Is a drop from 80 TDS to 10 TDS significant?
 

Hello Folks,

I have invested in a R/O system that hooks up to the outdoor hose faucet. I live in Rhode Island, and it is starting to get cold. It's becoming pretty cumbersome transferring my water into gallon jugs into the house. I am currently saving up for a system that sits underneath the kitchen sink (and is tankless). However, it runs at $300. I might not be able to purchase it for a bit (damn mortgage).

Anyhow, my tap water TDS is at 80. My R/O water runs at around 10 TDS. Is this difference significant enough to warrant the nuisance of running the system outdoors?

I do have several micro and minis in terrariums. I also have mounted orchids that sit under artificial lighting. In addition, I have several "regular" sized potted orchids. To save myself time going outside in the cold, do you think that I can get by with the 80 TDS tap water for my larger potted plants? I'll continue to use my R/O water for mounted (and thus sensitive) plants. Once I'm able to afford the nice R/O system, this won't be an issue.

While I'm here, does anyone have a waterdrop R/O system?

Thank you for the input,
Rachel

You do want to stay with RO for the little guys if you can. The bigger plants should be fine with tap water. (80 ppm is quite low by my southern California standards where my 250 is considered "pretty good" compared to others.)

Your post has left me with lots of questions:

Why must your current system be used outdoors? If it's just because of the hose adapter, you can either get one that will adapt the current fitting to an indoor sink faucet, or you can connect it to an existing pipe using a saddle valve. That's what I have done with my counter-top RO sustem. Turn it on to produce pure water, off again when done.

I'd urge you to look more closely at that "under-sink , tankless" system. A 100 gallon-per-day system only generates about a cup per minute, so some sort of water storage must be used. Most residential systems come with a 3- or 4-gallon bladder tank.

The tankless waterdrop systems are 400 gpd systems, so are "on demand", but they use proprietary filters and membranes, so you're always beholding to them for replacements, which are fairly pricey. The use of standard components is a much safer idea, as if the supplier is out-of-stock or goes out of business, you can still get replacements from any number of places.

Thanks Ray and Roberta!

Roberta: Good to know my water isn't that bad!

Ray: I actually purchased a countertop RO system from you a while back. I previously used the sink adapter you're mentioning in my old apartment. I just moved to a new house, and I didn't think that my kitchen or bathroom sink would be compatible with the adapter. However, upon closer examination, my kitchen sink does have the correct thread system (excuse my poor terminology). I am an idiot. However, I am glad that it will work!

Also, thank you for mentioning the fact that waterdrop has proprietary filters. I will stick with your system. It's even at a 10 TDS reading after over a year of use (and no replacement filters). I will be getting new filters soon though!

I would use your tap water for most orchids.

Your water carrying days can be a thing of the past!

rocart.jpg - Google Drive

Setting a timer every time you fill up is highly recommended.