RO Filter Help

[Skybound]

Even the cheapos should read close enough, so don't sweat such an expense until your grow expands enough to justify such an expenditure. I have just never heard of such a high base reading. I've been wrong before about many other things, so....

 

[FiveToMidnight]

Even the cheapos should read close enough, so don't sweat such an expense until your grow expands enough to justify such an expenditure. I have just never heard of such a high base reading. I've been wrong before about many other things, so....

That's good to hear, dont really want to fork out for an expensive one just yet.

Should I be worried if PH is staying stable 24hours after making a nutrient mix?

 

[FiveToMidnight]

Ok I've found something strange. It seems that after a few days of the plain RO water sitting in a storage tank the PH drops to around 5 but seems unstable. When I first get it from the filter it is around 8 and seems to stay that way for a few days but then goes strange. I only notice it when I give it a stir before taking a reading so I'm a bit confused on what is happening.
I dont always stir it so I haven't noticed until now and I think this is what has been causing my PH issues as I give plain RO water between feedings.
After adding nutes ph is usually 7.2 and stays there no matter how long I leave it. If I ph it down to say 6.2, it will stay there no matter how long I leave it.
It seems its only the plain RO water that becomes unstable.

Any help on this would be great as it seems to be causing quite a few issues

 

[Racer1921]

Hey mate. I have no experience with ro water. But i will add that it doesnt sound right does it. If its filtering properly you would think it would stay stable. I use rain water with better results than tap. Do u think rain water is good enough or should i look at ro.

THE GREEN RACER.

 

[FiveToMidnight]

Hey mate. I have no experience with ro water. But i will add that it doesnt sound right does it. If its filtering properly you would think it would stay stable. I use rain water with better results than tap. Do u think rain water is good enough or should i look at ro.

THE GREEN RACER.

I was thinking the same thing but after speaking to one of the members here, I've been advised that this is normal as RO water has been filtered to a point where there isn't enough properties within the water to get a proper reading.
I'll paste what he told me so it makes more sense

Rain water should be better than tap water. No chlorine or fluride

 

[FiveToMidnight]

Here is a quote from OldMedUser from this forum.
He really knows his stuff, has been growing for years and has studied some sort of water science. (The way I put that really doesn't give it justice)

"RO is basically neutral and pH pens won't work properly in it or distilled water.

pH means potential Hydrogen and reads the amount of H+ or H- ions in the sol'n to determine pH levels. Pure water has none or so few that the pen just gives random numbers most times. Same with pH Perfect nutes because of the buffers they use so even if they read out of range you shouldn't try to "fix" them"

 

[gr865]

Just a quick question on RO systems.
Are you concerned with the amount of water it takes to make one gallon of RO, I have seen this all over the board, from 1 to 1 all the way to 5 to 1. This concerns me as I am charged for water and waste water, one gallon of water used cost me the same amount. So to make one gallon of RO the cost to me would be 5 times the cost of the RO water alone. They have a system with no waste, but the waste water from making the RO goes back into your hot water system, so you would be bathing, cooking, washing clothes and dishes in some really shitty water.
Any thoughts on this?

GR

 

[FiveToMidnight]

Just a quick question on RO systems.
Are you concerned with the amount of water it takes to make one gallon of RO, I have seen this all over the board, from 1 to 1 all the way to 5 to 1. This concerns me as I am charged for water and waste water, one gallon of water used cost me the same amount. So to make one gallon of RO the cost to me would be 5 times the cost of the RO water alone. They have a system with no waste, but the waste water from making the RO goes back into your hot water system, so you would be bathing, cooking, washing clothes and dishes in some really shitty water.
Any thoughts on this?

GR

I believe its around 3-1 to 5-1 depending on the system.
I think it also depends on the amount you pay for water.
Where I live we have a municipal supply and we pay $2.30 for every thousand liters we use, so its no big deal for me. For the amount I use it I will hardly notice the cost on the bill. However if it were running 24/7 it may be another story.

Not sure about using the waste water in the hot water system but I don't see why not. Someone more knowledgeable than me can confirm that one though