Hard Water, Softened Water, RO Filters and PPM

[elvis316]

Situation with hard water, about 600ppm before and after water softener. It's high in iron and calcium which is understood to be detrimental to the roots' ability to absorb nutrients.

I had been simply purchasing filtered water at store, however that option suddenly not available. Added a reverse osmosis system, it is suppose to remove calcium. The water tastes much better, but the PPM still in the upper 500's.

When adding nutrients, is 600 the floor and I can add another 1200-1500 of nutrients after it has been filtered, or would 1500 be max overall?
Should RO filter be connected BEFORE the water softener? Seems like obvious move, but not sure.

 

[Hydroholic]

Your total ppm needs to be calculated by adding the 500 to the nutrient total. 100ppm for a ropu seems low. Mine drops 300-400.

 

[iNeedMeds]

Situation with hard water, about 600ppm before and after water softener. It's high in iron and calcium which is understood to be detrimental to the roots' ability to absorb nutrients.

I had been simply purchasing filtered water at store, however that option suddenly not available. Added a reverse osmosis system, it is suppose to remove calcium. The water tastes much better, but the PPM still in the upper 500's.

When adding nutrients, is 600 the floor and I can add another 1200-1500 of nutrients after it has been filtered, or would 1500 be max overall?
Should RO filter be connected BEFORE the water softener? Seems like obvious move, but not sure.

Personally, I would hook up the RO system before the softener, to save on consumables. The filter will last slightly longer after the softener, but RO filters are typically cheap.

However, if you are getting 500ppm after the RO filter, you either hooked it up wrong, or it's not functioning properly. Make sure you are collecting the water from the filtered line, and not the waste line. The waste line has a flow restrictor on it, and flows much faster than the filtered side. This is my unit. Sediment→Carbon→Shut-off valve (switched side)→RO membrane→Check valve→Shut-off valve(switch side)→Collection container. You can see on mine that the red line, which is the waste discharge, goes through the flow restrictor, and then to the drain. You may or may not have a check valve or shut-off valve. I added those parts to my system, because I have a float valve at the end.

 

[BedroomFarmer]

As said above. If your ro is putting out 500ppm something is wrong. Mine comes very very low and that with a cal/mag filter that adds minerals back in

 

[elvis316]

Yeah, I totally messed up, there was a filter not installed that I thought was as it was lost in bottom of box. Down to 12!

Woo hoo! My rain barrel ppm also very very low.

 

[corinth]

Just a quick question from anyone. So i ise ph perfect nutrients like advanced nutrient line their 3 part with a few of their addititves. My question is i never check my ph cause its ph perfect. But i want to start checking my ph . I see a ph digital meter on amazin that does ph and ppm now its 22 bucks. I use promix in 3 gallon fabric pots. Would i just use that digital meter and stick it in the water run off from the pots after i water and then increase or decrease the fresh water coming in? With or without a feeding or hows it work. Also gonna get a light meter soon but thats later.

 

[corinth]

Increase or decrease the ph with fresh water *?

 

[Rifleman]

I use the AN pH Perfect in both DWC and ProMix. I don't check pH in either anymore. I do change the reservoir every 7-10 days though.

Tip: If you are going to buy a meter buy a good one such as BlueLab. The cheap pens never read the same two times in a row after a months usage.

 

[Rifleman]

FWIW I use city water that goes through a charcoal filter and then a salt pellet water softener. I pull my water and let it sit in buckets for a day or two before using it to let the chlorine evaporate. PPM out of the tap runs about 130-160 and pH 8.5 - 9.0.

 

[TLC]

I get the ph close to where it needs to be first (when using AN ph perfect)
I gave up after 4-5 ph pens that last for one grow...
I use color/drops style tester.

 

[BirdieNumNum]

I am new DWC grower.

Many problems went away once I started using RO water made with a cheap 3 stage RO filter like one above. A screw on tap kit cost me about £10 delivered so it was easy to hook up.

 

[Jecedjrr]

I use AN ph perfect Sensi Bloom coco + RO water. With their ph perfect technology your ro water should land between 5.7 - 6 ph. It still doesn’t hurt to check the ph of your nute mix.
if your promix is a coco base I wouldn’t bother checking the runoff. I’ve never found coco runoff to be accurate. To get an accurate ph test result from coco do a slurry test.
Trick to coco is to feed every day. Never let it get more than 50% dry. Keep track of the ph going in an feed every day an you’ll be golden pony boy