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| I was at species meeting when one of the members casually mentioned he has a DI unit in line after the RO unit. The initial reaction was one of disbelief as it seem the ultimate in redundancy. Then 2 members spoke up who do the same thing, one of them a highly respected AOS judge who brings outstanding plants to these meetings.
On further discussion it was stated that the cost is minimal as he needs to get his unit recharged very rarely, 1 1/2 years or so on the average. The fully charged unit will absorb a certain amount of impurities before it needs to be recharged. If it is fed RO water it has very little work. On the flip side if after 1 1/2 years it ask for a recharge, it means is has absorbed a certain amount of impurities even though it was fed RO water. My ppm from the RO unit just reads less than 10, not 0. The person who brought it up grows great Sophronitis coccinea, Dend cuthbersonii and other cloud forest plants. The AOS judge grows none of these, she is mostly into Laelias, Catts and other less sensitive plants. She simply does it because in her opinion it gives her the best possible water at minimal cost. I don't think anyone present, including myself, was sold on the idea, I was just wondering if anyone is doing this or even has heard of someone doing it. Nick |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I have an RO/DI unit from when I used to keep reef aquariums. The DI is important in that situation because reef invertebrates can be very sensitive to small amounts of copper, phosphorus, etc. I removed the DI when I took down my aquariums. My RO water runs about 4ppm TDS, and I believe that is plenty pure for any plant. I only use the RO water for my carnivorous plants, and for spraying down leaves to prevent mineral stains. The orchids get acidified tap water. If I grew any very sensitive orchids, they might get RO, but I think DI would just be overkill. Maybe it makes some people feel better, but IMO it's just an unnecessary expense. |
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- Posted by orchidnick z9Ca (orchidnick@yahoo.com) on Sat, Jun 4, 11 at 1:29
| I used to have a reef tank and I know exactly what you are talking about. I also feel it's an unnecessary expense and bother, I just wanted to see if anyone pipes up who uses it for orchids. Nick |
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