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Results of Water Testing

Hi Everyone,

I just ran a test of my water and these are the results.

Tap Water: 153 PPM
Chlorine Free Water from RO unit: 134 PPM
Reverse Osmosis Water from RO unit: 20 PPM
Rain Water: 11 PPM
My questions for the forum is? With these results is it ok to use Chlorine Free water for my CPs or should I just stick to rain water and Reverse Osmosis water?

Thank you in advance for any useful information!


Giovanni
 
Stick to RO and rain water ;)
 
italo, youre rejection ratio is about 85%...(based on 134 at membrane inlet and 20 at membrane outlet) that is unusually low

just curious, how old is your membrane and what is the pressure at the membrane inlet?

Av
 
Does home depot or lowes have water testers?
 
AV,
Thank you for your reply!
The membrane is about 10 months old and I'm not sure about the pressure at the membrane inlet. My unit is a Ultralife "Crystal Clear" Aquarium RO System. URP-12.
Does 20 PPM indicate that it is time for a filter change?
Giovanni
 
no, not really... its just indicating that something isnt just quite right... maybe membrane inlet pressure is a little low... it would be nice to know the pressure and brine ratio, but its no biggie... 20ppm is just fine mate, nothing to worry about ;)

membrane should last 2-5 yrs
Av
 
below 50 ppm is good for use with general cp's.
so the chlorine free water with 134 ppm no stick to the Reverse Osmosis or collect rainwater.
 
AV,

Could 20 PPM indicate that it is time for a filter change and at what PPM level should I be concerned? Thank you again!

Giovanni
 
Giovanni,

the 20ppm by itself doesnt tell you anything, it is the ratio of ppm in to the membrane to ppm out of the membrane. If all is well this will usually be in the 90%+ range.

Like D stated, anything under 50 is normally considered just fine

Av

note: 100-((20/134)x100)=85% rejection ratio
 
  • #11
FYI:

Tap Water (west Los Angeles area): 235 ppm TDS
Tap water run through Britta filter: 110 ppm TDS
Water from Glacier vending machines: usually 3 ppm TDS min: 1 ppm max: 5 ppm
 
  • #12
Not a Number,

Thank you for the FYI.

I never knew that water from glacier vending machines could have less ppms than rain water and RO water.

Giovanni
 
  • #13
Giovanni,

It is probably RO water that has been further polished using demineralization by ionization (DI) to remove the last few ppm.

My home RO/DI set up consistently puts out 0ppm

I actually think a few ppm is good for micro-nutrient purposes

Av
 
  • #15
is glacier vending machine the one that's blue with bubbles, and have penguins, and its like 25cent a gallon? the one with clear door that you open up to put the water.


if it is, i've been walking farther,and spending more money(around 30$ now) that vending machine is less than a block away from my house(right in front of (food 4 less))
 
  • #16
Thanks Warren, :)

A lot depends on what the inlet TDS is, a typical membrane has a rejection ratio of 95-99%. If inlet TDS is 100 then those numbers would be expected... but very impressive regardless, sure dont see that brand around here

Av
 
  • #17
is glacier vending machine the one that's blue with bubbles, and have penguins, and its like 25cent a gallon? the one with clear door that you open up to put the water.


if it is, i've been walking farther,and spending more money(around 30$ now) that vending machine is less than a block away from my house(right in front of (food 4 less))

That's it! Save your gallon bottles and get out your little red wagon to tote them.

http://glacierwater.com/products.htm

Thanks Warren, :)

A lot depends on what the inlet TDS is, a typical membrane has a rejection ratio of 95-99%. If inlet TDS is 100 then those numbers would be expected... but very impressive regardless, sure dont see that brand around here

Av

The display panel on the machines show the last service date and it appears at least in my area that they service them usually once a week. I figured "servicing" just meant taking the money out of them. Since I started checking the TDS and it has been so consistently low the service guy must do more than just take the money out. Yes, rather impressive for high use machines sitting out in the open and taking abuse from any passerby.

PS: You should write an article on choosing and setting up RO units for the article section ;)
 
  • #18
Glacier has never displayed any info (average measurements) regarding their water on their site (either that or I have never found it). It's good to know that the TDS measures are that low. Pretty surprising, really.
 
  • #19
I've used the water from my britta filter for awhile now on some neps and I see no harm so far. If it is at 110ppm would'nt that be ok? I heard that ppm of up to 100 is ok for most cp's and that neps can take a little bit more.
 
  • #20
To play it safe below 50 ppm is good for use with cps. You may not see any harm for now but with a 110 ppm minerals are building up inside your growing medium. I would seriously consider a Reverse Osmosis Unit if you have a lot of cps. Because they are very expensive, I purchased mine from ebay.

I hope this helps!

Giovanni
 
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