Is Using Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water Useful In Growing? - Overview & FAQ
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- Reverse Osmosis and the modern high-tech Cannabis garden. Today on Lex’s World we discuss RO Water Purification and whether or not it has a place in your garden. You must do a cross analysis of both the water quality you’re dealing with out of the tap and what you’re hoping to achieve in your grow.
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I love how you've become the myth buster of weed tips
I've been growing weed for over 40 years and I've learned a lot.
Lex I wanted to take second and tell you thanks so much for all you do I've learned more in the past two or three years watching your videos then I have in the twenty plus years of growing. Lots of growers love cheers.
Came here to learn about a walter filter system for my faucet. Then I left with tips on how to grow the dankest weed. 😂
Our tap water is about 375 ppm so I use rainwater with a PPM of about 10 or less. I just leave a storage tub along the dripline of my shed and fill 1 gallon containers for use on the plants. Once in awhile I'll get a gallon or two of tap and let it sit for a couple of days and use it just to get some of the minerals from there into the soil as well. I generally keep about 20 gallons total of the rainwater depending on how much we have outside.
For our drinking water and cheap RH meters, I purchased a couple of Zero water pitcher filters that come with a meter. They take the water down to 0 PPMs. The filters are good for about 30 gallons before they need replacing. We go through a filter in about 4 weeks.
2 seconds into his videos and I am talking like him all day
we're in USA my rain barrels ppm at 0-6 depends on dust,dirt,etc. our tap water is 250-400 ppm. Anyhow anything over 100 ppm water wise you'll need reverse osmosis and micro nutes etc. Indoors you have the power over the light,temp,air,etc. And with RO the water. Fast tip he didn't bring up you can ad one cup of tap water into 50 gallons of RO and get those micro nutes back with a ppm of 0-5 depends on how much you ad to tank.
When referring to PPMs, it is important to indicate which scale you are using, (500 or 700).
Hello from flint Michigan!! I've been growing with ro for almost 10 years now, I test my water from tap and get a 800 reading. So I sent in a test to home depot to see what they say and they get a reading of 600+, after my ro I have 0 ppm. I am not the only one in the states who has this problem either, like southern states have fracking problems and when I lived in texas I had flammable water coming out of my sink so I would say many people everywhere have many of good reasons to run ro.
flint michigan. got the winner over here for worst tap water. first off, all i know about flint are from memes but im sorry for the way the people of your area have been left to handle the tap water like that. very american of our country to do that to yall. secondly, my tap just tested 830. wtf. you have been growing with ro for 10 years! what do you do with the ro after it comes out of the ro system? i use GH brand ph down and every now and then add calmag. im having troble keeping my ammended coco anywhere near the 5.8ph i want. stuck arouns mid 7's. halp pls. i have ro water, gia green brand powder nutes, calmag, recharge, wormcastings and i have weird mystery bricks of pre ammended coco called (wondersoil) that i didnt rinse. I have tried twice to overwater them with 4.0ph water to influence their soil ph lower but it doesnt seem to work. thank you in advance for any reply.
Howdy Frosty Flint folk. How's it go there?
What RO system did you buy?
How much did it cost?
How has it kept up, as I'm asking this 2 years since you posted?
I'm not too far away!
I was thinking about RO water for hydro, but after seeing this I’m thinking I’ll try without. My water comes out of the tap at 110 to 125 ppm and 7.1 ph. Thanks bro!
Distilled water is 0 PPM, rainwater is 1-2 PPM from airborne dust, and RO water is 20-30 PPM as you said. All are considered low ionic strength waters. Distilled water is pH 7.0 in theory, but when it comes into contact with CO2 in the atmosphere, carbonic acid forms. Rainwater is naturally acidic for this reason as well. RO water will be alkaline because tap water is alkaline. The problem with distilled water, rainwater, and RO water is twofold: (1) They lack micronutrients as you said, and (2) they lack a bicarbonate buffer to stabilize pH. Adding a small amount of humic acid solves both problems, and chelates iron as well.
One thing you mentioned in your video was that tap water is what plants naturally receive. Tap water is actually very different from rainwater. Rainwater is essentially distilled water which contains whatever it fell down through (atmospheric gases, dust, air pollution) and whatever bird droppings or organic material were on the roof before running into a rain barrel.
Justin L There's only 1! Type of water my ladies roots get......RAINWATER 😀😀💪🏻💪🏻
RO takes out chlorine too. If you use tap water, be sure to let the water evaporate the chlorine out.
I live remote AK and though we have 'city' water, its quality fluctuates too much to trust. A heavy rain here can wash lots of sediments into our reserve. I do have plans to capture rain water, but it will still be filtered close to an RO standard anyways.
I think you should definitely do research on your water supply as a grower, even if you are not a remote Alaskan.
Thx Lex, always a pleasure to watch your stuff.
@Nathan T as if your commenr isnt pompous as fuck. Go on now, git....troll.
This was so well presented and explained, and it helped me into a direction of thinking that's been bugging me for a while.
Thank you. I don't want to use finite/valuable spring water for my growing here in this arid region, and have been thinking about RO for the well water (high in sodium).
My RO tests at around 30 ppm. Gave myself a magnesium deficiency first time using it. Now I just flush with it or add micro/cal-mag if I'm using it. Usually use irrigation water and melted snow.
..melted snow- that's cool
Blessed to have tapwater @115ppm. Our drinking water goes through a seperate filter which also comes out at 115ppm- ain't that some shit?
Great vid
Bang on Lex. We tried using RO for about a year and found no up side (except it does make awesome coffee and you will never need to buy distilled water again if you have a C-PAP machine) Aside from the price of a good RO unit (installed by myself) We found ourselves buying expensive chemicals to add to the RO water that was being filtered out, as well as having to make and store large amounts of RO for an indoor hydro grow because it doesn't just spew out of a tap (it takes about 2-3 hrs to fill my 3 gal tank with RO), which is a PITA, and on a side note, many people don't know, an RO filter unit wastes about 4 gal of water for every 1 gallons of RO made .
My Hydro Logic 150 RO system is a 1 to 1 ratio. If my ppm were over 300 it would be 1 to 2 (RO to waste).
there is R.O that, after the filter and membrane strips the water, another canister will add things to the water that's good for the plant.
Excellent video Lex! You just answered my question. I have a well and my water is about 380 ppm out of the ground. Thanks for the info!
Thx for the no bullshit, straight talking advice and explanations, lex.
Thanks Lex. Been waiting for this video. I keep Reef Aquariums so I have a 200gpd RODI system that I use for my indoor grows. Tap is 170 TDS which I use for my outdoor grows. My problem is RODI should have a ph of 7 but if exposed to air can drop to below 6 and you really can’t test the ph because there’s no buffer. Debating on going to tap with ph down for indoor. Thanks, fellow UA-camr
Well put young man. I have worked with water all my life.
Cool bro
I am a grower with the passion to eliminate waste so naturally I would have questions.
We live in a disposable world.
Thanks lex I love your videos, they're very informative.
Another great info video Lex, your work is helping me a lot (I'm currently adding malasis because of you) Big big thanks.
Fortunately Lex I live in an area with some of the best water in the US....24 hours later I use it but always ph it....girls love it. Love your vids brother and have for years.
What area if you don’t mind me asking
I think RO is critical for organic gardening unless you are on a well. In the U.S. we put chloramine in the water which is a combination of chlorine and ammonia, which kills bacteria both helpful and harmful. This means that if you want living soil you have to remove the chloramine and RO is really the only way.
Exactly.
I think this guy's out of his mind I've seen Lions Louis for parts per million comes up very acidic until it gets oxygenated after it sits for 20 hours it will be perfect pH at about four parts per million City Water runs between 80 and 90 Parts if it gets over 90city is not even allowed to sell it to you and it's got to be a certain pressure to I think over 40
Chloramine has a lower boiling point than water, you can just bring your water up to a boil and itll be gone
@@Applinglingling but who want to boil water and then gotta cool it
@@janellesouvane1380 ABSOLUTELY NO one LOL, but when your dropping hundreds for seeds/lights/soil, sometimes just knowing that you can get by with boiled water for a few weeks can really help!
I'll stick with my well water. ⚔👨🏻🌾
Pretty easy to add your run off water from an RO system back to the cleaned water to customize the water profile. Or just distill your water. Boil, collect vapor, done.
Yes, RO water removes everything. Including some good stuff. However, most municipalities don't use chlorine (which will off gas if left out), and have switched to Chloramine. Chloramine is chlorine bonded with ammonia, and is much more stable in the water. Meaning it won't off gas and needs to be filtered out if you plan on using beneficial bacteria or building a living soil. A KDF filter is able to remove this compound, and is usually an upgraded option on RO machines. As far as RO water itself, think of it like this. Lets say a plant can only take 500 ppm before showing burnt tips. My tap water is 150 ppm of who knows what and disinfectant chemicals. That is a large margin for error. If I'm using RO and I get an issue, I can adjust my feeding solution to address it. If I'm using tap with 150 mystery ppm, I can adjust and it may or may not fix it. Now I'm possibly hunting for a different solution, when the problem was my water the entire time. I firmly believe that most indoor growers who don't use RO, have had a water related issue that they contributed to something else. I'm the type that needs to know for sure. As far as waste water, my system produces 1gal of RO to 1gal of "waste" water. I have a small personal grow, and I "waste" more water doing the dishes each night, than I do filling the RO res each week. So that argument doesn't hold water...see what I did there lol. Basically if you want to grow quality you need to have control over your inputs, and water is #1 on that list.
Well said brother, well said & I find your comment very useful! 🙏🏽💯
The water out of my tap is over 800ppm on average. I use RO for my drinking water as 800 is just too high. Similar to plants, I also need to supplement cal/mag when drinking RO.
800ppm out of the tap? You just be on a well. Humans get more than enough calcium from diet so you should have no need to supplement for it :)
My city water in uk is 365 ppm , basically very hard , some people wouldn’t wash their dishes with anything over 150 ppm
I had thought of getting an RO system myself until I bought a tds meter and seen my tap water was already almost there at 70-80 ppm I'm up north in Timmins, ontario
that's pretty outstanding tap water, even within canada.
Thats really quality water, most tap water comes in over 100ppm just due to calcium and mg
I use Artesian water from the Adirondack mountains,it has a TDS readind of 62
The very good part of RO water is it makes it slightly acidic which is really what weed needs.
Ro is good for running humidifiers it stops the calcium screwing your system up. But for what it’s worth I agree with lex
Thanks for all the vids mate. Just wondering. If your worried about chlorine, is an air bubbly enough to eliminate the contanaments after 24 hours? Bubbling bubbling lol. Ppm really does let you know where you are in your grow and if you use a journal and the same strain you can really " dial it in " ( that's the trendy thing to say) love your stuff man, stay safe everyone....
My ppm comes out at around 400ppm and I have well water. I think I should use a ro system
I have a commercial grow operation using high pressure aeroponics. RO has been an absolute headache.
been subbed 2 years now your videos are great.
RO or low EC water is a NECESSARY esp if your water is over 200 ppm. RO is often 5:1 waste vs ROwater, that may increase your water bill. Walmart has 35pak/$5, 29ppm...
Lex Dead On knowledge
I use it for aeroponics
I use RO then cut it with 1 gal crystal geyser so no mag def or just ass some cal mag to bring ur ph to neutral run with a o2 pump over night re adjust ph to desire good to go
I have an ro system and now I have alkaline water with less than 200ppm. I live in Flint MI
in most of Iran's capital cities tap water reads between 160 to 250, in my home I've measured it at 178-185 (depending on the season) ph 7.1; but, I use RO for my personal grow, cause with tap it's a lot easier to run into buildups in the soil. I recommend RO for that one reason alone, specially if you grow Auto's that usually don't respond positively to regular flushings.
Interesting....Hope you still about 3 year on as I'd like to ask you, how do you find flushing with RO water do you add anything at all or just give them straight RO....or do you use tap water for the flush
@@UbiquitousRomp I use tap water for the majority of the flush, then use enough ph corrected RO to wash the tap water out the soil. So that the plant won't have to sit in tap water and absorb minerals from it that might ruin the taste
@@bandeyekhoda3943 Thanks
@@UbiquitousRomp any time dude, happy growing brother.
My tap water pH and ppm are very varied but around 300+ppm and up to pH 9. I bought an osmosis filter today for £36
You forgot chlorine which comes in almost all water you are getting in the city, and chlorine kills organic matter which is normally a good thing but not when you are watering your plants.
Great info on water and other videos Lex, I just starting learning
Dude, Lex, growing led me to test my tap water and realize myself and my family were being poisoned. My tap is 800-850ppm. I immediately bought a distiller for our drinking water and started using RO for my plants. I buffer my RO though, because applying it directly to your medium has the potential to crash your PH and cause some lockouts.
Lol I’m sticking with my RO. Because my plants, my body, my pets, my hydration, are feelin pretty good. I don’t trust them damn pipes .
Yeah you shouldn't drink ro water, better do some research
@@jamesthegrower you believe that b.s. that filtered water sucks the life out of you? idiot. do some critical thinking and fuck your research
Good man.
@@jamesthegrower your research is fucked. Rain water on the roadside is 36 or 37 ppm. Water running through pipes is anywhere from 80-300. Logically thinking, a more natural source of water is rain water. It's illegal to collect it for a reason; to prevent people from bettering themselves. The federal government is a corporation. We are the cattle they milk from.
Be a bull, not a cow.
@@jamesthegrower wrong! water in nature are also have an low to zero EC! The nutrients for us comes from food not water with not natural minerals.
Great info im not a fan of RO except my dehumidifier water..lol
2 years from your comment, still not fun of RO? :D I think RO is a gamechanger
I'm in the uk and th eppm is around 450-500 so I will. E usi g a ro shortly
My city water comes out 79ppm. But my humidifier still leaves white residue on everything so I’m looking to upgrade to RO, been using distilled so I can work with a blank slate for nutrient troubleshooting
I use tap water where I live. But I put it through a Brita filter through a 1 gal water pitcher .Takes a bit of waiting to get it my ppm after that is around 80 -190 depending if filter is new.
My water comes out at 400ppm I live in the UK so Yup I'm buying an RO tomorrow lol
I have saltwater reef aquarium
And i use ro di for both so it works
water that falls from the sky (rain,snow) is distilled water it has nothing in it!
I used to catch rain for my girls and it tests out to 0 ppm less in it than most RO.
the shades are back!
Brilliant video top marks 👌🙏
city waters between 70 and 90 ppm. I use plenty of it.
We once where that so called pollution in the water. Its polluted compared to what? Pollution is subjective, I used tap water and eyed off my nutrient mix for the first month and a half without any readers and when I bough a pH reader I was on point with my pH. Your plant will advice you if its sick or getting sick
I feel lucky, my tap water comes out at .1 EC consistently.
Blessed to have tapwater @115ppm. Our drinking water goes through a seperate filter which also comes out at 115ppm- ain't that some shit?
Great vid
marty keller 115 is high my tap is 80 and you filter is old if it is not lowering the tds
@@staticjordan42374 at this point in time you're so right. But...I did this test after a few days of changing. Pretty much the same results.
I'm going to call the company assuming i get the same results 3x and request all the money back I wasted. I get the cylinder filters at home hardware
@@staticjordan42374 maybe your tax dollars go a bit further than ours.
I don't think everyones will have the same ppm for tap water. Some people have lead in their water
So my ppm is close to 300 and I going to use am RO system. My question is should I add some trace minerals to the water?
Thanks for the info. Thinking of getting a system as we drink the water and it’s still 320 Ppm after the sand filter and water softener. Next family did get item.
Budget item.
wow I'm lucky, my tap water is 68ppm. lol
That said i think the main thing that shocks people is the waist water with RO systems.. Nobody mentions that for every gallon of filtered water you lose 3 to 5 gallons of waist water..
as the goal is to get the ppm as low as possible. I never really thought about that but I might try it to flush one of my next plants. My ppm out of the tap is around 275 so RO water might give me a much cleaner bud.
Great vid yet again !
My hose water comes out under 80 ppm. Perks of being Canadian!
good informative video but you forgot about a very valid reason for getting RO: to get rid of the sodium your water softener puts in the water.
90% or more dont have softeners. Nice to have though!
our tap water is in the 830 ppm range! a ph of 8
My partner is convinced it’s the be all and end all. I have no use. I grow commercial as a caregiver. Unless you have pretty crappy water it’s a waste.
My tap has a tds of 1100+ in central Michigan. I’d go through RO membranes monthly so distilled is my only practical choice. I went through all of this when I ran my nano reef tank. It sucks.
Got that flint water lol
They put fluoride in our tap water
They do where I live too, but they claim it's only 0.65 ppm
dont forget the chlorine +other chemicals
@@jasonclegg1999 Chlorine OR chloramine... and you can't get rid of the latter just by letting the water sit out for a bit. Just found this out. Definitely talk to your local water department to find out exactly what they use.
@@jfm14 in canada all sorts of stuff its so stong i can smell the water at friends houses
Hey L.B., what is your opinion on the 2 days of darkness prior to harvest? Is it a myth, or is it a necessity?
Thankx 4 the info💪
Good topic
My home water for my personal grow has a high Nitrate content and its not the good ammonia type. Which means my plants finish very green, leaves become brittle and buds suffer. I was going to go the RO route but wondering if there is a filtration device that would work to reduce the Nitrate content.
I like to use rain water or water from the creek
So in short it is not good to use bottled water for your plants....correct???
What about bacteria good and bad in water such as well water? Will a ro system remove those things also? Sulfur bacteria and iron bacteria, plus the bacteria that cause food poisoning?
I used distilled water
Great video as usual Lex.
Any concerns about chlorine in regular tap water?
no concern if the overall ppms are low....and if you can't taste it all the time...i lived in one municipality where you could taste/smell it once per year in the tap water - during the spring melt....but this was a northern city that got TONS of snow.
Thanks Lex. No my water is very low ppm. Chilliwack-Hope
oh lol I know Hope and their water :) you're perfectly fine with their tap.
Hoping I can get a reply to this, as this video and comment was 2 yrs ago.. The thing with Chlorine is,,, I heard,,, SO Could be wrong and asking for clarification... Chlorine in regular tap water either removers CAL/MAG OR,,, The chlorine makes it difficult for the plant to Uptake CAL/MAG. Wanting to change to just tap water PPM's low,, Just worry about CAL/MAG.. Not in a place where I can experiment at this time. Every Plant Is Sacred..
my house is filtered from the water while the refrigerator is double filtered What would the best option be to use? I plan to use cow/horse dung into fertilizer what do you think the best option to use is? I will have to check my creek water around the cattle. I doubt using water from the cattle trough would do much of a difference but still what do you think between these?
I listened to your Compadre Canuck he said let tap water sit for 48 hours I used it burned my plants all the hell Ro for life
My water is 350 ppm with a lot of calcium carbonate, and I've been going through a lot of calcium toxicity issues because of it. The Calcium in the water, the calcium in the cal mag, the calcium added by soil industry in their soil bags, the calcium added to dry amendments, the calcium added to bottle feeds....yup TOO MUCH CALCIUM! I'm RO filtering from now on.
Tap water in Melbourne, AUS. Highest I've seen is 40ppm, currently 27ppm! :D
Perth, WA. 367ppm...
Italy 350/400
Zerowater filter 0.00 ppm great for flushing
Is this good to use all the time or only for flushing ?
My regular water is about 2.00 should I use that ? Or the zero water for regular feedings ?
@@balbinomercado7602 You could use it all the time if you dont mind waiting I would say its slower than a nice r.o. setup
@@balbinomercado7602 I simply use 110ppm city tap water and neutralize the chlorine / chloramine with sodium thiosulphate at a rate of .15g per 5gal for feeding and flushing. The only time I use 0ppm water is if conditions are dry during veg ill use it in a ultrasonic humidifier to avoid minerals coating my flowers, lights & sensors ect.
So what would Culligan Water be classified as is it good or bad or is it like a distilled water thanks love your videos
My tap is 300 😑 I did have to start using calmag. I was thinking of blending tap and RO 50/50. Is that a good idea or just stick to full RO I treat?
My issue with my ro is it comes out at 0ppm and ph of under 5 and after adding cal-mag or whatever other nutrients are needed it literally goes to like 4.5. I see a bunch of other ro users though and they have to bring their ph down after adding nutrients. Am I doing something wrong? I also noticed it takes quite a bit of ph up just to get to 6 and I feel like it's not good for the plant or soil adding so much ph adjuster.
Hi lex
Great post. Very helpful. If the water is between 80-120ppm. Is that an acceptable range for hydroponics? And will that hurt seedlings being in that range to start with?
? Lex Blazer
have you seen ..Flow: For Love of Water
2008 ..documentary film directed by Irena Salina produced by Steven Starr and co-produced by Gill Holland and Yvette Tomlinson . The film features interviews with water and community activists Maude Barlow, Peter Gleick, Ashok Gadgil, William Waterway, Rajendra Singh, and Vandana Shiva.
Nice, Another gem. :)
I'm opening up a microgreens business. Since the plants only take 2 weeks to harvest. Would RO be beneficial considering if it does take out any "needed" minerals? The plants won't be growing long enough to be effected long timer. Correct?
I have very hard well water. I have had problems using RO in hydro. But even with how hard it is it does not seem to be an issue when growing in soil. Is that a common experience?
yes as soil and hydro dont feed the same, hydro takes actual salt feed where soil takes food from the bio web in soil
I am using distilled water right now, following Remo nutrients chart in my hydro grow, so far I am having no issues. When do you usually see issues. I start with 0 ppm and add my nutrients, changing my DWC every week regardless. Even if the ppm, ph don’t drop or raise up drastically. I am new to growing but I took a shit load of horticulture classes. And I researched this topic. Plants like clean, oxygenated water, just like we do. Keep it clean.
What about chlorine
So is r o water good for flushing and also is distilled water good for flushing better than tap water or local source
I have RO my RO is about 20 ppm and 6.2 PH level my tap water is 170 ppm high in calcium with a 7.5 PH level witch one should use
Dan Million I have ro water that is 2 ppm. I always use ro water with great success
If you give your plant everything it needs you wont need tab water to make up a deficiency.
Exactly…Most nutrients are configured using RO or distilled water. Chlorine in tap water block plants from absorbing nutrients
How bout you grind up a couple centrum vitamins into ur ro water?to make add those minerals etc?...
Damn it. I literally just bought 10 gal of RO for the first time.
Cool vids man, just curious what do you think of filters like Boogie Blue Plus?