Question
Hi Jacob or Jeff, I was going to buy this type of r/o water system, it's suppose to connect to a garden hose, do you think this is safe for CP's, what type of filter should i get, Thanks. our water here is actually 78 ppm.

http://www.pwgazette.com/gardenhosefilters.htm

Answer
Hi Aaron,

Unfortunately, no.  I looked over what types of cartridges were available, and they have a simple carbon filter, that doesn't remove minerals, or a softener cartridge that exchanges calcium and magnesium for salt.  That's worse than your tap water the way it is.  Also, none of this is actually a reverse osmosis system.

I linked off of the same page to their actual R.O. units.  http://www.pwgazette.com/roentry.htm  These are what you want.  The countertop unit looks great for low usage.  It depends on how many plants you have.   Since your water isn't super hard, the filters and membranes would last quite awhile.  I realize these are much more expensive, but that is reality with R.O. units.

If you only need a small amount of water per week, consider this:  http://www.zerowater.com/  These can be found at several stores.  Zerowater uses an deionizing filter that does take out minerals.  It even comes with a TDS meter.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com