water quality ??

hi, ive been looking at water quality in my area before i commit to ro filter, read so much about ro or not to ro and was just wandering if anyone has a view on my local water? thanks

Cozz: You're obviously going through what I just faced so maybe this will help. We do have a problem with municipal water because those were the test specifications they sent you that were taken at a specific point in time and I suspect they vary throughout the year. Mine looks good on paper and my water tastes okay in the winter when they send me the report but today it tests out of my tap at 470 ppms and a pH of 8.7. The crap that comes out of my tap literally ruins my plumbing fixtures every couple of years. When we moved here the city sent us a letter congratulating us on buying a home in this community but they warned us not to drink the water! No shit. They said it was not recommended for seniors, infants or tropical fish. The said it was safe for bathing and cooking but they recommended we drink bottled water. This stuff kills Walmart's goldfish! During the summer it tastes like it came out of my neighbors swimming pool. Pour yourself a glass, hold it up to the light, and you'll swear you see something swimming in it. As a result we drink only from the refrigerator filtered water and the GE filter I installed under the kitchen sink.

For hydro growing I buy filtered water for 39 cents a gallon from a kiosk at the local supermarket for my little bubble tubs and DWC's. It's not that expensive, just a pain in the ass to have to go get it every week or so.

For my greenhouse and dirt garden I went to Lowe's and bought the biggest Whirlpool 'whole house' filter they had that would remove chlorine. Unfortunately the cheaper ones don't. The chlorine is what I was told to fear. The filter housing was $69 and the accompanying carbon and particulate filter was another $39 but now it doesn't taste like chlorine and my potted plants in my little greenhouse seem to like it.

Your next option is an R/O system that costs anywhere from $150 for some systems I've seen online to as much as $700 for some of the ones at the hydro store, but they waste anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of the water they filter. And if you're only growing for yourself the maintenance on those systems is no minor expense. The R/O system I saw at the hydro store that I liked was almost $300 for 100 gallons a day and the membrane is $90 and the two filters are about $40 each and that's estimated to have to be replaced every six months. For my little operations that's just too much. There is one with a back flush feature that is supposed to last a years but I think it's still too much for a little operation like mine. I hope that helps. Good luck. HSA

You should go with an R/O

200s is not bad for ppm, but you need to test it at the tap. Do not take your public stats from your water company, by the time it hits your faucet additional ppm's are probably present.

hi all thanks for the replys, when i was in dirt i used ro from local fish store without no real issues other then lugging it home! i am doing a small opp just 6 pot rdwc, but as said its weighing the cost of ro filter, as if i cant get to grips with hydro then ill be back playing in the mud!! though i spose i could keep the filter saves all that lugging about,

HSA you sure paint a picture of your supply lol, im the same, my fridge filters the chlorine etc, ill be looking at ro filters and take it from there thanks for input,

happy h, thanks bud yep im looking tonight at ro filters,

big bc i rekon your right, wont be believing the hype from the local suplyer, ro it is, apreciated!!