woodnaquanut
Active member
I just use a remote controlled outlet. X10 stuff is cheap. Works for me up to about 50 feet.
Salt Water Mixing Stations Let's See Them
- Thread starter kc350twin
- Start date
I just use a remote controlled outlet. X10 stuff is cheap. Works for me up to about 50 feet.
805reef
New member
I am planning my new water station. I want to have a sort of spigot coming from the salt water side that I can use to put a drop of water onto my refractometer for getting salinity. Any of you guys have something like this?
I am thinking of using one of these, maybe someone has a better idea?
I am thinking of using one of these, maybe someone has a better idea?
I have an idea...i saw this on ************..this company Genio built a sump with a chamber for a hydrometer. Not one of those swing arm hydrometers but one of those glass floating ones. You could make a site level with large enough tubing so you could float a hydrometer inside it...you'd have a perfect constant reading. That'd be pretty sweet now that I think about it.
On my station i have a hose bin spigot that i use to connect a hose upstairs when doing water changes. I just open it up when the pump is running and put a little in a cup.
On my station i have a hose bin spigot that i use to connect a hose upstairs when doing water changes. I just open it up when the pump is running and put a little in a cup.
r33fswagg3r
New member
I kinda copied cmacld's setup...
Finished mixing station. Still need to test. The pump is a Mag12. I have some other pumps if this one proves to not be up to snuff...
RC headloss calculator: Total losses are 5.37 feet of head pressure, or 2.32 PSI. with a flow rate of 1002 GPH.
Why are there two valves above the mixing tank and another valve over the saltwater tank? Well I made a boo boo and wanted to recycle most of what I had already built....
I have been through the many extensive pages of this thread and I hope someone still lingers because the exact storage containers in this picture I have been trying to find. I like the flat top areas on the containers. can someone guide me please. I only need anywhere between 65 gallon and 100 gallon containers. Thank you in advance.
40gal
Premium Member
Finally getting around to post some crappy cell phone pics of the essentially finished project:
BTW this is how I connected my little utility sink...makes it completely removable as needed:
IMG_20140728_130650 by MrKal_El, on Flickr
Holy hose fitting!
Nice idea on the sink drain. Hadn't thought of that. Wish I had a utility sink in the garage.
mrkalel
New member
Yeah..I don't know how I lived without one all these years with my tank...
Plus my sink had to be removable for limited space I had...
cidbozek
New member
water storage
water storage
I have the same ones in the picture, but they are only 25 gallons each. I purchased then from tractor supply company. They have catalogs in store and you can order any size you need and they come with the bulkheads.
water storage
I have the same ones in the picture, but they are only 25 gallons each. I purchased then from tractor supply company. They have catalogs in store and you can order any size you need and they come with the bulkheads.
When you guys mix up your saltwater do you ever have any leftover because you filled your tank before you used all the water you mixed up? If so what are you doing with it? Can you let it sit in the bin until next time or do you get rid of it (down the drain) or something else? Not sure if im just over thinking or not here.
ClownsRCoo
New member
What ever fits the pump you plan on using.
Keep it. As of now I'm only changing 5 gal/week and I mix up 20 gal at a time. Keep pump running to recirc the salt water. Pour it back in and use it later - it was only in a storage container, right?. That's one of the nice things about having these - some water always at your disposal and little waste.
What's kismet is the pump by itself imparts enough heat in the water to keep it right at the correct temp. It's in an unconditioned basement so it's ambiently cool there. Makes me amazed at the heat those things put out.
No issues storing it, just keep it aerated and reheat before doing a substantial water change. I mix up 30gal. at a time and change out 1gal. per day via an auto water change. Water is just stored in the basement at room temp. 60-90 degrees depending on time of year and aerated with a simple air stone. No issues as long as it isn't stagnant. Over time some of the minerals do precipitate out especially with salt mixes high in CA and Alk but the water is still just fine.
Some water may evaporate so check salinity after reheating to tank temp and add a little RO/DI if needed, but if the container is covered and not overly aerated not much evaporates.
DesktopReefer
New member
Some of these are super technical...glad I only keep nano
Like 3 gallon water jugs...
skeeter_ca
Active member
Wow....just finished reading all 38 pages. Took about a week on and off again. I have a typical system using two 20gal brute cans in my garage. One for R/O ATO system and one for ASW. I have a rio 2100 power head in each can that is connected to a 3/8" poly hose going to my sump about 30' away. They go up to the attic, across, then down inside the wall to my sump. A float switch tells the pumps when to shut off thru a 3 position switch can be set to ATO, Off or ASW. I have an old powerhead and heater in the ASW can to keep it stirred up. I have another rio powerhead in my sump to remove water to my laundry drain.
The ATO I leave on so any time the sump gets low the float turns on the pump and refills the sump back to the proper level. It maintains a very precise salinity level.
To do a water change I premix the salt a day or a week or when ever I want to in advance. When i'm ready I shut off the main aquarium pump and plug in the power head in the sump. It drains almost 20 gals in about 20 mins. Then I unplug that power head and switch the 3 position switch to ASW and it fills back up the sump with fresh saltwater. when the pump turns off because it fills to the float switch level I plug the main pump back in and when the water level drops the ASW pump comes back on and fills to the proper level and shuts off again. I flip the switch back to the ATO position and i'm done.
Here are a couple pictures of my system. It is crammed in with everything else in the garage.
The ATO I leave on so any time the sump gets low the float turns on the pump and refills the sump back to the proper level. It maintains a very precise salinity level.
To do a water change I premix the salt a day or a week or when ever I want to in advance. When i'm ready I shut off the main aquarium pump and plug in the power head in the sump. It drains almost 20 gals in about 20 mins. Then I unplug that power head and switch the 3 position switch to ASW and it fills back up the sump with fresh saltwater. when the pump turns off because it fills to the float switch level I plug the main pump back in and when the water level drops the ASW pump comes back on and fills to the proper level and shuts off again. I flip the switch back to the ATO position and i'm done.
Here are a couple pictures of my system. It is crammed in with everything else in the garage.
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skeeter_ca
Active member
I am in the planning stage to replace my brute cans with 55gals drums. I can get them for $20 a piece but then they have to be scrubbed out because they had soda syrup in them. I want to go to the external single pump system shown so many times on this thread, however I have a couple questions that I did not see discussed in the very long 38 pages.
Using a single pump system to transfer and mix your salt water barrel you would have to turn off the ATO system and it would not topoff the sump when needed. How do you still topoff your sump while mixing the ASW for maybe days at a time till you are ready to do the water change?
skeeter
Using a single pump system to transfer and mix your salt water barrel you would have to turn off the ATO system and it would not topoff the sump when needed. How do you still topoff your sump while mixing the ASW for maybe days at a time till you are ready to do the water change?
skeeter
skeeter_ca
Active member
:bounce3:That's what I tell my wife i'm saving all that stuff up for.
I think I have a hoarding problem. :wildone:
skeeter
I think I have a hoarding problem. :wildone:
skeeter
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