Is Reverse Osmosis Water Safe to Use with Cannabis?
Water quality and availability are important issues that growers, both indoors and outdoors, often face. Deciding what type of water to use while watering your cannabis plants can be a crucial factor in the quality of your harvest produces. Water quality can be very dependent on where your growhouse is located and what is available. Sometimes the ability to filter the water that is accessible is needed. It’s important to know what these water filtering processes do and whether they produce safe water to use when watering your cannabis plants. One of the methods used to filter out unsavory contaminants from water is reverse osmosis.
What Makes Reverse Osmosis Water Different Than Tap?
To understand the difference between reverse osmosis water and tap water, it’s first important to know what the process of reverse osmosis is. Reverse osmosis is a process that removes foreign contaminants, solid substances, large molecules, and minerals from water by using pressure to push it through specialized membranes. Reverse osmosis can be applied to water filtration to help remove other minerals, substances, molecules, and impurities from the water. Some of the contaminants that a reverse osmosis system can help remove include salt and organic bacteria. This can be beneficial for watering plants, as the process leaves your plant water free from sodium and its buildup.
Tap water, on the other hand, is the regular water you would find flowing from your sink or spigot. Primarily, in the United States, tap water comes from lakes, rivers, and groundwater. Tap water goes through its own purification process at a water treatment facility before reaching your home, business, or growing operation. Unfiltered tap water can depend greatly on your municipality and water-treatment regulations. Oftentimes it is suggested to let tap water sit out for 24 hours or longer before using it to water your plants.
Why pH Levels are Important in Growing Cannabis
No matter what you are growing, the pH balance of your water is an important factor to consider. It is suggested that cannabis root development performs better in the pH range of 5.5-6.5. On the pH scale, lower values are more acidic and higher values are more alkaline. Cannabis plants that are watered using water with a lower pH value, have the tendency to develop nutrient deficiencies.
Water from the tap has a usual pH value of 7, which is considered neutral. In comparison, water that goes through the reverse osmosis process can drop from a pH level of 7 to anywhere as low as 5.5.
Is Reverse Osmosis Water Safe to Use with Cannabis?
Many growers prefer to use reverse osmosis water if their local tap water supply is not suitable for use. Using water that has gone through the reverse osmosis process is perfectly safe to use while watering your cannabis plants, with the use of your own addition of nutrients. Reverse osmosis strips the water of many contaminants and minerals, leaving growers with pure, clean water. This method is especially helpful for those with hydroponic systems as the water is seen as a “clean slate” to add the growing solution and nutrients growers want to use. However, reverse osmosis also strips the water of any nutrients that were originally in it. It’s important to remember that with this pure water, nutrients are needed for successful plant growth. Using reverse osmosis water without adding nutrients can deplete your plants of calcium and magnesium. These nutrients can easily be added either through a nutrient-rich growing solution.
What Other Types of Water are Safe to Use?
Tap water and reverse osmosis water are just two of the many types of water that can be supplied and used to water plants. Each grower may have a different preference for water they use when tending their cannabis plants. This all depends on each grower’s individual setup, needs, and water availability in their area. When using a Grow Flow system to grow your cannabis, the water you use can create a difference in both the quality and yield produced when it comes time to harvest.
Need Help with Reverse Osmosis Water?
Whether you are interested in getting a reverse osmosis system installed to upgrade your already existing growing setup or starting from scratch, our experts at Grow Flow are here to help. Our professionals are well-versed in reverse osmosis systems, hydroponic growing systems, and the maintenance they require. Want to learn more about what we have to offer or how you can get quality water installed in your growhouse? Contact us today!
