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