MIXED BED RESIN

[saltwaterpicaso]

has anyone switched from mixed bed resin to the separate 3 and actually used more of the resin in the separates. i swear my mixed bed used to last about 3 months now using separates it's about a month it lasts. I feel like I'm replacing them more frequently than when it was mixed

 

[BryanM]

I switched from mixed to Cation and Anion separate. I use a LOT more (5-6x) Anion before I have to replace cation resin.

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

Its hard to see but they are all spent. 3 month of use

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Different resin brands may have different capacity per volume.

What are you actually using?

What gets depleted first?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Buckeye Hydro

Any comments?

 

[BryanM]

what is the 3rd btw?

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

BRS usually in order but seems im going threw it quicker i just placed another order i will track the exact time this time for depletion

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

3rd is mixed bed

 

[BryanM]

3rd is mixed bed

Ah, I skipped that, seemed likely only a minor benefit to me.

 

[Buckeye Hydro Verified Sponsor]

@Buckeye Hydro

Any comments?

Assuming you are using good quality resins that have been handled/shipped/stored appropriately...

You should be getting a longer life out of the separate beds as you're using about double the amount of anion or cation resin compared to what is in a mixed bed cartridge. You have to look at the volume of each resin you're using, and the capacity of each.

In your case you may be comparing apples to oranges depending upon the resin that was actually sold to you. The mixed bed, cation, and anion may be from different manufacturers and have different capacities.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Assuming you are using good quality resins that have been handled/shipped/stored appropriately...

You should be getting a longer life out of the separate beds as you're using about double the amount of anion or cation resin compared to what is in a mixed bed cartridge. You have to look at the volume of each resin you're using, and the capacity of each.

In your case you may be comparing apples to oranges depending upon the resin that was actually sold to you. The mixed bed, cation, and anion may be from different manufacturers and have different capacities.

Thank you. :)

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

makes sense just seen your website will order on my next fill-up

 

[Uncle99]

Quick depletion of my resin indicates that my RO membrane is compromised and no longer pulling 95-99% of the TDS. Check TDS from RO and before resin to ensure that function is still working correctly.

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

Quick depletion of my resin indicates that my RO membrane is compromised and no longer pulling 95-99% of the TDS. Check TDS from RO and before resin to ensure that function is still working correctly.

thats actually a great idea i cannot remember the last time i have replaced them

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

Assuming you are using good quality resins that have been handled/shipped/stored appropriately...

Mission critical.

I haven’t experienced grossly different capacity between the various manufacturers at the price points typical to our hobby. However, I have definitely seen poorly handled resin from manufacturers, and that resin performed poorly as a result.

 

[Buckeye Hydro Verified Sponsor]

Mission critical. I haven't experienced huge capacity differences from the various manufactures but I have certainly seen poorly handled resin from the manufacturers. That resin performed poorly as a result.

can you be more specific? How was that "poor handling" apparent to you?

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

can you be more specific? How was that "poor handling" apparent to you?

QC: Run a canister from each batch using a known TDS and flow rate, then measure how long it lasts. It's not a perfect solution but will identify most material issues.

Sometimes the problem was obvious before testing. After opening the barrel, instead of the resin being moist enough for the beads to clump together, it was dry and almost free-flowing.

It wasn't common but over ~15 years I certainly saw some shipments that didn't pass QC standards and needed to be sent back.

I am sure there are some outliers but I’d be surprised if much of the hobby isn’t using the same blue/purple resin sources so I doubt there would be huge capacity differences between each.

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

Quick depletion of my resin indicates that my RO membrane is compromised and no longer pulling 95-99% of the TDS. Check TDS from RO and before resin to ensure that function is still working correctly.

Good call.

More than 90% of the calls I took where the resin had been working fine and then suddenly started depleting rapidly had nothing to do with the resin itself. The issue was usually membrane performance.

Sometimes the membrane had actually failed, but more often there had been a change in water pressure or temperature.

It doesn’t take much of a change to double the TDS coming out of the RO membrane, which in turn can cut DI resin life in half.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

The times where I burned through resin faster than typical was when I was physically having trouble packing the resin or being lazy/rushing and just filling the canister and tapping it on the counter to settle the beads.

I printed some packing tools available online. A large funnel, a stand, and a tamper that had a large handle for my weak grip and was more of a solid shape vs tapered to keep the beads from coming back out when pressing. Now I get a consistent resin pack and longevity.