My new RO System from First Ray's

[ALToronto]

Wendy, you can kill orchids with just RO water simply by starving them. Tap water has at least some nutrients, so they can survive on it much longer than on RO. I wouldn't blame the system quite so quickly, but you should get a TDS or EC meter just to be sure that the RO system is doing its job.

 

[Wendy]

Wendy, you can kill orchids with just RO water simply by starving them. Tap water has at least some nutrients, so they can survive on it much longer than on RO. I wouldn't blame the system quite so quickly, but you should get a TDS or EC meter just to be sure that the RO system is doing its job.

Yes I know this. The damage to my pleuro happened over the course of two weeks. We moved in here September and by October it showed severe damage. Lack of fertilizer for that short a time would not have done the damage the plant suffered. The leaves on over half the plant (mounted) yellowed and fell off within a short period of time after I started using the new water.

 

[papheteer]

Got the same set-up from Ray. It worked great. But got tired of collecting RO water!

 

[Ray]

I don't think you'd see any nutrient deficiency in just two weeks.

 

[Ozpaph]

thanks for the great pictures and commentary.

 

[Ray]

Got a call from Richard Stone yesterday - he authored the "Cattleya (Sophronitis) coccinea - A Study in Sphagnum Moss TDS" article in the January AOS Orchids magazine. In the greenhouse photo on page 28, he pointed out that one of my counter-top RO units is visible on the floor next to the heater. I totally missed that when I read the article.