FlyTrapCare Forums

is a R.O. system worth investing in???? and will the water be good for my plants i know u should use distilled water or rain water but is reverse osmosis water the same???

Reverse osmosis water is like a filter that pushes water through a filter thing but the holes in the "filter" is so small thatonly water molecules fit through it leaving out most, if not, all minerals and salts. I wouls say not to buy it as it can be expensive unless you have tons and tons of plants.

An R.O. unit can be expensive, but it worth it if you can't guarantee the quality of your water supply or don't receive as much rainwater as you need - an especially good investment if you have lots of plants. The only drawback is that they can waste up to 60% of the water that is passed through them leaving you with 40% water that is suitable for your plants.

R.O. units can be a little on the pricey side, so if you only have a few plants it's not likely to be worth it for you to purchase one. I bought one this spring because I dramatically expanded my collection of plants and I was using over 3 gallons of water a day.

As Linton said, they can be very wasteful, so if possible, have it drain into a garden or catch the drain water to use on other plants that aren't sensitive to minerals in the water.

I have a Reverse Osmosis filter. Is it okay to water my vft with it? Or should I let it sit in case some of the minerals/salts didn't go through the filter?

ilovemyaph wrote:I have a Reverse Osmosis filter. Is it okay to water my vft with it? Or should I let it sit in case some of the minerals/salts didn't go through the filter?

An RO unit with good filters should produce very clean water that is usable on carnivorous plants. If your filters haven't been replaced in a while, it is best to test the water with a TDS meter so you know the mineral content of the water.

3 gallons a day Matt? WOW I feel lucky when I collect 10 gallons of rainwater for this season! sheesh, my dad's work has a triple R.O filter. I might have to take a look at the water, hopefully they don't add any minerals for "taste" I assume not he's been giving his sundews it and they are coming back okay.

Wow Matt! I buy a 5 gallon container and it lasts about 2 weeks and sometimes even a month!

David F wrote:3 gallons a day Matt?

dantt99 wrote:Wow Matt! I buy a 5 gallon container and it lasts about 2 weeks and sometimes even a month!

Well, if you notice that post where I said I use 3 gallons a day is from 2009. Now when I water, I need about 50 gallons. During the winter, that's only about once every 7 to 10 days. But in the summer, that's every other day. I'm very thankful that I can use the tap water here in Ashland on my plants since it doesn't rain at all here during the summer months.

50 gallons YIKES even without buying distilled water, I bet that racks up a tap water bill .

David F wrote:50 gallons YIKES even without buying distilled water, I bet that racks up a tap water bill .

Surprisingly, the water bills are still fairly low here. And in the summer, I use "free" water provided by the Talent Irrigation Ditch. It costs something like $75 for the entire summer and the water coming from that spigot is also very low in TDS, usually around 40ppm.

Wow, nice! You're lucky you have the nice tap water now and don't need the RO system

I'm lucky to be able to use "tap" water too!! My house is not in the city limits, so we rely on well water. I had it tested, and it's very low in TDS, about 45-50 ppm.