Fertilizing in Semi-Hydro Help!

[grasshopper]

I currently use rain water as much as possible. When my rain barrel runs dry, I use filtered water from a Britta water filter that I bought at Target. They come in all sizes and I bought the largest one, which I believe holds just over a gallon of water. I keep old milk jugs, rinse them out and fill them with the filtered water so they're ready when it's time to water. Since I started doing this over 4 months ago, I have noticed a significant decrease in mineral build up in the LECA.

[alexdg]

Originally Posted by grasshopper

I currently use rain water as much as possible. When my rain barrel runs dry, I use filtered water from a Britta water filter that I bought at Target. They come in all sizes and I bought the largest one, which I believe holds just over a gallon of water. I keep old milk jugs, rinse them out and fill them with the filtered water so they're ready when it's time to water. Since I started doing this over 4 months ago, I have noticed a significant decrease in mineral build up in the LECA.

Hmmm?? I wonder which is more economical? Refill's of those big water bottle's at walmart or the britta filter system...Certainly something to consisder. As for the milk botlles...deffinetaly a great idea + eco friendly.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by alexdg

Hmmm?? I wonder which is more economical? Refill's of those big water bottle's at walmart or the britta filter system...Certainly something to consisder. As for the milk botlles...deffinetaly a great idea + eco friendly.

BRITA filters do nothing to remove dissolved minerals. It's for removing chlorine and other organic components only.

An RO system is probably the most economical way to get pure water (unless you have a means to collect sufficient rainwater, of course), but whether it's worth it depends to some degree on your demand.

I use about 200 gallons of water a week on average, and at my retail prices, that would cost $0.01 per gallon for the first 2 years (purchase price + filters), then less than 1/3 cent per gallon after that (replacing membrane and filters).

What's also nice is that they are easily expandable with your demand - increasing the capacity of a system is simply switching to a different membrane (which fits in the same housing) and restrictor.

If you are considering going to RO, DO NOT go with a Culligan system. They are way too expensive. Another forum member was planning on financing through them at somewhere around $60 or $80 per month for a year, when they could buy one with greater capacity for less than $200!!!