Salt Water Mixing Stations Let's See Them

[fltekdiver]

Ebay is loaded with clear vinyl tubbing at half the the price of flexpvc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-8-ID-x-3-...Domain_0&var=550219029227&hash=item3a7f1657f3

 

[icebrg5]

Ebay is loaded with clear vinyl tubbing at half the the price of flexpvc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-8-ID-x-3-...Domain_0&var=550219029227&hash=item3a7f1657f3

I bought that same hose last week. Haven't used it yet but I checked it when I got it and it seems to be the same quality as to what lowes had.

 

[lnevo]

100' of 1/2"ID x 5/8"OD is $39.99 at flexpvc.com.

http://flexpvc.com/cart/agora.cgi?product=Clear-Tubing-Hose

 

[fltekdiver]

I saw that on flex PVC I have a 1600 gallon per hour pump I was hoping to use something sticker minimum of five eighths or three quarter does it make sense to use a half inch hose when I got to oversized pump to pump the tank right there

 

[wallyman424]

Just made my mixing station. Nothing too fancy. Once I get the tank up and running my plan is to use a dual head peristaltic pump to do automatic water changes.

 

[icebrg5]

Here's the mixing station i made for my moms tank. Had the pump just laying around and had 1 1/2" uniseals from a previous failed project so i just used those on this project.

Made the barrel and pump sit in a trash can rack because it will be stored in the garage and she has cats and dogs out there. I did cover the whole front with chicken wire screen so no cats would get in and the top is covered with more wood so no cats can access it from the top.

Also on the inside i did put a 90 elbow so it would suck up as much water as possible when pumping it to the tank.

 

[Raoul5Duke]

Any feedback regarding my question above. To use spraybar or not?

 

[iced98lx]

Any feedback regarding my question above. To use spraybar or not?

not needed, in my opinion- once the salt is dissolved keeping it that way barely requires any movement, and mixing it initially doesn't require much either. I'd say as long as there is some sort of motion all the way to the bottom (to prevent settling when you add salt) you're in good shape.

 

[805reef]

Couple of pics of my station:
View attachment 287087

I like those tanks! Where did you get them?

 

[Raoul5Duke]

I like those tanks! Where did you get them?

Thanks for the replies. I got those at Tank Depot, I will warn you though the lead time is long and the shipping is expensive.

 

[reelredfish]

So anyone running an apex for there mixing pump? If so mind helping with the program?

I figure no need for it to run all the time maybe only come on every few hours for a short time?

 

[fltekdiver]

I run mine through my Apex, it turns on once a hour for 5 min in between tank changes

 

[reelredfish]

Care to share?

 

[mrkalel]

Just an update on my now functional mixing station for the last few weeks: AMAZING.

This has been one of the best things I've done for my Reef. I have really went from an unnecessary amount of time/effort/frustration from my prior water changes to something I actually enjoy.

Anyone on the fence...DO IT. But don't rush it...I took maybe twice as long than necessary because I didn't follow a set plan...I added and removed options to make sure I covered as many variable as possible. Of course my system might be more complicated than most...but still, take your time.

 

[96slowbra]

question for those with mixing stations.. i will have a 230 gallon system up and running soon, and the tanks i bought for my mixing station are 26 gallons each. i am really hoping that i don't regret going too small. i plan in doing continuous water changes of 1 gallon per day with a litre-meterIII.

 

[lnevo]

I would say that would be fine under normal conditions. The problem lies in the event of an emergency. For example, I built mine to have enough water for a 50% wc between rodi and made up sw. It will run you fine for your continuous, you'd only need to remix sw like once a month, but even if you converted both barrels you'd be talking about roughly 20-25% wc water on hand. What I would suggest is adding a nice big ro/di container, at least a 55 and use the two 26s to mix salt, this way too while one is active doing your awc, you have a batch ready and mixed so you can just switch the source for your awc and mix the next batch.

 

[96slowbra]

not a bad idea. i do see a handful of these stations that have 3 containers; rodi, ready salt, and mixing salt.

 

[joopie]

Here is my mixing station:

At the moment all i have to do is dump the bag of salt in for 50 gallons. Everything is wired up to a beaglebone black and i am able to control it manually from: http://www.rareglitch.net/SWMS/
I use 3 solenoids, 1 for filling from my on demand 400gpd RO/DI, one to recirc the water from the pump, and the last one to discharge in to the sump. Next part of the project is to add some automation and batch scheduling. That way it'll take care of everything and i just have to add the salt. Eventually the arduino controlled display tank will be controlled from the beaglebone and i can perform a completely automated water change(http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2347695).

 

[slief]

So anyone running an apex for there mixing pump? If so mind helping with the program?

I figure no need for it to run all the time maybe only come on every few hours for a short time?

Here is my Apex Mix pump programming. The OSC statement turns my mix pump on every 3 hours and runs for 10 minutes.

The mix pump switch statement in there is a virtual outlet. I have a garage door opener button near my mix tank that is connected to my break out box. When I press the button, the MixPumpSwitc virtual outlet turns the pump on for one hour. I use that for when I add salt or transfer water from my RODI tank to my Mixing tank.

MixPump:
Fallback OFF
OSC 000:00/010:00/170:00 Then ON
If Outlet MixPumpSwitc = ON Then ON

For reference, here is the MixPumpSwitc virtual outlet programming that the garage door opener button controls.

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Sw5 OPEN Then OFF
If Sw5 CLOSED Then ON
Defer 060:00 Then OFF

You can see the mix pump garage door opener button here:

 

[_divad]

So many different ideas! Thank you for sharing everyone!