Made My Water Changes & Kalk Refills Alot Easier

[cham]

With this. Been thinking about it for a few weeks & I love the idea of gravity fed vs using pumps. All I did beyond the obvious is tap the cans with 3/4" bulkheads & 90* nipples with ball valves on the end of each hose. My tank is about 20' away from where this sits and when I need to fill the tank or my Kalk dispensing sump (also gravity fed) I just pull the cord inside and fill it up. When its time to refill the trash cans I have another on wheels that I premix whatever can I am filling and wheel it over, hook a pump to the end of whatever hose and refill the same way it comes out.

Enough water to last 4 to 6 weeks. It sure is nice not to make up so many small batches each time you need them. Other benifit is if an emergency happens I will have water available.

 

[flfirefighter13]

you beat me to it, Ive got a 55 gallon drum in the laudry room on top of another drum and have been filling 5 gallon buckets with it, just last nite i told my wife im gonna punch a hole in the wall and run a hose to use to avoid draggin buckets Ill try to snap some pics of my setup, Ive got 55 RO water ready at all times and 300 salt ready to go, but the salt water is stored at ground level and pumped with a genx pump

2 things for those trying this, uniseals may be cheaper than bulkheads, also aquatic ecosystems sells 3/4 drum valves that could be used in place of the 90 and allow you to shut it off at the barrel, or to have a vent on the top that is not always open.

Is the 90 on top a vent or another use?

 

[Boostable]

Cham,

Love it... I use 55G barrels for my top off, and premix, but use a pump. I really like the gravity feed, might have to look into getting mind up there.. nice setup..

Jack

 

[cham]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8852627#post8852627 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flfirefighter13
you beat me to it, Ive got a 55 gallon drum in the laudry room on top of another drum and have been filling 5 gallon buckets with it, just last nite i told my wife im gonna punch a hole in the wall and run a hose to use to avoid draggin buckets Ill try to snap some pics of my setup, Ive got 55 RO water ready at all times and 300 salt ready to go, but the salt water is stored at ground level and pumped with a genx pump

2 things for those trying this, uniseals may be cheaper than bulkheads, also aquatic ecosystems sells 3/4 drum valves that could be used in place of the 90 and allow you to shut it off at the barrel, or to have a vent on the top that is not always open.

Is the 90 on top a vent or another use?

The original plan was to make that a fill nipple, but I found its easier to just pump the water back in the same hose it comes out of.


Are you ready to give up that RK 1 yet?

 

[bkwudzjeep]

Cham.....what size are those cans?

 

[cham]

32g Brute

 

[flfirefighter13]

Cham, havent even gotten it yet, still waiting for him to sell off livestock, dont worry if I play with it for a week and decide it doesnt do what I want your first in line.
How sturdy is that shelve with that much water on it? Im thinking about doiung something similiar to get mine off of the barrel, but worried about that much weight up high

 

[boydx6]

Looks like a great idea, but I would be worried about weight as well. I would make sure that the shelves are at least bolted to the structure of the wall if possible.

 

[cham]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8854746#post8854746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flfirefighter13
Cham, havent even gotten it yet, still waiting for him to sell off livestock, dont worry if I play with it for a week and decide it doesnt do what I want your first in line.
How sturdy is that shelve with that much water on it? Im thinking about doiung something similiar to get mine off of the barrel, but worried about that much weight up high

Sounds good, If you don't like it (as long as it works) shoot me a PM.

The shelf is rated for 5,000 lbs total. I'm not even close to that. There are a few different shelfs that have different weight capacities available. It could be a hair wider to allow the entire can to fit. You can see where the side hangs off a little bit, but front to back it does not hang off at all, seems pretty stable to me.

 

[rdmpe]

You could put a piece of 3/4" plywood over the shelf to support the full bottom of the can. I also like the idea of bolting the shelves to the wall for stability.

 

[cham]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8864771#post8864771 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
You could put a piece of 3/4" plywood over the shelf to support the full bottom of the can. I also like the idea of bolting the shelves to the wall for stability.

I was just thinking that. I will wait and see how the particle board fairs. If I see stresses in it I will switch to the 3/4 ply.

 

[bkwudzjeep]

I've heard particle board can weaken if it gets wet, but with the way you have it set up, that should not be an issue.

On a set of shelves I built years ago, it started to sway from side to side, I added a thin backing to it, and it's completely sturdy again.

 

[achilles1]

Great idea and it looks good. On another note, be careful with all that water near your air handler and electrical panel. Spills, corrosion, creep..... Happy reefing!!

 

[WWC]

Looks good how has it worked so far?

 

[cham]

So far I've used it to do one water change and fill my ATO and its worked great. Plenty of pressure.