Questions regarding Reverse Osmosis, need help please

[thebandit777]

Using Reverse Osmosis Water Correctly Question?s
Hello all I have moved my situation to a new location, and as a result ended up with the worst Tap Water in the world, well maybe not the worst....

But anyways the Tap Water come straight from the foset @ 820 ppm, So I have had to use my reverse Osmosis for my garden and just having trouble with my plants,

I hope I can get some advice on this subject from people that have experience with R/O water and anybody who knows about it, well any advice is nessesary,

I have been Gardening Indoors for about 7yrs now and have never had this problem Before, NEVER
My plants used to look so healthy and green that Would almost want to put the Water Leaves in my Salad...LOL

And now I am having most of my issues in the Veg Stage and the problems Start right after the First week after transplanting from rooted cuts to the first Medium, (potting Soil), or after about the second week of the seedling growth stage

I use Botanicare line, Karma, pbp, cal/mag, Hydroguard (1 time every 3 wks) weeks,

i have tried everything to no avail. i am wondering if anybody has had this issue, or knows how to solve this issue.....

I should say that once I get into Bloom Stage about 85% of my plants Start growing normally and strong, so I am really only having this issue when I am in veg mode, and I notice that they don't grow as fast a they used to during veg so therefore they aren't going to there full potential..

I welcome any questions or advice please
i have some pics too

Edit:

So the leaves on my plants have basicly lost luster..
Intervainal yellowing mainly
and some show like a lack of p/k, (purpling stems and) not as common but a small amount do..
I do check my ph and i keep it arround 6.3-6.5, I also have tried going down a little to a 6.0- 6.2 range, but nothing changes....

I usually feed them the first time when they show signs of needing, and then after that (depending on strain) I will feed maybe 1/every other week to 1/week......

thanks again



Tis is how I am used to having my leaves and plants, notice the color and the density of the leaves and also notice the apical tip, how you can tell it's growing at a nice rate, (vigorous non stop growth), I know it when I see it.nice green leaves and light green stems.....




And here are the other's that are having troubles intervainal yellowing
This is a personal plant of my own crosses that I have been growing for 2 years now always strong and vigorous... started off good and strong and then just started getting the yellow leaves in the last week or two..

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Up close of the same plant

[url=http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/46271IMG_1356.JPG]

Seedlings Different varieties some hybrids some pure landrace









I really do appreciate any help with this matter, I really hope there are some of you out there that can catch this, for me
peace and health to all
TB7

 

[Weedninja]

Let me see if I can explain this without making your head explode. Reverse Osmosis is a process that forces water through a very fine membrane. The pores in the membrane are so small, that only water molecules are small enough to fit through it. So you are stripping your tap water of all the minerals(mainly Magnesium and Calcium) that it contains. The extremely pure water that results is then "hungry" for minerals, which makes it necessary to add them.

I don't use cal/mag personally, but I believe it is formulated for tap water that has some minerals already. Since RO water doesn't have minerals, you will probably have to step up the amount of cal/mag you use.

Your plants are showing a Magnesium deficiency BTW. You can also try adding epsom salt to the amount of cal/mag that you already use and see if that works for you, but you will have to watch for a Calcium deficiency.

 

[thebandit777]

Thanks very much Weed ninja, I will try that next, I hope it works

Anybody else with any info is appreciated, in regards to other products or methods of using R/O water....

 

[richyrich]

Yep, its the RO water. Been there on the issue. Use botanicare calmag or advanced nutes sensical and bring RO water ppms up to 250-300 before mixing any base nutes. Make sure to have a lot of runoff in your waterings because you will get build up and overfert with lockout which will look the same and you will think its the same problem.

I had this question a long time ago. A lot of people showed their pictures of plants grown fine with just plain RO water and etc. There was no damn concensus. I just had to find out on my own. It makes me jealous of the people that have a good source of tap water. They dont know the bullsh*t some have to go through with RO water, filters, storage tank, etc.. You need answers from people with experience with RO water.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Do your homework. Official RO units run $100-$300. They require about 2 gallons of waste water for every gallon of RO. They come with multiple "stages" Some say 2 is fine others say 3-4 stages.

This may be a viable alternative. Certainly cheaper and as far as I can tell, no waste water DIY RO Filter

 

[thebandit777]

Awesome, thanks RichyRich, I had a feeling It was the case, and thank you for your time....

Freezerboy, I just read the thread you gave a link for, and it is very good, and after starting this thread I looked at that DIY filter,
A damn good idea, and a very educated fella who wrote and started the thread
I thank you

 

[FreezerBoy]

Redacted on grounds of unacceptable vitriol.

 

[Lilly456]

I have the same problems with my R/O water, its especially hard to flush with because without adding some salts the ph will drift all over.(when flushing and trying to use straight R/O water)My water problem is salt, living next to the sea gives me some salty tap water that comes out of the faucet @ 350ppm, 75 of those being salt.I have no problem growing great plants but I have the same leaves as you in the above pics and I have to boost my cal/mag to level it out and, hold your breath...buy 5gal spring water that is basically salt free to mix in 50/50 because my R/O can only bring the salt down to 25ppm.Needless to say I need to conserve water, but it looks like mag def but if you are having veg problems you might have to tweek your R/O water a bit until you find the sweet spot.I used to get my water from a mountain spring, 200ppm , 7.0 ph and beautifull plants and stable ph.Its not you, your plants tell me that.Maybe screw with the ph and mag or someone else may come along with some great advice, many of us are on the R/O water because we want big hydro plants but it claims organic victims as well.You'll get it on the right track, you don't just suddenly have your thumbs turn black!!Sorry for the ramble its 3am and my first cup of coffee and winters coming and that slows my filter down!!All the best of luck to ya, Chaco.

 

[stinkyattic]

Heya bandit, I see you are actually lowering pH a bit? Careful- you are shooting yourself in the foot. Those plants look rather large for the pots, you may have a soil souring issue (I see both tip burn and metals -Mg- lockout) that looks like a combination of low pH and soil salting.
Flush at a pH that brings your soil RUNOFF to pH 6.8, then allow the pots to dry out slightly.
Repot into a container that is just a BIT larger- I'd go to a 6" or 8" next- with fresh, light soil.
For future feedings and waterings, add your calmag as described, up to about 250ppm, then add your ferts (which botanicare? Pure Blend, Power Plant/Power Flower , TriFlex?), and THEN adjust your pH so that any time you check the runoff it is about 6.7.
You can foliar feed with a weak solution of Epsom salts at ~1/4 tsp/gal to halt the spread of the Mg def until the soil chemistry is back on track.
Good luck.

 

[thebandit777]

Thanks To All who helps.......

DR

 

[Weedninja]

bandit: I see a lot of Fb's posts in this forum, and he's a pretty mellow,patient dude. The way I interpreted his first post wasn't "DO YOUR HOMEWORK YOU LAZY PIECE OF SHIT". I think you just read that into it.

Back on topic- My tap water pH is 9-ish, so I speak from experience. I use distilled water which is basically the same as RO water, just a different process. I gave you the easiest fix, but it's not the one I use. I go with 50-50 tap water/distilled water and then adjust with individual minerals to find the sweet spot that Chaco mentioned.

Most of the people that post in this forum are n00bs, so I try to keep my advice simple, but I saw one of your other threads, and it appears that you know what you're doing. When you screw with your pH and water chemistry, you have to watch for signs of lockout and deficiencies.

 

[thebandit777]

ThankYou Weed Ninja, and hey I'll admit that i can be a little sensitive.. As far as him being a cool mellow dude, I acctually have read his threads and am a fan of his work,

And I just want to do what I know I should do and that is APOLOGIZE..

SO I HOPE YOU ALL CAN ACCEPT MY APOLOGY, AND HOPEFULLY FREEZER BOY CAN ACCEPT MY APOLOGY
I PRAY FOR ALL OF OUR SOULS EVERYTIME I GET A CHANCE..

I AM TRULY SORRY FOR REACTING THE WAY I DID
(Record)
thank you all for your tips and help I am just going to have to expierment with all of your advice and as you all have said I will need to find the sweet spot,

Again thank you all very much....
PEace and health
DR

 

[richyrich]

I gave you everything you needed on a silver platter for free. I won't make the same mistake again. You're welcome, you pathetic, lazy assed, ungrateful SOB.

I wouldn't of apologized. So, to call some one here a lazy ass just might imply ones first impression. "Do your homework."

 

[FreezerBoy]

Bandit and I are cool. We both misread the others posts and have worked it out in PMs.

For the record, "do your homework," simply meant there are a wide variety of options. Cost, waste, time, stages, that need be studied to find the best system for any individual. One size never fits all.

I recently survived the fan debacle from hell. 100% pilot error. I failed to do my homework and $300 went down the tubes for nothing. I simply wanted Bandit, or anyone else, to know what to study so they don't throw money away.

Apologies to all for my hair trigger, knee jerk, over reaction.