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What Can I Do To Make My Water Better?

Rabbi

Rabbi

Member
Hey gang, just looking for some advice here.

I recently just moved to a place that has absolutely terrible water. It tests at 2.5EC/1250ppm before being run through my r/o unit and tests 0.5EC/250ppm after.

My plants look like absolute shit and some won't even grow at all.

I'm thinking about adding a water softener pre-r/o but not completely convinced that will fix my problems. I also considered a De-Ionization Post-Filter but at 250ppm I would end up firing through a couple of those a week which makes it not a very viable option.

Any suggestions?
 
S

St. Phatty

Active member
Rabbi said:
Hey gang, just looking for some advice here.

I recently just moved to a place that has absolutely terrible water. It tests at 2.5EC/1250ppm before being run through my r/o unit and tests 0.5EC/250ppm after.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Rainwater collection.

If you're in an apartment building, it depends on the situation. Once I had a top floor apartment with reasonable management that might have tolerated rainwater collection for a while.

I guess there are laws about it so sometimes rainwater collection is best done discretely.
 
Rabbi

Rabbi

Member
St. Phatty said:
Rainwater collection.

If you're in an apartment building, it depends on the situation. Once I had a top floor apartment with reasonable management that might have tolerated rainwater collection for a while.

I guess there are laws about it so sometimes rainwater collection is best done discretely.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately that is no where near reliable enough. I need minimum 240 gallons a week. It rained(lightly) twice here last year.
 
Stickybred420

Stickybred420

Member
multi stage RO or some kind of de mineralizing/purifying setup. or if theres a local water shop in town see if you can get a discounted rate for bulk supply. you could get a purifying system plumbed in and then you'd be laughing. 100% worth the investment In the long run and, depending on your setup, will easily pay for itself in a few harvests.
 
Rabbi

Rabbi

Member
Stickybred420 said:
multi stage RO or some kind of de mineralizing/purifying setup. or if theres a local water shop in town see if you can get a discounted rate for bulk supply. you could get a purifying system plumbed in and then you'd be laughing. 100% worth the investment In the long run and, depending on your setup, will easily pay for itself in a few harvests.
Click to expand...

Ok good stuff, kinda figured it would be something like that. Literally heading to "Water Warehouse" right now with a couple samples.
 
Rabbi

Rabbi

Member
Alright, just got back from Water Warehouse and they said that I have extreme hardness and should get a water softener. I figured that might be the case but good to know for sure.
 
Palindrome

Palindrome

King of Schwag
Rabbi said:
Alright, just got back from Water Warehouse and they said that I have extreme hardness and should get a water softener. I figured that might be the case but good to know for sure.
Click to expand...

As far as I know a water softner replaces Cal and Mg ions with Sodium chloride, not suited for plants and your RO filter will then have to filter Sodium chloride out.

I don't know if that's easier, compared to getting a better RO filter. My guess would be looking into a more "industrial" RO filter, or a multi stage RO system. Either way consult someone that know about horticulture, as whats sold here as water softners are not an option for growing.

I'd get a test made of the 0.5 Ec water, to see what's left in it. You might just need to adjust your nutrient mix, to get your plants growing!
 
Rabbi

Rabbi

Member
Palindrome said:
As far as I know a water softner replaces Cal and Mg ions with Sodium chloride, not suited for plants and your RO filter will then have to filter Sodium chloride out.

I don't know if that's easier, compared to getting a better RO filter. My guess would be looking into a more "industrial" RO filter, or a multi stage RO system. Either way consult someone that know about horticulture, as whats sold here as water softners are not an option for growing.

I'd get a test made of the 0.5 Ec water, to see what's left in it. You might just need to adjust your nutrient mix, to get your plants growing!
Click to expand...
From what I understand it's a lot easier for r/o to remove sodium than it is to remove cal/mag. In fact using a water softener before r/o will increase the life of your r/o unit if you have hard water, from what I've been told.

I did get a test done of the 0.5 Ec water. "Hardness" was apparently the only issue.
 
Stickybred420

Stickybred420

Member
a good buddy of mine owns a water shop and he sets me up for my grow. so im lucky there. the water i get from him is purified h20 that measures 0.000 ppm and 7.0 ph. every single time. he spends 200k every year and a half to keep his systems in check. if i can say one thing, having a reliable and clean water source is of utmost importance. it a beautiful thing knowing that you have a completely blank and neutral slate to work with. its so easy to get your nutes right and read runoff/ deal with feed problems. sorry, not tying to write an essay here but i cant stress enough how important a clean water source is. obviously i don't recommend going broke trying to create a good water source, but try to work with the salesmen to find a good option to give you what you are looking for.
 
Rabbi

Rabbi

Member
Stickybred420 said:
a good buddy of mine owns a water shop and he sets me up for my grow. so im lucky there. the water i get from him is purified h20 that measures 0.000 ppm and 7.0 ph. every single time. he spends 200k every year and a half to keep his systems in check. if i can say one thing, having a reliable and clean water source is of utmost importance. it a beautiful thing knowing that you have a completely blank and neutral slate to work with. its so easy to get your nutes right and read runoff/ deal with feed problems. sorry, not tying to write an essay here but i cant stress enough how important a clean water source is. obviously i don't recommend going broke trying to create a good water source, but try to work with the salesmen to find a good option to give you what you are looking for.
Click to expand...

Damn must be nice.

I obviously don't want to go broke creating a good water source but at the same time I realize how valuable a good water source is.
 
R

RockinRobot

Active member
Rabbi said:
Damn must be nice.

I obviously don't want to go broke creating a good water source but at the same time I realize how valuable a good water source is.
Click to expand...

A decent 4 stage RO/DI filter should handle your water, but you will need to change filters and the DI resin more often. Look at getting a refillable DI cartridge. Many saltwater fish stores carry the resin in bulk and this can save a lot on DI refills.

You should be able to pick up a decent 100g/day 4 stage RO/DI for well under $200.
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Rabbi said:
Hey gang, just looking for some advice here.

I recently just moved to a place that has absolutely terrible water. It tests at 2.5EC/1250ppm before being run through my r/o unit and tests 0.5EC/250ppm after.

My plants look like absolute shit and some won't even grow at all.

I'm thinking about adding a water softener pre-r/o but not completely convinced that will fix my problems. I also considered a De-Ionization Post-Filter but at 250ppm I would end up firing through a couple of those a week which makes it not a very viable option.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Noooooo water softeners. They are 'cleaned' (actually hardness minerals are released to drain (BUT NOT 100%) by using salt, which you don't want the residue mixed into your nutes

DI (deionization removes 100%, BUT) also needs to be cleaned (not aware of any home cleaning systems)

depending on your volume needed you may need to but ~ $1000+ system

considering this affects bathing and laundry, you might consider a whole house system
https://www.uswatersystems.com/us-w...e-reverse-osmosis-system-up-to-1-5-baths.html

I use an ispring. You might need the extra purification https://www.amazon.com/iSpring-RCC1...d=1524407271&sr=8-18&keywords=booster+pump+ro

FYI all RO production specs are based on 24 hour production, but depends on your storage tank size
 
Rabbi

Rabbi

Member
PetFlora said:
Noooooo water softeners. They are 'cleaned' (actually hardness minerals are released to drain (BUT NOT 100%) by using salt, which you don't want the residue mixed into your nutes

DI (deionization removes 100%, BUT) also needs to be cleaned (not aware of any home cleaning systems)

depending on your volume needed you may need to but ~ $1000+ system

considering this affects bathing and laundry, you might consider a whole house system
https://www.uswatersystems.com/us-w...e-reverse-osmosis-system-up-to-1-5-baths.html

I use an ispring. You might need the extra purification https://www.amazon.com/iSpring-RCC1...d=1524407271&sr=8-18&keywords=booster+pump+ro

FYI all RO production specs are based on 24 hour production, but depends on your storage tank size
Click to expand...

Well this is for out in my shop so I think a whole house system is a little over kill and likely won't help things much better(if any) than my current r/o system that's out there now. I've tried a couple different r/o systems and neither one completely removed the hardness. Not that I need it 100% removed(although that would be nice) but my plants are telling me that I at least need more than currently.

Deionization is something I've considered as well, however at 250ppm(post r/o) I'd be firing through a new filter every week. In the end it would be way cheaper for me to just have clean water brought in from a water company. I mean that is an option I suppose but just not one I would like.

From what I was told yesterday after getting the water tested was that "hardness" was really the main issue. Not saying a water softener is a perfect solution but sounds like it'll at least make things better, which I'll take at this stage. I'm currently vegging in soft water and r/o and the plants look great until I take them out to the shop where their is only hard water and r/o.
 
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