Recovered and then some, where to trim?

[I Care]

is the meter acting better now? onice you know that your PH isn’t false reading, you can really start to feed the plant and give it more light too

 

[growsjoe1]

I used to go through about 10 gallons of RO water every weekend changing water between my tanks. When I looked into an RO system it was all stuff that had to plumbed in, everything else was just too pricy for me at the time compared to what I was buying it for. Haven't really looked into it since. There look to be some cheaper countertop options these days though so that certainly may be an option.

Most kits are around £50 ($65usd) and provide 3 stages of filtering. That's sediment filtering to protect the ro part. The ro part. Then a carbon. I wouldn't look at further stages as you get things like the ion exchange filters that aid taste in them jug filters. These are not ions we want adding.
Then, at unpacking of our 100gpd filter, we see it's a standard 1218 filter. That means 12" x 1.8" in size. We need to sling it though, as it won't be the ULP type (ultra low pressure). The ULP is rated at 60psi (4 bar) which is above the 45psi a lot of water companies are happy to supply. They still take nearly 300psi if you have that, but the typical 97% removal won't be met. The ULP1218-150 (gpd) is I think the best flowing filter element in that size (I actually thought I used a 200gpd but can't see it) and they are about £30. Once you have got the kit how you want it, you realise it still takes about 2 hours to to make your 10 gallons. Such is life. If we were filtering what was already ro, and it was hot, at a high pressure, then yes we might see the rating. I have never seen a filter even get near though. This is why they like to sell us high pressure pumps to aid the filter. The thought behind this, is a 50gpd with a 200psi pump, could offer 99% filtration. While a low pressure filter element is improving flow by letting a bit more dirt through at 97% removal. This is a bit like rain/ro/distilled discussion, where I really don't think it matters for our usage. Why does the tap even need filtering. Many people run the RO filter, then add some tap to the barrel to regain some hardness anyway. Most of the feeds we buy, expect tap, and don't work with purified water. Leading people to add calmag, which is a big N source. Not just hardness, which isn't even the right type of hardness. It's easy to be led astray here. Filtering too much, than having to formulate your own feed, isn't logical or as easy as people may think.

Plumbing..
I have to presume you can plumb in a washing machine, or we can forget the filter tbh. If you can do the washing machine, then you have perhaps noticed your taps are plumbed in with flexi hoses these days, and so is your toilet system. All these places, are places you can insert an adaptor. People like John Guest supply a range of fittings, that can sit between a tap and hose, offering a branch pipe. Often with it's own tap, for extra peace of mind. There is a thread 'fill her up' that shows such items, and even how to use your ro to fill a barrel, that then turns off the water supply. I have seen some ro kits have a way to do this themselves, but have not looked how they do it. In any case, a filter that takes 2 hours, is one you won't be stood watching. It's going to overflow. I suggest a bucket stood in the bath/shower is a good idea. You can buy a battery powered flood alarm, even with internet notification, for $10 now. Of just set an alarm on your phone.
I like 'countdown timer' by Amir Uval. Time display is a digital clock, with the numbers on barrels, like a fruit machine. You spin them to where you want them, and they click as it tumbles, giving a nice tactile feel. The app remembers your last 5 times, and offers them as you open the app. So it's just two taps to perform the same job. One to open the app, and a second tap to choose a past job again. Tap Tap. Why do any more.

@Ca++ Yet another informative and detailed response. A definite asset to the forums.

K++

 

[sinned4g63]

is the meter acting better now? onice you know that your PH isn’t false reading, you can really start to feed the plant and give it more light too

Going into week 2 of flower I am actually using a chemical kit from GH due to my situation. It seems to be reading high, or at least going by the instructions for the GH kit it came out reddish orange which is low. The TDS meter was showing around 5.5 so unless I'm really screwing up the "add nute mix to about half way full, use 3-5 drops and tap to mix for reading" it has to be my TDS meter.

 

[sinned4g63]

Most kits are around £50 ($65usd) and provide 3 stages of filtering. That's sediment filtering to protect the ro part. The ro part. Then a carbon. I wouldn't look at further stages as you get things like the ion exchange filters that aid taste in them jug filters. These are not ions we want adding.
Then, at unpacking of our 100gpd filter, we see it's a standard 1218 filter. That means 12" x 1.8" in size. We need to sling it though, as it won't be the ULP type (ultra low pressure). The ULP is rated at 60psi (4 bar) which is above the 45psi a lot of water companies are happy to supply. They still take nearly 300psi if you have that, but the typical 97% removal won't be met. The ULP1218-150 (gpd) is I think the best flowing filter element in that size (I actually thought I used a 200gpd but can't see it) and they are about £30. Once you have got the kit how you want it, you realise it still takes about 2 hours to to make your 10 gallons. Such is life. If we were filtering what was already ro, and it was hot, at a high pressure, then yes we might see the rating. I have never seen a filter even get near though. This is why they like to sell us high pressure pumps to aid the filter. The thought behind this, is a 50gpd with a 200psi pump, could offer 99% filtration. While a low pressure filter element is improving flow by letting a bit more dirt through at 97% removal. This is a bit like rain/ro/distilled discussion, where I really don't think it matters for our usage. Why does the tap even need filtering. Many people run the RO filter, then add some tap to the barrel to regain some hardness anyway. Most of the feeds we buy, expect tap, and don't work with purified water. Leading people to add calmag, which is a big N source. Not just hardness, which isn't even the right type of hardness. It's easy to be led astray here. Filtering too much, than having to formulate your own feed, isn't logical or as easy as people may think.

Plumbing..
I have to presume you can plumb in a washing machine, or we can forget the filter tbh. If you can do the washing machine, then you have perhaps noticed your taps are plumbed in with flexi hoses these days, and so is your toilet system. All these places, are places you can insert an adaptor. People like John Guest supply a range of fittings, that can sit between a tap and hose, offering a branch pipe. Often with it's own tap, for extra peace of mind. There is a thread 'fill her up' that shows such items, and even how to use your ro to fill a barrel, that then turns off the water supply. I have seen some ro kits have a way to do this themselves, but have not looked how they do it. In any case, a filter that takes 2 hours, is one you won't be stood watching. It's going to overflow. I suggest a bucket stood in the bath/shower is a good idea. You can buy a battery powered flood alarm, even with internet notification, for $10 now. Of just set an alarm on your phone.
I like 'countdown timer' by Amir Uval. Time display is a digital clock, with the numbers on barrels, like a fruit machine. You spin them to where you want them, and they click as it tumbles, giving a nice tactile feel. The app remembers your last 5 times, and offers them as you open the app. So it's just two taps to perform the same job. One to open the app, and a second tap to choose a past job again. Tap Tap. Why do any more.

Thank you, that is a lot of good info. I did actually look into some filtration systems but wanted to make sure I was getting my moneys worth so haven't decided on anything yet. It'll have to be a countertop system or something I can maybe setup in my room. Unfortunately for the plumbing, I can't say I know much if anything at all but I'm sure I could figure it out. That will have to be worked into my budget at any rate for a future plan.

Currently I am looking at a growing bill for car repairs and some sort of deficiency I noticed a day or two ago, likely do to my pH between my reservoir or soil. I will be making a proper thread on that shortly.

 

[I Care]

not sure where GH puts pH, GO lowers PH quite a bit so I don’t use it full strength. you soak that thing in an inch of tap water, calibrate that as neutral and see if it acts better. to be honest that’s what I did and my plants were happy

 

[sinned4g63]

not sure where GH puts pH, GO lowers PH quite a bit so I don’t use it full strength. you soak that thing in an inch of tap water, calibrate that as neutral and see if it acts better. to be honest that’s what I did and my plants were happy

I apologize, by GH I mean the brand General Hydroponics. It's just a pH adjustment kit. When I did fish tanks I always used a chemical kit for the accuracy. For the meter, I filled up my measuring cup to completely submerge the meter up to the lip for the cap/cover and let it sit until the reading stabilized. Can't say I timed it but I'm sure it was at least 3-5 minutes.

 

[I Care]

thought u were talking about general nutrients. n nah my badz pH function on my meter was really crazy, played with it to start reading more consistent. worried you were having the same issue. Seems ur saying test kit and meter are in agreement and it’s under control.

 

[sinned4g63]

thought u were talking about general nutrients. n nah my badz pH function on my meter was really crazy, played with it to start reading more consistent. worried you were having the same issue. Seems ur saying test kit and meter are in agreement and it’s under control.

Actually, I may need to clean it. Something in the water has clouded the sensor from my last testing which is holding the pH after it was removed and I think it threw the reading off. The chemical pH test made it seem like the meter was reading high, which is a bummer considering I followed the 3 point calibration to a T. Took me about an hour adding pH up, waiting, and retesting. I'm going to check things again when I get home the same way. My drip irrigation setup turns on for 35mins a day which takes a lot from the reservoir, I'll likely be topping off again today or tomorrow.

 

[I Care]

I honestly think I messed up calibration but im okay with marginal. I just took 16 ounce cups )which equal less than the recommended 250ml) and filled them with well water, then dumped each pack into them. It really wouldn’t calibrate until I started storing it in a glass of water. Glass is a bad idea cause a drinking glass is stronger than the pH glass on the meter.

I was okay with a possibly incorrect but consistent reading is that am only using the water for plants; vs if was something more sensitive such as aquatic organisms. My idea is that I just need a reading between what comes out of the well (my neutral) and what I consider too low. I understood what my inputs were doing to pH before losing the pH glass. A new meter and a new probe are on the way, I’m going try to follow instructions from other pH testers when the new ones arrive.

To be honest, at first I thought the meter was junk, then I thought the soil was junk, then I git some hints from Ca about the way to store more quality equipment. I did it different with a level of NFG. My guess is storing it in the same clean water (tap is always available) and then calibrating it from there was my key to success with the multifunction meter. Probably stupid practice and goof move, but once I stored the meter in the water from my tap.. it was a lot easier to see how the nutrient solution changed the water I was adding it to.

edit to add: I figure since I’m not using this as lab equipment and it’s unlikely a false reading will result in a chemical reaction, I just did whatever I had to do to make the meter likeable and easy to use. I don’t know if all tap water is okay to store the meter, mine was 52ppm well water.

actually a lot of editing, might be completely useless (maybe senseless, I’ve been called sensible mistakenly to be described as sensitive) info but it did make my life a lot easier to fudge it a little bit.

 

[sinned4g63]

I honestly think I messed up calibration but im okay with marginal. I just took 16 ounce cups )which equal less than the recommended 250ml) and filled them with well water, then dumped each pack into them. It really wouldn’t calibrate until I started storing it in a glass of water. Glass is a bad idea cause a drinking glass is stronger than the pH glass on the meter.

View attachment 19041380

I was okay with a possibly incorrect but consistent reading is that am only using the water for plants; vs if was something more sensitive such as aquatic organisms. My idea is that I just need a reading between what comes out of the well (my neutral) and what I consider too low. I understood what my inputs were doing to pH before losing the pH glass. A new meter and a new probe are on the way, I’m going try to follow instructions from other pH testers when the new ones arrive.

To be honest, at first I thought the meter was junk, then I thought the soil was junk, then I git some hints from Ca about the way to store more quality equipment. I did it different with a level of NFG. My guess is storing it in the same clean water (tap is always available) and then calibrating it from there was my key to success with the multifunction meter. Probably stupid practice and goof move, but once I stored the meter in the water from my tap.. it was a lot easier to see how the nutrient solution changed the water I was adding it to.

edit to add: I figure since I’m not using this as lab equipment and it’s unlikely a false reading will result in a chemical reaction, I just did whatever I had to do to make the meter likeable and easy to use. I don’t know if all tap water is okay to store the meter, mine was 52ppm well water.

actually a lot of editing, might be completely useless (maybe senseless, I’ve been called sensible mistakenly to be described as sensitive) info but it did make my life a lot easier to fudge it a little bit.

Do you mean to say that using a glass for the calibration liquid could throw things off? Because I used glass for that.. the paper bowls I had on hand would have been too shallow for the amount of water I would have needed to measure out and I didn't think it would be submerged enough.