Hi all, I'm about to purchase an RO water filter kit and are opting for good quality rather than cheap e-bay mostly Chinese manufactured equipment. In conducting my research I have been advised that a 3 stage is all I need to remove all the particulates etc and a 4th stage is not really necessary unless I plan on drinking the water as adds minerals back into the water such as calcium etc Considering this should I include the 4th stage to ensure my water includes some of the required nutrients or trace elements or will a good fertilizer include everything I need so better to have the water as pure as possible. Thanks in advance Sent from my iPhone using GC Forum
I think the point of using a ro filter is to get as close to 0 TDS as possible.... In other words the only stuff that goes in is what YOU put in.
After further research I've also found that the 4th stage generally de-ionizes the water... De-ionized water really fucks with pH sensors as well
Where do you live, generally? If you live in a city with clean, chlorinated water, use the water straight from the tap bro!! The chlorine will help prevent bullshit like root rot down the road
RO water does not completely removes all TDS in the water, a good RO set up will give u 10-20ppm, but anything uder 100ppm is still considered "bottle" quality. and can be used to produce a great crop. even if u have a 0ppm water source, all pland foods will include N-P-K primary, 2ndary, micro nutrients, and will give your plants everything they need in the correct dosage, so a calcite filter is not needed a 4th stage RO just means after the 3 stages, it runs through another RO membrane. furthering the purity of the water (aquafina has a ppm around 10, and the company uses a 7 stage RO filter) a calcite filter is what u are talking about, and can be added, this will remineralize the water, this is used for taste because, of preference, some prescription medicines will cause RO water to taste bitter, u add a calcite filter to sweeten the water. thats y aquafina and dasani taste different (dasani is ran through a calcite filter). De-ionized water is as pure as distilled water, and is ran through DI resin, that removes mineral ions from the water, and is completely different from RO water. DI water doesnt mess with the pH of water, it will actually fix it in theory, the impurities and additives in the water is what causes the pH to fluctuate. pH stands for power of hydrogen, meaning the amount of free hydrogen ions present, and determinants the pH of the solution. so if u have pure water at room temp, it would be neutral in pH.
I bought a 3 stage system from Aus (I live here too), and have been using that after having used only plain tap water previously. 3 Stage is fine. Water is water, the plants will get theirs nutes from the nutes you add. RO'ing just helps get any of the shit out of the water that isn't optimal; fluoride, chlorine etc. Tap water is usually fine too, don't over complicate it. Get a 3 stage system that isn't cheap and it will do as you wish. I also drink primarily out of my RO system too.
[quote name='"LordVoldefart"']I bought a 3 stage system from Aus (I live here too), and have been using that after having used only plain tap water previously. 3 Stage is fine. Water is water, the plants will get theirs nutes from the nutes you add. RO'ing just helps get any of the shit out of the water that isn't optimal; fluoride, chlorine etc. Tap water is usually fine too, don't over complicate it. Get a 3 stage system that isn't cheap and it will do as you wish. I also drink primarily out of my RO system too.[/quote] Hey thanks all, Just purchased the 3 stage and a quality product at that so all should be good. Sent from my iPhone using GC Forum