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Hydro 101 With Deonna Marie: Importance Of RO Water

Written by Deonna Marie
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Using clean water in your grow is imperative, especially if you’re using a hydroponic system.

When you’re growing hydroponically, poor water quality can be a serious culprit when it comes to problems including stunted growth, mineral toxins, deficiency symptoms, bacteria contamination, and so forth. In this edition of Hydro 101 we’re going to look at the benefits that come from using a reverse osmosis (RO) system, and why using plain ol’ tap water just doesn't cut it for most growing situations.

Water quality is one of the most important factors in hydroponics growing. Water is the basic “carrier” in hydroponics as it dissolves and transports nutrients for plants.

However, water also dissolves a lot of impurities that can be harmful to plants. These impurities cannot be easily detected visually, and it is all too easy to be misled into making wrong assumptions about the purity of water from the clarity of a sample.

Clean water is essential for healthy plant growth. Water quality problems are often easy to solve provided they are properly identified.

The best way to find out if you need an RO system is to get a water report from your water district. It depends entirely on the quality and the consistency of what comes out of your tap. If your water is consistently under 100ppm and you have no chloramine issues, RO is entirely optional. Make sure to have an accurate and reliable tds/ph instrument.

When shopping online or in store for an RO system, make sure to do your homework and pick the right size system for the size of your grow. ROsystems can be costly so make sure you read directions thoroughly and take care of your purchase by cleaning and replacing filters as needed. This will help you get the most life out of your RO system.

Water is what makes the world go round, and it's also the most important factor and the glue that holds your grow together when growing hydroponically. Until next time, grow big or go home!