Ro/Di to use Di or not?

Stonironi said:

So you don't use ro at all ? Just the well water ?

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So let me ask you a question if I might.

You have a well, and is there plants growing around this well or is it a barren wasteland with a ring of dead birds around it.

Just wondering why you assume this water is so harmful to plants.

Resinhound said:

So let me ask you a question if I might.

You have a well, and is there plants growing around this well or is it a barren wasteland with a ring of dead birds around it.

Just wondering why you assume this water is so harmful to plants.

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My well water coming out of the tap is around 280 ppm . That seemed pretty high so I didn't want to cause problems with my plants by adding to much of something and maybe cause a lockout or who knows what ? I have read in several places that well water if over 100-150 ppm will store in your soil and cause problems over time? My water isn't that bad . It smells like rotten eggs though

Stonironi said:

My well water coming out of the tap is around 280 ppm . That seemed pretty high so I didn't want to cause problems with my plants by adding to much of something and maybe cause a lockout or who knows what ? I have read in several places that well water if over 100-150 ppm will store in your soil and cause problems over time? My water isn't that bad . It smells like rotten eggs though

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That smell is Sulphur my man... I wish I had your water... I'd grow with that in a minute.

Resinhound said:

That smell is Sulphur my man... I wish I had your water... I'd grow with that in a minute.

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I use ro because my growing is coming from the book true living organics. In that book the rev says to use our water sources only in his soil . So I do ? I haven't used my well water before at all .

Ya cause RO is natural and organic... Haven't read the book and don't know who the Rev is but it seems to me you just can't get anymore organic then from a well or a spring.

I agree but there is a lot of stuff in ground water . And usually nowhere near the correct ratios for growing . Usually excessive calcium or mag. Too many salts from the ground will cause lockouts over time. We are growing in pots not the ground . Growing in containers will lockout easily from well water that is high in minerals .

Stonironi said:

View attachment 3727899 I agree but there is a lot of stuff in ground water . And usually nowhere near the correct ratios for growing . Usually excessive calcium or mag. Too many salts from the ground will cause lockouts over time. We are growing in pots not the ground . Growing in containers will lockout easily from well water that is high in minerals .

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Ok well good luck with your growing

Resinhound said:

Ok well good luck with your growing

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Thank you

I use ro/di but i usually just utilize the ro portion of my unit. i have hard well as well and wouldn't grow without it! I just purchased this 100gpd unit off eBay for 80 or so and it came with the refillable di atty. I have noticed no difference in end product but my ph is different when ran through the di. As you can see i think the di in my unit is done it starts off blue. Sorry for the pic.

Rereading back on your post i saw that you take an organic approach which i do as well somewhat and is crucial when attempting to maintain a healthy rhizosphere or microbial population. I suppose i really don't do organics per say but i do have my own worm farm and make my own mix consisting of with a base of 60 % coco, 25% castings, and 15% peat with a bunch of organic ammendments. I add chunky perlite to this later at about 20%. But about a week into the grow i feed HnG coco base with some other additives and teas through out. I know people probably think I'm crazy dumping chemicals on this mix but it performs awesome for me and is cheaper then buying fox farm or whatever.

dmxcrew03402 said:

I use ro/di but i usually just utilize the ro portion of my unit. i have hard well as well and wouldn't grow without it! I just purchased this 100gpd unit off eBay for 80 or so and it came with the refillable di atty. I have noticed no difference in end product but my ph is different when ran through the di. As you can see i think the di in my unit is done it starts off blue. Sorry for the pic.

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Is your ph lower when you use the Di ?

Yes i believe it is. Although i rarely use straight r.o besides flush time. Lots of fun trying to get ur ph correct on straight 0 ppm/tds water. Tends to fluctuate quite a bit when the water has been stripped. Becomes more stable when u add a little base nutrient or some cal mag type product to remineralize the water. I like to think of ro water like baking from scratch.

If this is long term recycled soil / no-till, then RO is the way to go. Ca and Mg collect over time and will screw with the soil. RO is like rainwater

Hey my Ro was like ph 4 but i sprinkle changed it drasticaly man after years using it if i give it to some one new without meters itl mess them up il tell u that well water mainly just needs ph down. ro i need ph up but if mix 50 50 u might be good if the well is 250 or less use that bro it no problems there its ok you mite still need some cal mag

Hey these here been on 265ppm well water no side effects since day 1 and everything else there in that shed. these are on the simple maxibloom 3 scoops in a bucket- of 3.5 gallons 5ml ph down in a bucket and few ml of a enzyme slf 100 was mites on the plants too sprayed um day two later.
Well water works another growers there well water is dead on ph 6.1 and only 175 ppm they have no issues either. Yes there could be something in ur water but chances r it aint gonna hurt ya now if u have a outside hose try that too seen inside can be worse or vise versa lol

jimmy1life said:

Hey these here been on 265ppm well water no side effects since day 1 and everything else there in that shed. these are on the simple maxibloom 3 scoops in a bucket- of 3.5 gallons 5ml ph down in a bucket and few ml of a enzyme slf 100 was mites on the plants too sprayed um day two later.
Well water works another growers there well water is dead on ph 6.1 and only 175 ppm they have no issues either. Yes there could be something in ur water but chances r it aint gonna hurt ya now if u have a outside hose try that too seen inside can be worse or vise versa lol

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Those look very nice ! Maybe someday I'll do one plant with just the well water and see how she does ?

I've been told by a few different organic growers that as long as the ph of your soil is good when you start then you don't need to ever adjust your ro water no matter what the ph reads as the soil will change it for you very easily with any water that is under say 100 ppm ? This without nutrients in the water of course . Other than a few drops of calmag every 3rd watering or so

You've been told right.

IF it's a natural soil with no bottle feeding. Hydro and bottles may need specific attention, but the normal plant / microbe relationship will set the pH to what the plant wants. Unless your starting soil is whack. Just start with a good soil, amend it, and it will become better soil in time.

This is my first batch of TLO soil . My slurry test of the soil before I added plants to it was 6.8 . I am new to organics but I am really liking it compared to growing with Chems and a ph meter for sure. That always sucked. It's 5.8 no it's 6.1 no damn it is 5.5 now ! Forget that mess

Can I recycle my soil without using worms ? Will the roots break down on there own ? Just throw the root balls in the bin break them up and re amend the soil let cook again and roll ?