Many critical decisions go into choosing the optimal layout, lighting plan, irrigation/fertigation systems and climate-control design for a successful hydroponic cultivation facility. These highly engineered systems make up a large portion of upfront build-out expenses. However, all too often, the importance of a consistent, reliable water source is overlooked. Even seasoned professionals can lack the adequate knowledge to respond to increasingly complex water issues that can determine the success or failure of an operation. HyperLogic takes all the guesswork out of the commercial water filtration equation.
Commercial Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration
Here’s the upshot: Starting out with a base of pure water ensures a consistent feed formula with repeatable results for every crop cycle, regardless of source water quality.
The most efficient and cost-effective way to ensure a reliable source water profile is a commercial-scale reverse osmosis (RO) system. HyperLogic systems start at 2,000 gallons per day, all the way up to a municipal scale of 1 million + gallons of purified water per day. While RO as a requirement has been subject to debate, today’s commercial-scale cultivation professionals know it’s the single most affordable and least energy-intensive technology to produce pure water.
To be clear, not every situation requires RO. In a best-case scenario, reliable, consistently high-quality source water is readily available. However, if water needs to be treated, HyperLogic becomes a logical choice for the serious commercial grower.
For modern growing practices, it’s particularly important to highlight the differences between industrial agriculture and cultivating a refined product on a commercial scale. There are many methods and technologies shared by the two, but the most important difference is that Big Agriculture is primarily concerned with volume, not quality.
Volume vs. Quality
Producing a quality product—whether it be orchids, craft beer, or small grows—requires full control of inputs, including water. Furthermore, medicinal crops are becoming increasingly aware that a pure product requires pure inputs, water being one of the most critical. Avoiding tissue contamination can only be achieved by scrutinizing every stage of the production process, from cultivation to packaging.
Certainly, volume is extremely important. It makes sense that agriculture professionals are beginning to have tremendous influence over how large-scale grow operations are designed. But achieving volume is relatively easy, whereas growing a high-quality product requires a well-rounded, refined approach to success.
Those with experience in industrial agriculture growing tens of thousands of acres of a monocrop may be skeptical of the use of RO to purify source water for commercial cultivation. Because the volume of water needed for industrial agriculture operations is much too great to purify with RO, those operations typically rely on customized nutrients based on the contents of their untreated irrigation water.
Every input can affect the final value of the crop. The goal of commercial cultivation is to produce the best quality and largest yields from the given square footage of canopy space and to maximize efficiency in these environments.
