~What Is RO Water?Should I Use It??!!~

crazyoutlaw

New Member
You know those big jugs of water that they have in EVERY supermarket?The big blue ones?This is RO water right?And if so,what is the ph of it,and the ppm?I suppose everything is neutral,with a very low ppm..or is there none at all?Im asking because I dont want to use my tap water for frea of cuasing a nute lockout r other ph problems..
 

CuriousSoul

Well-Known Member
You know those big jugs of water that they have in EVERY supermarket?The big blue ones?This is RO water right?And if so,what is the ph of it,and the ppm?I suppose everything is neutral,with a very low ppm..or is there none at all?Im asking because I dont want to use my tap water for frea of cuasing a nute lockout r other ph problems..
RO = reverse osmosis. You have the right idea, the pH should be 7 and the ppm very close to 0. Have you considered collecting rainwater? It's free and the pH should be close to what you want (acid rain and all). Happy growing!
 

Florida Girl

Well-Known Member
You know those big jugs of water that they have in EVERY supermarket?The big blue ones?This is RO water right?And if so,what is the ph of it,and the ppm?I suppose everything is neutral,with a very low ppm..or is there none at all?Im asking because I dont want to use my tap water for frea of cuasing a nute lockout r other ph problems..

Depending on where you live... you may or may not need RO or distilled water. I live on the coast in Florida and my tap water has a salt content of 130 PPM :shock: as a comparison... a neighboring county 30 miles inland has a salt content of 8 PPM.

Your water company should send you an annual report that lists all the stuff in the water. If you don't have it... check their website to see if they post it on-line.

Regardless if you use Distilled, RO, Rain or TAP water the PH will need to be adjusted if you are growing in a hydro system. You want the PH between 5.7 - 6.0 in hydro... with 5.8 being ideal.

Always adjust the PH LAST! Most nutes lower the PH. Add any nutes to the water first and adjust the PH after that.
:peace:
 

crazyoutlaw

New Member
Excellent,thanks alot for the replies...I will consider collecting rainwater,since I live in a very tropical location,and it rains alot...however what is the ppm of rainwater...I dont care about the ph..just the ppm...I have a ph test kit from G.H...is rainwater better than using normal tap water??I live in the coast of good ol' Florida too...in the city..so my tap water should be low quality for growing huh?

Florida Girl:Once I add all the nutrients and additives to a gallon of ro water/rainwater/tap water...and I adjust the ph to 5.8..will it STAY there?

I know the ph fluctuates once ts in the medium itself,or in the reservoir,but what about if I keep the nutrient mix in a gallon?Will it stay on 5.8..or will it change over time?Thanks
 

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
Excellent,thanks alot for the replies...I will consider collecting rainwater,since I live in a very tropical location,and it rains alot...however what is the ppm of rainwater...I dont care about the ph..just the ppm...I have a ph test kit from G.H...is rainwater better than using normal tap water??I live in the coast of good ol' Florida too...in the city..so my tap water should be low quality for growing huh?

Florida Girl:Once I add all the nutrients and additives to a gallon of ro water/rainwater/tap water...and I adjust the ph to 5.8..will it STAY there?

I know the ph fluctuates once ts in the medium itself,or in the reservoir,but what about if I keep the nutrient mix in a gallon?Will it stay on 5.8..or will it change over time?Thanks
I think you are gettting more confused as the discussion goes on. Ph and PPM have very little to do with each other.
And rainwater, ro water and tap water are not the same. The difference will be in how long it stays stabilized. The ph of my ro water is typically 5 or less, with 0 ppm. The ph of my tap water is typically 7.3 with 300-350ppm. THe ph and ppm of rain water would depend on the atmosphere it falls thru. If you live in Floriduh it could get just a little contaminated falling thru all of the exhaust fumes. The gh drop kit, while better than nothing will not let you ph your water after you have added nutes, and the nutes will change the ph of your water. VV
 

crazyoutlaw

New Member
I think you are gettting more confused as the discussion goes on. Ph and PPM have very little to do with each other.
And rainwater, ro water and tap water are not the same. The difference will be in how long it stays stabilized. The ph of my ro water is typically 5 or less, with 0 ppm. The ph of my tap water is typically 7.3 with 300-350ppm. THe ph and ppm of rain water would depend on the atmosphere it falls thru. If you live in Floriduh it could get just a little contaminated falling thru all of the exhaust fumes. The gh drop kit, while better than nothing will not let you ph your water after you have added nutes, and the nutes will change the ph of your water. VV
I know that ph and ppm are two entirely seperate things...my GH ph test kit includes both ph down and ph up..so I can adjust the nutrient mix after Im done adding all the additives and such..I will adjust the ph to 5.8 since Im using coco coir hand watered....

My real concern is the actaul beggining ppm of the water I will use..which is most likely city tap water..you stated its usually around 300..thats pretty high,and is likely to cause problems since Im a beginner...right?

So I want to start with a water that has low ppm,so the end ppm of the nutrient mix is around 500-600..this will insure "safe"growing..with no unwanted salts and other metals in the mix....so should I use rain water or RO water...or should I just use my tap water?
 

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
I know that ph and ppm are two entirely seperate things...my GH ph test kit includes both ph down and ph up..so I can adjust the nutrient mix after Im done adding all the additives and such..I will adjust the ph to 5.8 since Im using coco coir hand watered....
Well maybe I am confused. When I was using a test kit the ph was determined by the color of the water. Your nutes don't affect the color?
That is the right ph for coco coir and your ppm for coco coir should be a little lower than it is for some other mediums, like rockwool, etc.
My real concern is the actaul beggining ppm of the water I will use..which is most likely city tap water..you stated its usually around 300..thats pretty high,and is likely to cause problems since Im a beginner...right?
The only way you would find this out is to use a meter that test's it. You would adjust for that beginning ppm, ie you want 1200ppm you would put your solution at 1500ppm, add for what was already there. The municipality that supplies your water has to be able to give you some idea of the quality of the water, contact them and ask em.

So I want to start with a water that has low ppm,so the end ppm of the nutrient mix is around 500-600..this will insure "safe"growing..with no unwanted salts and other metals in the mix....so should I use rain water or RO water...or should I just use my tap water?
Ok, you will not ever get a nute burn at that ppm, won't be giving them enough in coco-coir either. The only way you get unwnted metals and salts is if you add them. If you want to be assured none of those are there you should use ro water. This may be cost prohibitive for a small grow, mine was around $200.00. If you have city water it is probably fine, just let it sit for 24 hours before using it. Remember, people are drinking that water. I run 1200 to 1400 ppm for coco-coir. VV:blsmoke:
 

Seamaiden

Well-Known Member
You had a question about pH shift. If you're using a decent quality reverse osmosis filtered water, then whatever nutrients you add (assuming they're also good quality and are formulated to "self-regulate" to a certain pH) should remain at that final pH reading. IF it doesn't, then you're working with well-buffered water (alkaline) and that means that you will have a shift (also called bounce).
 

SlikWiLL13

Well-Known Member
i use tap water thats around 250-300ppm and dont have any problems with it. i just let it air out overnight to evaporate the chlorine the city puts in it. juice it up and ph it and im good to go. if your just mixing gallons at a time, i doubt your ph will wander far before you use it. my 25 gal rez requires adjusting about once a week.
 

dannyking

Well-Known Member
such issues i have with water in my area. theres fucking lead in the water at the moment. loads of people have been left in hospital over this. Good thing is though the council are supplying free bottled water to all the residents....
 

crazyoutlaw

New Member
Wow,excellent replies people..thanks.Now Im a little more confortable using my tap water...my nutrients for veg is Alaska Fish Fert,SuperThrive,MaxiCrop SeaWeed,and some boost using blood meal..for flowering is AN Monkey Juice Bloom,Big Bud,Over Drive,Mollases,and to flush Ima use AN Final Phase..do my nutrients sound good?Any one use them?
 

Seamaiden

Well-Known Member
Um... I need punctuation to pick that apart. :lol: I have and use f.e., another seaweed extract, blood and bone meals, molasses, Super Plant Tonic, Happy Frog, worm castings, Dr. Earth Organic 5 (for vegging), and.. I'm drawing a blank. I think you have a nice assortment to at least start with, I know nothing of the other ferts you've mentioned except for those I mentioned that match your mentions. :D

And now time for a quick bong recess, we'll return shortly... ---> bongsmilie
 

SlikWiLL13

Well-Known Member
the superthrive isnt necessary for your whole veg cycle, kind of a waste IMO. i use it with cuttings, stressed out plants, and i use it when i do my in between cycle flush. its basically just a vitamin supplement. its great shit, my guy had an outdoor plant 7' tall that after transplant layed flat on the ground with shock. he watered with strong superthrive and the bitch was standin proud the next day. its great for treating shock.
 

max420thc

Well-Known Member
tap water in my area is coming out at 500 ppm...and i have no idea of what that 500 ppm consists off..RO takes my water EC level to 0..now i know where i am starting at..and what i am starting with.then i add my nutes to the water bringing it up to the desired EC levels i am looking for..and that varies ..right now im feeding at 1100 to 1200 ppm..and i know what the plants are getting...you can if you want bump up the PPM untill the edges of your leaf's start curling then back off..i dont do that..but that will give you max growth rates if you do it..on the rest of your plants..clones ect..of a certain genetic type...you will know then the max you can feed it to get max growth.
 

Seamaiden

Well-Known Member
Max, if you're on municipal water you should be able to contact them and ask for test results and levels.
 

crazyoutlaw

New Member
Those are the issue why I DONT want to use my city tap water..it most likley has a high ppm to start with..those ppm levels are attributed to all the chemicals,salts,iodides and other metals..including fluoride..all these diffrent entities can make the ph fluctuate ALOT...and can actaully make nute burns and stress more common..since the chemicals interact with the actual nutrients...making some of them more available,and the others "lockout"..I guess Ima either use gallons of springwater,or when it rains..Ima collect some rainwater...I wont use a ppm meter,but I will check and adjust the ph of the final nutrient mix....so does anyone have any info on my nutrients?
 

max420thc

Well-Known Member
Wow,excellent replies people..thanks.Now Im a little more confortable using my tap water...my nutrients for veg is Alaska Fish Fert,SuperThrive,MaxiCrop SeaWeed,and some boost using blood meal..for flowering is AN Monkey Juice Bloom,Big Bud,Over Drive,Mollases,and to flush Ima use AN Final Phase..do my nutrients sound good?Any one use them?
monkey juice is supposed to be for coco growers?..i use alot of advance nut products...and everything does really well with no problems..some items i substitute that are cheaper..for example GH silca blast is the same as AN barricade ..just 10 to 15 dollars cheaper..other companys make humic acid and fulvic acid cheaper..same thing..in my opinion...AN's propriatary product's like voodoo juice.....pirahana tarantula..these are root developer's..and DAMN good ones too..worth the money..AN's basic nutes are about the same price as everyone else's...iquana juice pretty spendy though..the plants love it and do well on it though..the budding product's are worth the extra money IMHO..alot of people will disagree..i think final phase you can do without..just flush good with plenty of water..thats all final phase is doing is flushing and salt buildup and garbage out...ive heard alot of good about rhizotonic..i would imagine it would be a good idea to use enzimes and a carboload of some sort..carboload is made by AN but alot of companys make equivelent substitutes for that one...the fish fert you are using is good shit..so is the seaweed...ive heard alot of good things about superthrive....but never tried it...i like liquid karma alot...at the front end during veg your monkey juice probably has most of the mineral's your plants need..i am soil growing at the time..so i mix garden lime into my soil to balance out the PH also the lime has lots of calcium and other minerals plants love..garden lime keeps soil at aprox the correct ph..my soil run off ph is 6.8..and that is about perfect for soil...again..there are some cheaper substitutes to AN in alot of areas..but you cant go wrong with AN..you just cant...bongsmilie
 

crazyoutlaw

New Member
:mrgreen:
monkey juice is supposed to be for coco growers?..i use alot of advance nut products...and everything does really well with no problems..some items i substitute that are cheaper..for example GH silca blast is the same as AN barricade ..just 10 to 15 dollars cheaper..other companys make humic acid and fulvic acid cheaper..same thing..in my opinion...AN's propriatary product's like voodoo juice.....pirahana tarantula..these are root developer's..and DAMN good ones too..worth the money..AN's basic nutes are about the same price as everyone else's...iquana juice pretty spendy though..the plants love it and do well on it though..the budding product's are worth the extra money IMHO..alot of people will disagree..i think final phase you can do without..just flush good with plenty of water..thats all final phase is doing is flushing and salt buildup and garbage out...ive heard alot of good about rhizotonic..i would imagine it would be a good idea to use enzimes and a carboload of some sort..carboload is made by AN but alot of companys make equivelent substitutes for that one...the fish fert you are using is good shit..so is the seaweed...ive heard alot of good things about superthrive....but never tried it...i like liquid karma alot...at the front end during veg your monkey juice probably has most of the mineral's your plants need..i am soil growing at the time..so i mix garden lime into my soil to balance out the PH also the lime has lots of calcium and other minerals plants love..garden lime keeps soil at aprox the correct ph..my soil run off ph is 6.8..and that is about perfect for soil...again..there are some cheaper substitutes to AN in alot of areas..but you cant go wrong with AN..you just cant...bongsmilie
Thanks man..+rep. Yes I know that there are some AN products that are simply not worth it...such as carbo-load(mollases)....I grow in coco coir,and Ive hard of needing some typew of cal-mag supplement since the coir has a special property that messes with needed cal-mag..either way,I bought the Monkey Juice Bloom,then after 1 week of turning,I start Big Bud...then Overdrive...and I feed Final Flush 5 days before harvest..FF makes flushing alot easier.....Ikm getting some b-52 soon..

So do ya think using alaska fish fert and maxicrop sea weed in coco coir would be good?Just to be safe,I will folair feed the plants using Maxicrop during veg...since I heard this is very good,and wont result in possible cal-mag deficiencies....sound good?
 
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