I donno if I agree with that - what's the point of running a RO system if you're going to mix it with tap water? The point of RO water is so you have COMPLETE and absolute control.. SM is right that it's not suited for soil applications but it's still a very viable option. It really excels in hydroponic applications because you have so much control over what your plants are getting.
As well, it's okay to pH, but you have to do it absolutely last like any other water - this is so by the time you add your pH additives your ppm is already pretty high so it stabilizes the pH a little better because it's an acid based solution that will have a minor effect on ppm typically for pH control.
The biggest thing with reverse osmosis is to ALWAYS - ALWAYS use a SMALL amount of cal/mag once your plant has it's second set of leaves or the cotyledons start to yellow. R/O is water in the purest form, typically 0-5ppm poor systems or systems in need of a cleaning are up to 10 ppm..
Not trying to stir the pot SM, so don't take it that way please, but where did you get the info from or is it something you've practiced? I don't question the results because adding tap water would add some cal/mag to the RO so it I can see the perspective of the idea.. but I was just wondering where the thought process came from.
Maganese can also be found in tap water.. especially in more urban areas. Urban tap water is typically loaded with contaminants and is often a reason why folks push to RO instead. If you have a private well or even rural water, typically your tap is pretty soft.
It's a naturally occurring chemical reaction as well as a human influenced reaction...
You can still have complete control, if you know what your 50:50 ( for example ) RO + Tap Mix contains. The only major dissolved salts in tap water are calciumcarbonate and magnesiumcarbonate which are
BOTH very beneficial for plants at the proper amounts. Using only RO-water makes pH management impossible. Just try putting 2mL of pH- in a Litre of RO-water and tap water and watch what happens. The Carbonate-ions in tap water act as a buffer, if you add a quantity of acid to RO-Water, that would bring the pH of tap water just a few 0.1 points down, the changes in pH are much more extreme if there is nothing in the water. You could use other buffers to work with only RO, but this would be absolutely pointless. A mix of RO, and tap water is just fine. And that applys only to areas where the tap water is very hard. Otherwise using RO is a waste. IF you are using plain RO-Water and your pH behaves fine, then something is wrong with your generator.
EDIT :
Lol now you are not making any sense
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The biggest thing with reverse osmosis is to ALWAYS - ALWAYS use a SMALL amount of cal/mag once your plant has it's second set of leaves or the cotyledons start to yellow. R/O is water in the purest form, typically 0-5ppm poor systems or systems in need of a cleaning are up to 10 ppm..
So you remove Ca and Mg from your water, just to add it again later + some extra nitrogen you really don't want in later flowering?
Do you get my point?
You are doing the same thing as mixing RO and tap water, you'll just add some extra nitrogen, and make the process way more complicated and expensive than it needs to be
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I agree with the Manganese, but don't think the amounts make any difference.
Not trying to stir the pot SM, so don't take it that way please, but where did you get the info from or is it something you've practiced? I don't question the results because adding tap water would add some cal/mag to the RO so it I can see the perspective of the idea.. but I was just wondering where the thought process came from.
Without saying to much, I have a background in chemistry and experience handling pH in general, and especially this problem.
Also it is quite common sense and knowledge. I can provide you with some source material if you want.
Don't worry, I'm not offended or anything. We all want the same thing here. I hope you don't get my post wrong too.
:High 5::smokebuds:
Should I lop off the top?
