Reverse Osmosis VS Reverse Osmosis De-Ionized

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by whatuthinkin, Dec 15, 2009.

  1. Well I am about to purchase a system and have 2 that I am looking at.

    The first is this: 100 GPD RO Reverse Osmosis Home Water Filter NEW - eBay (item 370306939174 end time Dec-17-09 17:30:22 PST)

    It's 100 GPD 5 Stage with a 4.4 gallon tank.

    And the other is this: 150GPD 0ppm Reverse Osmosis+(2)DI Aquarium Water Filter - eBay (item 380188434940 end time Dec-21-09 19:41:56 PST)

    It is 150 GPD De-Ionized RO system with no tank.

    I like that the DI system produces the water faster but will it help or hurt my plants in any way? The 2nd one is a little cheaper as the shipping is free. The first one seems to have better filters but I'm not sure how much it will affect its performance compared to the 2nd.

    What does everyone here think? Or is there another system you would recomend other than these 2?
     
  2. Thinks, I recommend the second one, but that is based only on recommendations made to me. It is the one I'm going to get after xmas. I do, however recommend you get the version of that filter that comes with the tank and all, that vendor sells all types of packages. But really man, the first one looks fine too. I don't think you can go far wrong here. You need 100 gpd, a tank, DI (5 or 6 stage), and that's about it. You'll get close to 0 ppm with that.
     
  3. Ok so the DI isn't going to do anything but help correct? I will get one with a tank for sure though of I will just get that one and get a larger tank. I want a larger one anyways and may have somewhere to put it.
     

  4. The DI is really the last filter, the "water polisher" that removes the last few PPM. I doubt it is truly necessary, but since I don't know I'd just get it anyway. Doesn't cost much more. Probably doesn't matter much either way.
     
  5. #5 whatuthinkin, Dec 15, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2009


    That's kinda what I was thinking but I just don't know anything about them so it's hard to know what's good and what isn't. So I think I will get that system unless there is anyone that would think other-wise. Thanks again Mech.

    -Edit- Well I was going to Mylar the walls of the mother chamber and I had taken the measurments to do so but I am taking a break. I put a screw bit into my fore-finger when putting a handle on the back door of the box so I'm lettin the pain of that go away for a bit. Going to grab the closest bong/pipe n smoke a bit and maybe toss in a movie.
     
  6. #6 cray1000, Dec 15, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2009
    I wouldnt get the DI, I read the resins in them are NOT food safe and therefore you shouldnt drink it. and its nice to be able to use it for drinking water. On the other hand i read that DI is safe to drink in gereral, as long as your eating food to get your minerals :)

    plus my r/o system removes it down to 0 ppm on my meter, max is like 15ppm. (20ppm when it was new for some reason)

    I have the Spectrapure Eliminator 100GPD, i paid like $200 for it and its worth every penny. You should see the crap it takes from my city water.

    plus it tastes good, even warm.

    i would get one with a PSI gauge on it though, it helps make sure your psi is high or low enoough and elimiates guessing of clogged filters, etc.
     
  7. Cray, I'm not refuting you, but where did you get that info? I'd like to see it.


    OK, so we got one person that can vouch for DI being unnecessary. Good.

    I just drink tap water, but that's a good bonus.

    That sounds like good advice. I've got gauges in my, well, bin of gauges, but they are easily bought and installed.

    Thanks for the info, Cray!
     
  8. Reply #1 that makes me question the DI. I will look into that in a bit Cray. If I find anything I will post it in here so we all know.
     

  9. i shouldnt say all DI resin's arent food safe, but i know spectrapure says they are not on their website, i assume they are only talking about their own, but they make some of the best filters and membranes so if food safe ones existed i think their's would be.

    also, think twice about the tank too. I was always mad mine didnt include a tank. but then i read that tanks can cause flavor and other crap to enter the water (volatile organics or something like that) and that they recommend you run it through another filter after the tank in certain cases. this is from something i saw on another site, so def. check my facts on the tank.

    i should atleast mention that Lowes sells one with a faucet, tank, and like 200GPD for like $160. I was kinda wishing i got that at first, but i am so happy with mine, i dont really care any more :)
     
  10. #10 cray1000, Dec 15, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2009



    No problem, i got that info, as i kinda expanded on in my last post (you two posted so fast i didnt see yours at first) from spectrapure's site. here: FAQ FOR REVERSE OSMOSIS

    it says:



    The last line i bolded is where i got that info. It says "DI Resins" not "Our DI Resins" so i am assuming its all DI cartridges.

    Does your tap taste good warm? I read all water tastes good cold, but to really see the quality of the water you should drink it at room temp and see if still tastes good. supposedly RO and good water will and regular tap/well water wont. but then again some wells have GREAT water to drink (just not for plants!)


    Yeah the gauges are good cause mine needs a Minimum PSI of 40PSI. Luckily, mine is 50 PSI, but it could have just as easily been 30 or lower (like my parents house with a well/pump)
    If you have a well mech, you MAY need to get a booster pump they sell for RO systems if your pump doesnt put out minimum of 40PSI. If it doesnt you might want to see if you can find an RO that will work with lower PSI's than normal, cause the booster pumps are like $250.
     



  11. are you smoking purple haze from grow #2 or did you run out lol?

    i have no clue how much to expect from this:

    [​IMG]

    want to venture a guess LOL??? I dont knwo if shoudl expect like half an once dried or like 3 ounces tried lol.
     
  12. #12 whatuthinkin, Dec 15, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2009
    Purp Haze wasn't the grow #2. That was just some random shwag seed that tasted like lemon kush. Purp Haze are the 2 larger plants in my current box. And yes I am out. =( All that is left is a tiny bit of hash oil from her and the lingering smell in one of the curing jars.

    Dude I am not good at estimating but I'm gonna give it a shot. I will go with over 2.5oz. I think that might be a little high but why not hope for it? I got 40 grams in a mini-fridge and was going to try for 2 oz in it so I don't think that's too far off.

    -Edit- Also I just got back from my local hydro shop as I posted this originally but forgot to include this. I had him test some of the city water here and it was like 468ppm or something close to that. I don't live too far from the shop so mine shouldn't be too far off. I am deffinatelly going to get a RO system and will probably get the DI as I have been talking to Rumple and he used a RO system with DI for his plants and for drinking.
     
  13. My city water is about 460.

    I bought the RO w/Di.

    Good for the plants, good for drinking, coffee tastes great. :D

    Plus, when I mix the "soup" I know where the heck I am.

    Down to <23ppm

    One thing I also have is a 25 gallon storage tank.

    I empty the sucker when I do the weekly purge.
     
  14. I am going to get the RODI system I posted above. And will get either a 14 or 20 gal tank. I really need the 20 but don't know if I can afford it atm. So it may wait. Just more prep time.
     
  15. Well you can fill trash cans or 5 gallon buckets a few days before the big purge, if you don't have the coin to spring for a decent tank.

    Hell, find an old aquarium!

    It is a drag to be in the middle of a purge and run out of water. :eek:

    It takes almost 12 hours for my 25 gal tank to refill.
     
  16. "Zero Water" System vs. RO Water System

    Installation

    Ro System - After you have rounded up the tools and have purchased the correct fittings about 1 hour to install it.

    Zero Water - None required

    Efficiency

    RO System - RO requires back pressure to work. For every gallon you get another two gallons or so goes straight down the drain and you never see it untill it shows up on your water bill

    Zero Water - 100% efficient

    Filter Replacement

    RO System - Filters and membranes are recommended to be replaced on a time schedule. Example: Change the membrane every year as an example and there are usually also 5 filters that have a replacement schedule based on time. This is very inefficient not to mention time consuming to replace.

    Zero Water - Filter replacement is based on usage. When the ppm gets to .006 ppm it's recommended that you replace the filter(s). No tools required, takes two minutes.
     
  17. I looke at zero water and ts cool, but the filters are pricey at $15.00 each and they only do 20-30 gallons per $15 cartridge.

    I can do thousands on my RO system before needing new filters.

    but its cool. thanks for the innfo.
     
  18. oh and i forgot, another reason to get RO only is that DI cartridges are qute pricey from wht i have seen. atleast spectrapure ones are. its one more thing to buy...
     

  19. This is part of a post from 2Lazy on a thread I posted about Zero Water...

    "The site says the filter can handle about 40,000 parts of disolved solids. So if your tap is 200ppm you could get about 200 gallons of water before replacing the filter, which cost about $15.

    Suppose you go out and get a filter bottle, distiller, and replacement filters. Total cost is $175 after tax. You then filter 1000 gallons of tap water. In the end you've paid about 18 cents per gallon, which isn't fantastic, but it isn't horrible. After 5000 gallons you hit the point where you've probably saved money over an RO system as far as I can tell and you've paid about 10 cents per gallon."
     
  20. #20 whatuthinkin, Dec 23, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 23, 2009
    Well I went ahead and ordered the RO + DI kit 150GPD system. I looked and there were other systems that had the DI and had a T fitting before the DI after the RO membrane so I can just T off there and have regular RO water if I need to and the membrane will still put ouf 150GPD. I will later purchase a storage tank to make things easier.

    The 100GPD systems with a 4.4 gallon storage tank would take me approx 4.8 hrs to get the 20 gallons I need to do a system change. Take off 45 min to an hour for the tank and you get around 3.8ish maybe a little higher.

    With the 150GPD tank it would only take 3.2 hours to produce the 20 gallons I would need. So even without a tank this system will be faster so why not get the larger membrane and have the DI water? I will get either a 14 or 20 gallon tank in the future.

    Here is a link to a currently active auction where I got mine.

    150GPD 0ppm Reverse Osmosis+(2)DI Aquarium Water Filter - eBay (item 110401195611 end time Jan-06-10 21:34:11 PST)
     

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