What do You Use for Water?

[Ray]

Originally Posted by boytjie

I use bottled distilled water from the supermarket. I was getting too many burned roots and mineral deposits on pots using tap water, so I decided to make the switch a year ago. I've got a modest collection (about 150 plants), and go through three or four one-gallon bottles a week. At a buck apiece, it's not going to break the bank and it's better for my plants.

So you're spending roughly $200 a year on the bottled distilled water. If you bought an RO system, it would pay for itself in under a year.

60 gpd 4-stage RO Unit = $165 (I include an extra sediment and charcoal filter)

Replace sediment filters every 6 months, charcoal every year, membrane and polishing filter every 2.



So over 6 years, the RO cost and maintenance comes to under $0.19/day, versus $0.53/day for bottled, distilled water.

[boytjie]

Originally Posted by Ray

So you're spending roughly $200 a year on the bottled distilled water. If you bought an RO system, it would pay for itself in under a year.

60 gpd 4-stage RO Unit = $165 (I include an extra sediment and charcoal filter)

Replace sediment filters every 6 months, charcoal every year, membrane and polishing filter every 2.

So over 6 years, the RO cost and maintenance comes to under $0.19/day, versus $0.53/day for bottled, distilled water.

Yep, eventually it's my plan to get one of these -- at the moment I'm in a rented apartment, so I'm making do with bottled water. When I get my own place, I'll have an RO system installed. Thanks.

[nhman]

I use RO (Reverse Osmosis) water with added water from my dehumidifier (essentially RO as well). Then, I can simply add the nutrients back in as I would like them to be for the different orchids that I grow.

[Hera]

Is dehumidifier water good for the plants? I have one running all the time and I used to use it on the chids, but I put Physan in it to combat the slime in the bottom. I had mixed results, but I'm not sure if I was overdoing the Physan. Too much of that stuff can ruin roots, and I never measured.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Hera

Is dehumidifier water good for the plants?

Dehumidifier water is basically distilled, but instead of applying heat to boil the water and collecting the condensate, your are chilling the air to collect the water that's already in a vapor state.

Don't forget though - like other sources of pure water, it has no buffering capacity, so you'll want to keep an eye on the pH when feeding.

Yes, excessive Physan can be damaging to plants. I('d use no more than a teaspoon per gallon for occasional sprayings.

[DAve Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

I use tap water myself. I Do not used SOFTENED water tho ...

Why not softened water?

[RosieC]

My understanding is that softened water has added chemicals which are damaging to orchids. This is different to water which has had disolved solids removed (such as RO or distilled) the word 'softened' is used for a process which works in a different chemical way... if I have understood correctly.

[trdyl]

Yes, Rosie. Standard water softeners in the home use a process that removes calcium and magnesium ions and replaces them with sodium, a salt far more toxic to plants than the original ones.

[JustAddIceOrchids]

Hello Matt - we recommend if you are using tap water is to make sure it is soft water. Unsoften water contains high levels of calcium and over time calcium build-up in the root system can inhibit orchid growth. A water filtration system can reduce the amount of minerals in your water, however it typically doesn't remove them all. It would be better to water with filtered water than hard water alone!