ve to look for more suppliers. The least expensive unit I saw was
close to C$1000, and, since Orillia water is quite hard, I was advised to
add a water conditioning unit for an additional, paltry C$1000; and the
installation costs would have been more than the cost of the hardware. But
I pay C$0.20/litre for RO water. And I use about 10 litres a week; more if
I am soaking CHC in preparation for repotting.



Seems very high... Even in Canadian dollars. That is about $650US
(according to the last 'cheque' I cashed). Could get a darn fine system
for that.

http://www.clearwater-az.com/ # Selling a system with a tank for
$80US. That seems _too_ cheap, but it is only 10gal/day.
http://www.havapure.com/ # A bigger system for $160US. Again, no
affiliation. I just found it on google.

Anyway, those both have storage tanks. You can probably get even
cheaper without a tank. I must say, I paid on the order of $1000US for
my new system, and it is worth every penny (two tanks, faucets, pump,
fairly large capacity, and expert installation). For complicated
things, there is no substitute for a skilled water professional. But a
cheap system mounted on a board and collecting the water in a garbage
can is fine for plants. For the deluxe system, get a stock tank float
valve (for livestock watering) and hook that up to the garbage can. $10
bucks maybe?

I wouldn't worry too much about the water pre-conditioning, if you
have a TDS meter you can check your output water quality frequently.
Unless your water stands up on its own... If you blow the membrane, you
will be able to tell. Might have to change the filters a little more
frequently. But then again, I'm not a professional. I don't even play
one on TV*.

Rob (*TiVo, actually, I haven't seen a commercial in 3 months...)

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit