Salt Water Mixing Stations Let's See Them

[Orcrone]

I use Uniseals I purchased from BRS. They work great - no leaks at all. One word of advice. Use the boring type drill bit, the type with a drill bit and a round cylinder surrounding it. I used the other type (1 1/4" bit) originally and it tore up the container and the uniseal leaked.

 

[gweston]

+1 use the circular hole cutter type of drill bit. Not the flat/paddle head bore hole cutter that you may use to drill a hole in a door to install a door handle or some such.

I picked up a pair of 1" uniseals. They push right into the hole. When you insert the PVC tubing, the uniseal expands and seals the hole. There is no screw/bolt as with regular bulkheads. Just looking at the thing, one can be dubious whether it works.. but it does.

 

[drimo]

+1 on the Uniseals. It also helps to use a small amount of lubricant or soapy water when inserting the pipe through the Uniseal.

 

[markglad]

Jason1982, I assume this is for adding salt and is a type of automotive funnel? In making the most of space with a vertical system this is an absolute genius idea!

 

[Necidemos]

Nice! I'm going to have to rethink my setup. I have 2 55 gallon drums FW on top SW on bottom, but I do not have any type of plumbing so a lot of you have given me some ideas! I already have a small pump circulating the SW all the time, but maybe an outside pump to fill my tank up when doing water changes is a great idea...

Thank you! Keep the pictures coming!

 

[postie1686]

wow a guy can get a lot of ideas from this page. i do have a question. i am using a brute 44 gallon can for the salt tank and just r/o water tank. i have a large power head in the bottom of each aimed up. the top of the water moves and splashes a little bit.

question 1. what is the point of the airstone in the mixing tank.

2. i normally only heat the water up to tank temp the day before i change it out. is this ok or should it be kept at tank temp all the time? and if yes why?

 

[Orcrone]

wow a guy can get a lot of ideas from this page. i do have a question. i am using a brute 44 gallon can for the salt tank and just r/o water tank. i have a large power head in the bottom of each aimed up. the top of the water moves and splashes a little bit.

question 1. what is the point of the airstone in the mixing tank.

2. i normally only heat the water up to tank temp the day before i change it out. is this ok or should it be kept at tank temp all the time? and if yes why?

1. You need to aerate the salt/water mixture. However if you have a large powerhead in the bottom the airstone is probably superfluous.

2. Heating a day in advance is sufficient for your planned water changes. But one beauty of a system like yours is that fresh water is available at all times. If you ever have a problem that requires you to change a large volume of water wouldn't it be nice to have the replacement water heated and ready to go at all times?

 

[postie1686]

1. You need to aerate the salt/water mixture. However if you have a large powerhead in the bottom the airstone is probably superfluous.

2. Heating a day in advance is sufficient for your planned water changes. But one beauty of a system like yours is that fresh water is available at all times. If you ever have a problem that requires you to change a large volume of water wouldn't it be nice to have the replacement water heated and ready to go at all times?

ok i see that as a good point. but if i heat it wont it be more likly stuff will start growing in it?

 

[Orcrone]

ok i see that as a good point. but if i heat it wont it be more likly stuff will start growing in it?

I don't have a problem with that. If you keep it covered no light can get in so you should be fine.

 

[CJBROWN]

I aerate with a small pump, heat and mix the day of use. No issues.

 

[iwishtofish]

I use Uniseals I purchased from BRS. They work great - no leaks at all. One word of advice. Use the boring type drill bit, the type with a drill bit and a round cylinder surrounding it. I used the other type (1 1/4" bit) originally and it tore up the container and the uniseal leaked.

+1 use the circular hole cutter type of drill bit. Not the flat/paddle head bore hole cutter that you may use to drill a hole in a door to install a door handle or some such.

I picked up a pair of 1" uniseals. They push right into the hole. When you insert the PVC tubing, the uniseal expands and seals the hole. There is no screw/bolt as with regular bulkheads. Just looking at the thing, one can be dubious whether it works.. but it does.

+1 on the Uniseals. It also helps to use a small amount of lubricant or soapy water when inserting the pipe through the Uniseal.

Thanks for the great advice!

 

[Jason1982]

Jason1982, I assume this is for adding salt and is a type of automotive funnel? In making the most of space with a vertical system this is an absolute genius idea!

yes exactly, simple yet very effective..

 

[das75]

Do you guys rinse out between making up new batches?

 

[Jason1982]

Do you guys rinse out between making up new batches?

I don't.. The way mine works though, I instantly fill my salt mixing barrel after I do a waterchange.. this way I can start to make more r/o on my top barrel and be ready with saltwater on hand in the lower barrel.. The nice thing is to have both ro/di and saltwater on hand just in case of an emergency or something.. I hear people say that some salts leave a residue but I havent looked into it that throughly..

 

[Orcrone]

Do you guys rinse out between making up new batches?

I use Reef Crystals and get a brown residue. Once every couple of months I'll disconnect the Brute containers I use for saltwater & clean them.

 

[KEITHHAYS_2000]

Do you guys rinse out between making up new batches?

If you are making large enough batches (several hundred gallons) you will get a sludge on the bottom. The best thing to do is to suck out that sludge before sending it to the tanks. You might also see it after several smaller batches if your output pipe is off the bottom a bit.

 

[cfsindorf]

For those that do not live in a climate where outside it gets to 110 during the day and agarages ARE NOT climate controlled. LOL What about salt water in garage where it could get in the 90's?? To me the RODI water is not an issue but what aboult salt water??

 

[MARLANDO]

25 Gallons each 18"x30"

Stainless table

3/4" Pipe

PanWorld 40PX Pump

BRS 75 GPD 5 STAGE RO/DI Plus system

 

[jeff@zina.com]

To me the RODI water is not an issue but what aboult salt water??

Not an issue.

Jeff

 

[jdantunes]

Very nice built, MARLANDO. Those are good and expensive ball valves. Are they +GF+ ?