Making a water transportation sytem...

[pdiehm]

from my RODI Brute container to a saltmixing container. Should I use a bulkhead or just a Uniseal?

In theory it's uniseal/bulkhead with 1" pvc cemented in -> union -> ball valve -> union -> 1" pvc pipe -> Elbow and into the 20 gallon container.

That's about as basic as I can describe it.

I thought about making a saltwater mixing station like I've seen on here, but don't really have the room (or the external mixing pump) for 2 32 gallon brute containers, and my plan is about 10 gallons a week to change out, and I'm not sure how long saltwater can be stored before it goes "bad".

 

[mcgyvr]

On "non-flat" surfaces Uniseals are highly recommended over bulkheads...

 

[CStrickland]

My salt recommends using within 4 hours. You can check the websites for diff brands and they tell you. I think Red Sea has a YouTube video about it too, cause they were getting complaints from people but it was cause they were mixing too hot or keeping it around forever. I don't think any of the companies recommend the 24 hour mixing folks used to do.

I spose its nice to have some on hand for emergency, but idk how often that really happens. It takes me 20 min to mix a batch. If I had the huge dream tank, or an auto water changer, I might go for the station, but 10g once a week doesn't seem worth it.

Maybe look at the drum spigots too? Idk why more people don't use them, there might be a good reason though. Something like this seems cheaper and easier than the pvc and valves [50 gallon drum spigot, plastic]

 

[Sn8kbyt]

My salt recommends using within 4 hours. You can check the websites for diff brands and they tell you. I think Red Sea has a YouTube video about it too, cause they were getting complaints from people but it was cause they were mixing too hot or keeping it around forever. I don't think any of the companies recommend the 24 hour mixing folks used to do.

I spose its nice to have some on hand for emergency, but idk how often that really happens. It takes me 20 min to mix a batch. If I had the huge dream tank, or an auto water changer, I might go for the station, but 10g once a week doesn't seem worth it.

Maybe look at the drum spigots too? Idk why more people don't use them, there might be a good reason though. Something like this seems cheaper and easier than the pvc and valves [50 gallon drum spigot, plastic]

I had tried using those and could not get them to seal properly on a brute can.

 

[CStrickland]

Too bad, the ones for home brewing beer work nice on 5g buckets. Prolly the brute plastic is much thinner than a drum so there's not enough to squeeze?

 

[sleepydoc]

I had tried using those and could not get them to seal properly on a brute can.

Bulkheads or uniseals? If you can't get a uniseal to seal properly on a Brute can, either it's defective of you're doing something wrong.

There's no rule saying you have to use a brute can for a mixing station. If you're only doing 10 gallons at a time, a smaller container would be just fine. I found the containers pictured below at Lowes - they're still 32 gallons, but shaped like a cube instead of a cylinder. (note the uniseal at the bottom.) There are plenty of smaller ones, too.

CStrickland - What brand salt mix were you using? I've never heard of salt needing to be used within 4 hours. Many people recommend letting it 'age' overnight. I generally don't think that's necessary, but there's nothing in the mixes that should go bad within a few hours. In fact, it's generally recommended to mix it at room temperature and then heat it up, so it would be almost impossible to use within 4 hours. I have salt water that I've kept for weeks and it's been just fine.

The problem with drum faucets is the same as the problem with bulkheads - they require a stable/flat surface to seal well. Uniseals are much better for curved surfaces or a surface that may have a bit of flex to it.

 

[pdiehm]

do you cement pvc into the uniseal, or just push it in?

 

[Sn8kbyt]

You just push them in.

 

[Sn8kbyt]

Too bad, the ones for home brewing beer work nice on 5g buckets. Prolly the brute plastic is much thinner than a drum so there's not enough to squeeze?

Probably I tried two rubber gaskets, silicone, two part epoxy and still always had a drip trying to get them to work on a round brute can and finally gave up.

 

[1234]

I used a John Guess BH on the flat part of the can and used a power head to move the water up and over

 

[CStrickland]

CStrickland - What brand salt mix were you using? I've never heard of salt needing to be used within 4 hours. Many people recommend letting it 'age' overnight. I generally don't think that's necessary, but there's nothing in the mixes that should go bad within a few hours. In fact, it's generally recommended to mix it at room temperature and then heat it up, so it would be almost impossible to use within 4 hours. I have salt water that I've kept for weeks and it's been just fine.

I used a few brands of fancy "reef salts" before switching to regular IO, I think I got the 4 hour thing from one of them, but idk which. I thought it was Tropic Marin but I don't see it on their website now so I guess it was someone else. This is the Red Sea video I mentioned though http://youtu.be/UlIHJ02NaKk he says to use it within 4 hours too, but I don't think I ever had any Red Sea. Though to be honest I think his little pump heated up his little glass of water and precipitated more than it would in a bigger bucket.

As I understand it, the aging is a ph thing mostly but it can be problematic if the salt is buffed for Ca and stuff if they precipitate out. My thinking was that I'm paying for that Ca, I want it to stay in the water, plus I'm in an apartment so unless there's a good reason to have it laying around, I'd rather not. I'm guessing back in the day it was necessary to really dissolve all the salt but that it's made better now so you don't have to. I tested mine out by mixing it and doing a few tests, and after about 20 min everything was stable. Idk if I checked ph though, I don't have an issue with it so I might not have bothered. My heater gets the 10g I need for a WC up to temp in no time.

PS when I was searching for where I heard that 4 hour thing I saw there's a lot of threads about it. I guess it was pretty confusing for people who were used to having it sit around over night.