New discussion on R.O. water

[shakkai]

Originally Posted by goodgollymissmolly

Shakkai, I think you are talking about two different things. RO simply removes ions from the water. It's a high class filter if you want to think of it in that way though that's not technically accurate. It removes ions (mostly Ca++ and Mg+ but also anything else in solution) and leaves essentially pure water similar to distilled water.

Ion exchange is a method that substitutes sodium (Na+) ions for the hard water ions Ca++ and Mg+. The Na+ does not cause the bathtub rings and lack of soap suds that the hard water ions cause.

Consequently ion exchange does produce water high in sodium (Na) content which can be bad for some high blood pressure cases. I do not think RO could possibly cause problems because it produces pure water. I guess you could still drown in it though.

Yep. I understand the difference... I was just quoting from what the Water Inspectorate said, and they had the two statements listed - one under RO systems, and the other one under Base Exchange Softening.

I think what they actually mean is that any water that is 'soft' (i.e. doesn't have calcium & magnesium in it) is not really healthy to drink. However it get that way.... I'm not that into nutrition to understand why - though I do understand the connection between salt and heart problems/high blood pressure.

In any case, it was not really related to the topic at hand - which is feeding and watering our plants - not ourselves!!

[orchids3]

If we could just see that raising awareness is important then everyones opinion would be valued more. Ground water and its use or missuse is an impartant issue - for example the ground water used in New Jersey was deposited in the Anarondaks 5000 years ago - it will be 5000 years before it is replaced. Orchid growers should be enviornmentally aware! Has anyone experimented with a solar distillation unit? I remember the principal from a Navy survival manual - it does work -----

[Ross]

Originally Posted by orchids3

Has anyone experimented with a solar distillation unit? I remember the principal from a Navy survival manual - it does work -----

That was designed to keep one soldier alive. Can you generate the multi-gallons per day needed for domestic water use and/or watering plants?

[shakkai]

The average quoted for area with a 'hot' summer are:
2.3 litres produced per square metre area of still.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by shakkai

The average quoted for area with a 'hot' summer are:
2.3 litres produced per square metre area of still.

Might be a bit "light" if one is aiming for 5 gallons.

[Jerry Delaney]

Wow!! I just love discussions where everyone agrees to disagree!! Ray, I will not get on any soapbox and if I do, I'll make sure that the soap is low in phosphates. I personally believe many of the comments made are true, even those disagreeing with others. Ross, you are correct in stating that there is some waste in RO water. Even if you use one of the newer "point of use" systems that has NO waste stream at all, there is still the use of the electricity, raw materials, transportation, etc. used in the manufacture of the membrane cartridges that would have to be replaced on a fairly regular basis. Also, living at the southern end of the San Joaquin valley where our average rainfall is <6"/year, using rain water (which by the way is a great practice) is hardly feasible. Before moving here, I used RO water exclusively because where I lived was the only city I had seen that routinely had "water warnings" every spring. The city was located right in the center of the "corn belt" and every spring the rains leeched enough nitrates out of the soil to actually make the water hazardous to young children. Families with children under a certain age could go to a store and purchase bottled water and the cost was reimbursed by the city. So, using city water there to water my orchids certainly wasn't an option. Here, I am very fortunate in that I have relatively low TDS in my city water plus while I have not checked the concentration, very low chlorine levels as the water from the well supplying my neighborhood is ozone treated. I moved the RO system with us and used it for about a year. I use about 200 to 400 gallons of water per week for watering the greenhouse(s). Unfortunately Ray, my system wasn't nearly so good as yours and waste ran ~ 3/1. I'm afraid that if I used the waste stream to make a pool/pond that the mosquito abatement district would be on my neck in a hurry (nearly half of all the West Nile human infections in the state of California occurred in Kern County). So, after a year of checking the tap water and never finding over 3 grains of hardness, I started using straight tap water. Optimum? Probably not. However, I see little to no leaf tip die back of the 50+ Phrags I grow and until that changes, I will just continue to use tap water. Ray is 100% correct when he states that "each of us has a personal choice to make about our activities". After all, people did and do survive with no cars, no indoor plumbing, no electricity etc. In fact, I often hear people talk about the "good old days". I don't know how many of you grew up with no electricity or indoor plumbing, but, ladies and gentlemen, let me assure you there was NOTHING good about it! Now, having spoken my piece, I think I will see if I can get the wife to drive me in our SUV across town where the car wash uses extra detergent and two extra rinses. And, since we should only be gone an hour or two, I think I will just leave both TV"s as well as the lights on!

[quiltergal]

Interesting discussion. I agree that water is a finite resource, however, it is finite in a closed system. It doesn't go away, it gets rearranged, and redistributed.

As a grower I am far more concerned with the stuff I'm pouring down the sink every week when I fertilize. That is going into that finite water resource, and probably ending up in our drinking water or polluting rivers, streams, and the ocean.

My plants are just going to have to get happy with tap water cause that's as good as it's going to get for them. I have only one plant I water with distilled water, and I can make a whole gallon last for a month or more. (It's a teeny plant)

[shakkai]

I will not get on any soapbox and if I do, I'll make sure that the soap is low in phosphates.

You are too funny!! And I certainly wouldn't have wanted to pay your water bill - needing 400 gallons, and paying for 1600 gallons every week!!

I wasn't aware that so many things went wrong with the water supplies in the US. Your's was a regular Spring occurance? The past summer when I was visiting a friend in Massachusetts a friend of hers couldn't drink her tap water as the municipal supply had tested positive for E. coli. I can't remember having problems like that when I was growing up in Pittsburgh.

Actually, I was thinking some more about the rainwater I use. It is collected off the roof of the house which has moss growing all over it (moss grows over everything here!). Given the discussion of rainwater in the other thread ( http://www.orchidboard.com/community...-watering.html) I wonder how much nutritional value is picked up by the water running through the moss? This approximates what happens naturally where orchids are growing in trees, yes?

[Jerry Delaney]

Yes Shakkai, it occurred every spring. We lived near the center of Illinois and once you got out of town all you could see was corn and soy beans. The farmers really piled on the fertilizer every year and this resulted in lots of nitrates being washed into the small streams that flowed into the river the city used for its water supply. I was absolutely dumb struck the first time it occurred after relocating to the town. I must confess that I do have a couple of small trays of Disa where I am careful NOT to use tap water. Rather than purchase a small RO unit, I opted to purchase a small deionizer (NOT a softener) manufactured for rinsing cars. It was quite inexpensive and produces sufficient quantities of water at 0 - 5 PPM. I am afraid I can't help you about the roof/moss question as I have absolutely no experience in that area. Oh, by the way Ray, I do grow my Phrags and some Phaius (and of course the Disas) in trays with ~1/2" of water. However, I just use an orchid mix I make using either coconut chips or New Zealand sphagnum. Does that count as s/h?

[Lagoon]