This is an interesting subject & why I love this group. You can get
contradictory info
but tried & true experiences.
We have a water man in our group, John Talpa, I think this is his name?
I had a small RO system set up but it didn't work properly as we didn't test
the main incoming water pressure from the street, it was not correct so had
a mix of water.

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Cheers Wendy

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"Pat Brennan" wrote in message
...
"Ray" wrote in message
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Whoa!!! I think Pat has unnecessarily painted a real scary picture
there.
snip

I know three growers who have used RO water without any problems. Ray is
one of them. I know six growers who have cooked plants with RO. I am one
of them. Ray used Dyna-Gro/ProTekt in RO water with great results for
years. I used Dyna-Gro/ProTekt in RO water and after 3 months my
substrate pH was sitting at 3.6. MSU fertilizer makers do not seem to be
concerned with adding alkalinity to RO water, while a similar formulation
from Jack Peters suggests it very strongly. I am of the school that thinks
alkalinity should be added back into RO water, Ray is not. Why the
differences? I do not know. This is not an opinion thing, both Ray's
knowledge and my own have been learned first hand with years of growing.
Maybe it has something to due with the RO units, the substrate we use, or
our watering habits. But when you make the switch to RO either you will
have no problems and I will seem like a scum unnecessarily scaring people
or your substrate pH will crash and Ray will seem like an idiot. I hope I
am the scum, but the leachate tests will help identify problems before
plants are damaged. I think Ray will agree with me here, I highly
recommend you read these articles before you make the switch.

http://www.firstrays.com/PDF/Part%205%20-%20final.pdf

http://www.firstrays.com/PDF/Part%20...%20quality.pdf

Pat