virginiadiver69
New member
I am going to start ordering my DI resin in bulk. Will I get away with shopping by price or are there better quality resins out there? I want to stay with an RC sponsor.
Is all DI resin created equal?
- Thread starter virginiadiver69
- Start date
marduc
New member
Funny.. I just wandered back over here after a bit of shopping for new ro/di cartridges. The short answer is no. look at spectrapure.. just as an example.. they have numerous different options for di resins and cartridges there, all of which have different performance capabilities.
virginiadiver69
New member
bump
The most common DI resins are marketed under the Dow Chemical company's DOWEX brand. They also manufacture Filmtec RO membranes, by far the most common in use on aquarium water purification systems.
Both are tried and true quality products.
Both are tried and true quality products.
virginiadiver69
New member
What resin do you use WaterKeeper? Is it the DOWEX?
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Resins can be blended for specific water conditions. Like Waterkeeper said, there are a few common resins like the Dowex and Purolite which are a pretty good "one size fits all" blend.
If you want a little more information go to www.resindepot.com and look at the different resins they have available. Most RC vendors are going to sell a factory blended resin. Companies like Spectrapure buy and blend their own resins for specific conditions and therefore they will cost a little more but will also perform better in most cases. Depending on your water this may or may not be a cost savings for you. For me the MaxCap resin is a huge cost savings at 630 gallons per cartridge instead of 150 gallons per normal cartridge.
If you want a little more information go to www.resindepot.com and look at the different resins they have available. Most RC vendors are going to sell a factory blended resin. Companies like Spectrapure buy and blend their own resins for specific conditions and therefore they will cost a little more but will also perform better in most cases. Depending on your water this may or may not be a cost savings for you. For me the MaxCap resin is a huge cost savings at 630 gallons per cartridge instead of 150 gallons per normal cartridge.
virginiadiver69
New member
I am seeing options for cation, anion and mixed bed resin. What is the difference and which one do I want to use?
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Seperate cation and anion resins are used if you are going to use acid and lye to recharge the resin. To me its not worth the effort and hazardous chemicals to do this. You use each resin in a seperate canister and recharge them seperately but normal mixed bed resins are not 50%/50% blends so with seperate resins you can end up with pH problems if not used in the correct amounts. Also recharging your own resins at home will never get you a 100% recharge, it takes heat and other conditions to do it properly.
Semiconductor or nuclear grade mixed bed resins are the most popular. My local reef club buys a cubic foot or two at a time and reseals it in "seal a meal" bags for individual use. This is a pretty good option for most groups as you get the best pricing if you can use that much. For an individual you need to remember the shelf life of DI resin is about 6 months in the best of conditions (sealed, climate controlled, dark and damp) so don't buy more than you can use in that amount of time.
Semiconductor or nuclear grade mixed bed resins are the most popular. My local reef club buys a cubic foot or two at a time and reseals it in "seal a meal" bags for individual use. This is a pretty good option for most groups as you get the best pricing if you can use that much. For an individual you need to remember the shelf life of DI resin is about 6 months in the best of conditions (sealed, climate controlled, dark and damp) so don't buy more than you can use in that amount of time.
virginiadiver69
New member
Thank you AZDesertRat for all of your info lately.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
No problem, glad I can share. Tons of people here on RC have helped me over the years and I just try to return the favor.
aquarius77
In Memoriam
I burn through resin, i have used resintech mbd 30 and resin from the filter guys wich i belive is the same exact resin. I seem to rip through a cartridge but my post ro has a tds of 2? Do i need to start looking into a resin to better fit my water or something?
Guess its a good thing i rip through it so fast because i bought a bunch. I wish id have known that sealed resin will only be good for 6 mos...
Guess its a good thing i rip through it so fast because i bought a bunch. I wish id have known that sealed resin will only be good for 6 mos...
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
There is an interesting thread in the Reef Chemistry forum which talks about CO2 and its effect on DI resin life. That may be your problem.
aquarius77
In Memoriam
I have tested the ph of the tapwater and its always well above 8, that pretty much rules out co2, right?
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
No not according to that thread. Mine is 8.2 and they swear CO2 is my problem.
aquarius77
In Memoriam
i cant find the thread, can you link me? I have had talks with jim at the filterguys in detail about this and he says if the tap pH is that high that co2 cannot be an issue because the co2 would lower the pH of the water.
That thinking makes total sense if you think about a cal reactor, you use co2 to drop pH in the chamber wich in turn causes the reaction.
That thinking makes total sense if you think about a cal reactor, you use co2 to drop pH in the chamber wich in turn causes the reaction.
aquarius77
In Memoriam
Let me rephrase that, if the pH is that high co2 should not be the issue. I dont recall him saying it cannot be.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Jim is changing his mind back and forth then as he and Boomer sure ganged up on me on this one. I don't agree with their take on it but I am talking to some experts in the field of RO and DI soon.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1133668
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1133668
Thefilterguys
.Registered Member
Without question if you have rapid DI resin exhaustion and it is not related to your TDS reading CO2 is the issue. You can talk to any resin company tech support and they will confirm the CO2 issue. It is not to say you cannot get a bad batch of resin or resin that has been handled poorly by a vendor. Stored resin that is kept cool and protected for CO2 will not go bad just from sitting. We turn over our stock of resin monthly and buy direct from the resin maunfacture so we have have excellent quality control.
Here is what Spectrapure has to say about CO2. One note it does not alway require low pH if you have high alkalinity.
"One of the most common reasons for low DI cartridge life is high carbon dioxide content in low pH waters. CO2 levels in low pH waters like well waters can be as high 50-100 ppm. Since carbon dioxide is a small dissolved gaseous molecule it passes right through the reverse osmosis membrane. Carbon dioxide is weakly ionized and is not detected in conductivity measurements, however it occupies the anion-exchange sites in the deionization cartridge significantly reducing their expected life-time. Therefore, CO2 removal from RO product water significantly enhances the life-time of the deionization cartridges."
Here is what Spectrapure has to say about CO2. One note it does not alway require low pH if you have high alkalinity.
"One of the most common reasons for low DI cartridge life is high carbon dioxide content in low pH waters. CO2 levels in low pH waters like well waters can be as high 50-100 ppm. Since carbon dioxide is a small dissolved gaseous molecule it passes right through the reverse osmosis membrane. Carbon dioxide is weakly ionized and is not detected in conductivity measurements, however it occupies the anion-exchange sites in the deionization cartridge significantly reducing their expected life-time. Therefore, CO2 removal from RO product water significantly enhances the life-time of the deionization cartridges."
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