.

The PH of my tap water here is way too high, over eight, so im not gonna chance it throwing off the soil PH. I dont want to use any "ph down" chemicals either. I would like to use RO, but not if I have to add bottled cal mag to avoid deficiencies, as I'm aiming for true organic style growing here. My eventual plan is to use only stored rainwater. Any additional info or advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!